I know that on many lifts, your body will try and “cheat”, in order to move the weight more easily (ie round-backed deadlifts, super arched-back bench press etc), and this is usually considered bad form. When I squat heavy, my knees want to buckle in as I’m coming up from the bottom. However, I fight this by pushing them out, and the weight becomes easier to lift. Why does my body want to cheat by doing things harder? Isn’t this the reverse of usual?
Your body just hasnt been trainied to do it enough. its not ingrained in your motor skills. Like staying tight in a bench, etc etc.
the body is great at doing things but to don them optimally we have to teach them. Sometimes what a body thinks is optimal from years of use isnt.
Just feel it learn what works and know your body and teach it to lift those heavier loads you and it will get better as time progresses.
Could also be a fight or flight type of thing your body may be trying to get you to stop there fore putting you in a weak position. your body could really care less if you are able to sqaut 10 more lbs you have to make it want to.
Cheating and weakness are the same. Unless you have no idea what your doing and cheat with weight you can do perfect reps with.
[quote]Alex630 wrote:
I know that on many lifts, your body will try and “cheat”, in order to move the weight more easily (ie round-backed deadlifts, super arched-back bench press etc), and this is usually considered bad form. When I squat heavy, my knees want to buckle in as I’m coming up from the bottom. However, I fight this by pushing them out, and the weight becomes easier to lift. Why does my body want to cheat by doing things harder? Isn’t this the reverse of usual? [/quote]
This quote is taken from Mike Robertson’s 10 Tips for Flawless Squattin’ article:
"As you’re sitting back, you also need to force your knees out. This helps to activate the muscles of the hips and it also works to keep the femur, knee, and ankle in proper alignment. If your knees are collapsing on squats, you really need to focus on developing your thigh abductors, especially the glute medius and minimus.
The best exercise to work on the thigh abductors is performed using a Jumpstretch band. Double loop it and place it approximately one inch above the knees. Then perform walks side-to-side with the toes pointed forward."
So if you move your knees outward you’re actually making the squat easier.
Thanks for the tips, you guys. I knew that I had weak and non-firing glutes, but I didn’t guess that they would be causing my knees to want to go in like that. I figured it was my body looking for some weird mechanical advantage. Also, to the guy who suggested otherwise, I do know how to squat correctly, and take care to push my knees out when I lift.
Whats the best way to get your muscles firing for a squat or deadlift?
[quote]dl- wrote:
Whats the best way to get your muscles firing for a squat or deadlift?[/quote]
squats
or, deadlifts
original poster get this book
all you need to know on squats proper, eh
One quick thing to chime in here on is, IMHO you should get your form down with lighter weight and work up with big compound movements like squats and deads. I don’t mean 40 pounds, but not more than you can do without killing yourself to mantain form. You can really hurt yourself with lotsa iron across your shoulders doing too much to adjust your form in the middle of a rep.
Knees can respond quite unfavorablby. Same with deadlifts. Many a would be stalwart lifter has injured their lower back trying to go too heavy without having the basic movement mastered. Personally I’d make sure my form is sound before pushing it.
–Tiribulus->
[quote]dl- wrote:
Whats the best way to get your muscles firing for a squat or deadlift?[/quote]
Before I lift, I do a bunch of drills from Magnificent Mobility, such as bird dogs and fire hydrants (which are ones where you’re on your knees and extend your leg backwards, which causes your glutes to fire/flex). Also, there are good ones where you lie on your back and raise your pelvis up, which causes your glutes to fire.
I tried to upload a webcam video I just took of myself squatting, but it wouldn’t work, so I put some pictures up instead. (In my profile). Please check them out and tell me what you think. These were paused at the bottom. When I squat with weight, I go slightly lower (to get the bounce) and my back rounds forward a little. Is this tight hamstrings? Also, from the front, it appears that I sink to one side a bit. Didn’t notice that one in the mirror…
With your hands like that, your elbows should be on the inside of your knees. Ie your knees are too close. Maybe widen up a bit. (although your hands should be locked together to get this distance right)
Something does not look right with your back angle but it might be you have long legs ?.? ???
Depth could be a bit lower.
Get the frikking book www.startingstrength.com it is excellent and will sort you out in many ways you never thought of.
One set of 6-10 reps with a squat at say 40% of your 1RM should be a good enough warmup I?d say, but it depends what you do, if you then go straight to 90% 1RM then perhaps you need a few more sets to build up to it.
Again, covered nicely in the book.
Which everyone should own, learn and use. Have you even looked at the link?
I’d say you are lacking a bit in posterior chain strength.
It’s not too bad, but collapsed ankles, limited dorsiflexion and slight pelvic tilt suggest tight hip flexors and lack of glute and ham strength.
I found that in olympic style squats, I could sort of bounce at the bottom and get momentum that way. It doesn’t hurt at all, and is very controlled, but I think it helps me lift more weight.
Thats where box squats came in for me. They prevent me from doing the bouncing at the bottom, hence, it seemed to overload my quads more.
Hi everyone. Thanks again for the advice. I’ll respond to each person in turn.
Margarhe: I don’t understand your elbows comment. Obviously, the pictures are different, for when I squat, my hands are on the bar behind me and my elbows stick out.
I did look at the book. The link didn’t work, so I Amazon.com-ed it. Rave reviews. It shall go on my list.
I need quite a few warmup sets to get my knees going. For a mid 300ish squat, I do something like 10x135, 6x225, 3x275, 3x315, then I go to work.
Neil Mac: Interesting comments re: my posterior chain. I always thought it was my strong point (ie I can deadlift more than I can squat). I certainly do have weak ankles though. They’re always collapsing when I try snatches and overhead squats.
TKL.ca: I’ve never tried box squats before. Do they help your regular squat once you go back to it?
[quote]Alex630 wrote:
Hi everyone. Thanks again for the advice. I’ll respond to each person in turn.
Margarhe: I don’t understand your elbows comment. Obviously, the pictures are different, for when I squat, my hands are on the bar behind me and my elbows stick out.
I did look at the book. The link didn’t work, so I Amazon.com-ed it. Rave reviews. It shall go on my list.
I need quite a few warmup sets to get my knees going. For a mid 300ish squat, I do something like 10x135, 6x225, 3x275, 3x315, then I go to work.
Neil Mac: Interesting comments re: my posterior chain. I always thought it was my strong point (ie I can deadlift more than I can squat). I certainly do have weak ankles though. They’re always collapsing when I try snatches and overhead squats.
TKL.ca: I’ve never tried box squats before. Do they help your regular squat once you go back to it? [/quote]
Yeah man, definetely. I like to switch from box squats to olympic style squats every 4 weeks or so. I find the box squats help my form and place more overload on my thighs, since I can’t bounce or rest at the bottom.
With the olympic style squats, I get a greater ROM and increase in flexibility, as for overload, I find it about the same, a little less due to the bouncing, hehe.
Like someone already posted it’s weak abductors plain and simple. Work them and prepare for a big difference.