Squats have long been my weakest lift, and I feel that it’s largely due to a lack of lower-back strength (and partly due to long limbs). That’s not to say that my lower back/posterior chain is necessarily weak, as my deadlifts are decent for my training experience. This leads me to believe that it’s something either in the way that I squat or the supporting muscles that are holding me back.
Currently I’ve been working on front squats instead of back squats, but even those seem to tire out my back before I really feel anything in my quads. I can get a great pump/contraction on leg press and extensions and hack squats (anything that removes my back from the equation), but I really want to bring my squat (front and/or back) up to par, for a ton of reasons. I’ve started squatting with a belt, even though it’s a little silly to belt up at 175-185 on front squats, but that hasn’t solved it; it now just takes longer before my back starts to impede my workout, and my legs still don’t get much of a stimulus.
When I back squat and get into the hole, I have no problem with the leg drive OUT of the hole, but struggle to raise by spine back neutral without it feeling like it will buckle. This obviously makes me quite unbalanced, and usually ends up with a weird bar path and bad knee tracking. Hence my swap to Front squats.
I would really appreciate any input on how to address these issues, as it’s quite disheartening/embarrassing on squat day, which is currently 3x a week for me. If it’s a matter of bringing up the posterior chain, or strengthening the core, or changing mechanics, I am open to any advice.
try this if you think it’s a low back issue. I have a similar problem sometimes with heavier back squats, as I too have long limbs. I always like to do some type of back extension at least twice a week.
or something similar. guy has great videos uploaded to his channel.
Do you think weighted hyperextensions on a 45* station would be acceptable? Or is there a better benefit to doing them at 90* like the video? Neither of my gyms have 90* rigs, and I train solo, so asking someone to sit on me could be a bit…awkward.
I’m tall and have had similar issues. I lack mobility in the shoulders and t-spine, and have found as I worked on loosening up those areas (foam rolling, t-spine drills), I am able to get in a better position to squat (front & back). Goblet squats have helped me a great deal with keeping squatting posture (upper body) tight throughout the movement. Box squats also. Just 2 cents…good luck.
I am tall myself. What has helped me the most is ankle & heel cord mobility work & external rotation hip work (being able to really drive the knees out from a stable position). Kelly Starrett has some videos on YouTube that I think would help you.
Do you think weighted hyperextensions on a 45* station would be acceptable? Or is there a better benefit to doing them at 90* like the video? Neither of my gyms have 90* rigs, and I train solo, so asking someone to sit on me could be a bit…awkward. [/quote]
haha. Yeah I see no problem with weighted 45 deg. hypers. You might want to do them without weights first, maybe something like 3 x 15. Don’t go all the way down though as you don’t want to hammer your hamstrings too badly since the focus is the lower back. You can eventually move on to wrapping a red mini-band around the back of your neck (attaching it to the 45 degree hyper apparatus) and doing 3 x 15 with the band, then drop the band and knock out 10 more bodyweight back extensions (learned that one from John Meadows, it’s sadistic).
Secondly, another important to keep in mind is next time on your squats, make sure you are actually keeping your lower erectors tight and slightly arched, especially on the warm-up sets to get a feel for it. Go lighter on your work sets if you have to. Don’t arch it excessively but remember, tight tight tight.
Cool, will do. I was doing hypers as part of 531, so I can knock out 12-15 unweighted pretty easily already, so I’ll adjust from there. I’ve seen the band trick in videos…looks sick. Don’t think I’m there yet, haha.
I will def keep the arch in mind, I try to keep it steady and it definitely helps. I am concerned though with all of the talk about Anterior Pelvic Tilt that I’d be setting myself up for disaster later if I kept arching. I guess it’s a fine line between too much and just right? I feel like I have some APT already, just from posture and the fact that I have a desk job which keeps me in…not the best positions for 7-8 hours a day. May be reading too much into it, though.
