Thanks for asking Hot Tamale. Squats went surprisingly well.
Today’s workout was like this:
Foam rolling (and on softball) and mobility stuff
Squat - 5 x 75, 95, 105, 115, 125
Step Ups w BB - 12x 25, 40, 40 1x15x40 < I can go up in weight on the next round.
Hypers - 15x20, 15x10
Ab Roller 3x10 (on knees)
I have vids of squats - hooray! 125 was pretty hard. I don’t know how I feel about 125, might stay at this weight on the next round, feels wobbly. Luckily, DL day has squats as accessory - might do a 3x8 scheme on the lower weights to get that 125 solid.
And finally, I got a hamstring cramp mid-way through hypers (alternated with ab roller) - got chicken shit and called it a night. I don’t know what that was about - so I was ok about backing off. Foam rolled, light stretching and was done.
Great squats… they were so good that now I have to be nit-picky.
Just two things, you probably have some more work to do on hip and ankle mobility since it seems like your heels want to come off the floor. You have long limbs (I think) which makes the squat that much more of a bitch. I’m 6’2" and can squat high-bar Oly squat ass to grass with no shoes, that’s because I rarely miss my mobility warm-up (each movement has a specific purpose). What’s your actual lower body mobility look like?
Another thing, consider squatting a little higher until your hip mobility (and other things, i.e. hamstring flexibility) comes around. Parallel box squats, for example. The reason I say this is because at the bottom you are losing your lower back arch, which in my own experience, can lead to low back pain.
Nice vid, Masch… impressive for someone recovering from a hamstring injury. Way to go, girl
Oh, one other thing…I also have problems with my mobility when squatting, and I don’t know if this is a cardinal sin, but I do have to have something under my heels when I squat… I started this habit when I first started lifting. I had a workout partner who watched my squatting form, and he just put a piece of wood under my heels to fix that problem. I never thought to do anything different, and have done it that way ever since. Can PB, Masch, or anyone else share some info on mobility warm-ups with me please? Thanks!
[quote]Hot Tamale wrote:
Nice vid, Masch… impressive for someone recovering from a hamstring injury. Way to go, girl
Oh, one other thing…I also have problems with my mobility when squatting, and I don’t know if this is a cardinal sin, but I do have to have something under my heels when I squat… I started this habit when I first started lifting. I had a workout partner who watched my squatting form, and he just put a piece of wood under my heels to fix that problem. I never thought to do anything different, and have done it that way ever since. Can PB, Masch, or anyone else share some info on mobility warm-ups with me please? Thanks!
[/quote]
I could be wrong, but i think pb andy was refering to some of these things found here:
Oh hey mascherano, nice job. Andy is right though. On the second video the first couple of reps were pretty good, then you can see what andy is saying about your lower back rounding a bit at the bottom.
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Great squats… they were so good that now I have to be nit-picky.
[/quote]
This makes Mascherano very very happy!
Thanks guys - you’re absolutely right. I do have mobility issues with the hips (and flexors) - but I never thought of the ankles. I actually noticed that my heels appeared to be lifting a bit too, so that’s a good observation.
See, I always thought that bit of lower back rounding is inevitable when you try to go below parallel, but I’ll take def your word for it and try to correct that. I’m not looking to power lift (at least not at this point), so hitting parallel is good enough for me, especially if it will ensure back health.
Herc, I’ve checked out that link - there’s a lot of good stuff in there. So thanks for that!
Tamale, I think Print once mentioned that earlier in my log. I tried squatting with plates under my heels but that didn’t seem to do much. I’ll look into it again tho!
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
Great squats… they were so good that now I have to be nit-picky.
[/quote]
See, I always thought that bit of lower back rounding is inevitable when you try to go below parallel, but I’ll take def your word for it and try to correct that. I’m not looking to power lift (at least not at this point), so hitting parallel is good enough for me, especially if it will ensure back health.[/quote]
I think you mean Olympic lifting? Since hitting parallel is good enough for powerlifting, hehe. But yes, rounding of the back is not inevitable (see pic). It just takes some time.
[quote]Hot Tamale wrote:
Oh, one other thing…I also have problems with my mobility when squatting, and I don’t know if this is a cardinal sin, but I do have to have something under my heels when I squat… I started this habit when I first started lifting. I had a workout partner who watched my squatting form, and he just put a piece of wood under my heels to fix that problem. I never thought to do anything different, and have done it that way ever since. Can PB, Masch, or anyone else share some info on mobility warm-ups with me please? Thanks!
[/quote]
Cardinal sin… hell no, I squat in Olympic shoes. Gives me a good inch of the ground in the back. I never liked squatting with flat soles, I guess it is because I’m used to squatting Olympic-style. It’s cool b/c it will force you to hit the quads harder.
Anyways, for lower body mobility warm-ups, these are the areas I go over after foam rolling the IT band, quads, and adductors (important!):
Hip internal rotation
Psoas strengthening
Adductor mobilization
Hamstring flexibility/mobilization
Ankle mobility
Stretch hip flexors/rectus femoris
I do other stuff, but these ^ are things I must do before squatting or deadlifting.
For example of all those, check out my posts in the following threads:
And thanks for the clarification on the lifting When I grow up, I want to be just like that girl!
^ Those links are su-weet. I actually do the mobility warm up from Assess and Correct that’s for soccer players. But now I realize I should incorporate some of the exercises for lifers. Duh!
great to see you at it Masch, leg wrapped and all. thanks to the fellas for the contributions here. i’ve yet to make the time to work on my stupid hip issues. i better make time to check out those links!
glad you are healing up woman and hitting it hard again.
Actually, squatting to parallel in the federation I compete in is not good enough. The hip crease must descend below the tops of the knees. But like Maschy said, she’s not looking to powerlift. And it’s all about individual goals.
So great to see you training hard again after your injury, Masch! Those squats look really good, I’m sure the small loss of back arch will be an easy fix, especially as your hammie gets even stronger.
Glad to see things are healing up for you Masch! I’ve been doing your glute firing exercises and it’s been surprising how much disconnect I actually had. Especially since I gave them a try just for fun =D
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
[quote]Hot Tamale wrote:
Oh, one other thing…I also have problems with my mobility when squatting, and I don’t know if this is a cardinal sin, but I do have to have something under my heels when I squat… I started this habit when I first started lifting. I had a workout partner who watched my squatting form, and he just put a piece of wood under my heels to fix that problem. I never thought to do anything different, and have done it that way ever since. Can PB, Masch, or anyone else share some info on mobility warm-ups with me please? Thanks!
[/quote]
Cardinal sin… hell no, I squat in Olympic shoes. Gives me a good inch of the ground in the back. I never liked squatting with flat soles, I guess it is because I’m used to squatting Olympic-style. It’s cool b/c it will force you to hit the quads harder.
Anyways, for lower body mobility warm-ups, these are the areas I go over after foam rolling the IT band, quads, and adductors (important!):
Hip internal rotation
Psoas strengthening
Adductor mobilization
Hamstring flexibility/mobilization
Ankle mobility
Stretch hip flexors/rectus femoris
I do other stuff, but these ^ are things I must do before squatting or deadlifting.
For example of all those, check out my posts in the following threads:
After reading this and to give something different a try I put 5 lbs plates under each heel (gave me almost an inch I’d say) to see if I could hit the quads a bit more but I found I felt it more in my glutes and I found it easier. But it also felt a bit weird/uncomfortable in the hole when my hamstrings were hitting my calves. I usually do all my lifting in socks. I’m going to try it again with more weight and adjust my stance a little. (Also I was doing front squats)
As for going below parallel, I have always found that not going atg was hard on my knees. I have had knee issues in the past however. I was under the general impression that partial squats was hard on the knees. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
I have thoughts, DebraD. I have always squatted below parallel and have never had a knee problem. Most well-read trainers agree that partial squats are actually harder on the knees (vastus medialus?)than going full range of motion. So I must admit that I cringed a bit when I read PB Andy’s advice to not squat as deep. I would always advise cutting weight and keeping depth rather than the other way around.
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
I have thoughts, DebraD. I have always squatted below parallel and have never had a knee problem. Most well-read trainers agree that partial squats are actually harder on the knees (vastus medialus?)than going full range of motion. So I must admit that I cringed a bit when I read PB Andy’s advice to not squat as deep. I would always advise cutting weight and keeping depth rather than the other way around.[/quote]
While quarter squats and partial squats can have their in a training program, it does cause extra stress to the knees because they fail to fully stretch the hamstrings. This basically leads to instability of the knee joints because the shearing force on the knees is not balanced by the hamstrings.
And like I said, I squat ass to grass because I can. What I was saying to Masch is that she should learn to squat progressively lower as her hip mobility comes around. I wasn’t saying that she should always squat at parallel, or above, etc. I am a big believer in deep ass squats for awesome leg growth.
[quote]debraD wrote:
Glad to see things are healing up for you Masch! I’ve been doing your glute firing exercises and it’s been surprising how much disconnect I actually had. Especially since I gave them a try just for fun =D
[quote]PB Andy wrote:
[quote]Hot Tamale wrote:
Oh, one other thing…I also have problems with my mobility when squatting, and I don’t know if this is a cardinal sin, but I do have to have something under my heels when I squat… I started this habit when I first started lifting. I had a workout partner who watched my squatting form, and he just put a piece of wood under my heels to fix that problem. I never thought to do anything different, and have done it that way ever since. Can PB, Masch, or anyone else share some info on mobility warm-ups with me please? Thanks!
[/quote]
Cardinal sin… hell no, I squat in Olympic shoes. Gives me a good inch of the ground in the back. I never liked squatting with flat soles, I guess it is because I’m used to squatting Olympic-style. It’s cool b/c it will force you to hit the quads harder.
Anyways, for lower body mobility warm-ups, these are the areas I go over after foam rolling the IT band, quads, and adductors (important!):
Hip internal rotation
Psoas strengthening
Adductor mobilization
Hamstring flexibility/mobilization
Ankle mobility
Stretch hip flexors/rectus femoris
I do other stuff, but these ^ are things I must do before squatting or deadlifting.
For example of all those, check out my posts in the following threads:
After reading this and to give something different a try I put 5 lbs plates under each heel (gave me almost an inch I’d say) to see if I could hit the quads a bit more but I found I felt it more in my glutes and I found it easier. But it also felt a bit weird/uncomfortable in the hole when my hamstrings were hitting my calves. I usually do all my lifting in socks. I’m going to try it again with more weight and adjust my stance a little. (Also I was doing front squats)[/quote]
I noticed more glute activation in heels-elevated squats too, but I definitely feel it in my quads. Especially for front squats. In back squats, I go just outside shoulder width. In front squats, I go shoulder width.
How I squat: The thing I like about this is I squat really low and my lower back still stays tight. I guess this mobility stuff is working after all.
