I changed my squat style to high bar and reset the weight but I have annoyingly tight hip flexors so when I break parallel my lower back starts moaning (pressure on the spine). At the moment I open the hip with this
and it has done some good stuff but when I approach my bodyweight I still get lower back pain if I break parallel. This is very annoying since I have no feel for parallel and I’m afraid that I have been squatting above parallel which is no good.
So, any tips how to obtain that high bar flexibility/mobility?
Try squatting down and putting a bar loaded with 40kg or so on top of your thighs near the vmo. Use the weight as a counter balance so that you can sit down in a nice deep squat to stretch the hips. You can also use the weight to push your knees forward and get a good stretch in the ankles. Sit down there until everything feels loose, pry around a bit, whatever. Take the weight off and try to get comfortable in the bottom position like that also. When that feels alright, put the empty bar on your back and do some squats to groove the pattern and further loosen up the hips. Every few reps pause in the bottom and hang out for a while.
Basically spend as much time in the bottom position as you can, even throughout the day if need be. Lunge type stretches can also be useful to stretch the hips out a bit.
be careful with too aggressive stretching of the hip flexors. when i get stuck into those i develop some combo of anterior femoral glide and / or some kind of inflammation of the flexors.
i like to hold onto one of the sides of the powerrack and descend into a squat so i can watch myself side on in a mirror. that way i can see when my back starts to round and then learn to feel it. holding the lumbar arch through the range of motion can be neuromuscular more than anything else. best stretch to fix up whatever is tight for squatting is squatting.
Also check your stance. The closer my feet are together (within reason) the deeper I can squat. If you are going from low bar to high bar you are probably to wide.
be careful with too aggressive stretching of the hip flexors. when i get stuck into those i develop some combo of anterior femoral glide and / or some kind of inflammation of the flexors.
i like to hold onto one of the sides of the powerrack and descend into a squat so i can watch myself side on in a mirror. that way i can see when my back starts to round and then learn to feel it. holding the lumbar arch through the range of motion can be neuromuscular more than anything else. best stretch to fix up whatever is tight for squatting is squatting.[/quote]
Alexus!! I thought you were dead. Welcome back babe.
OP; I get the same thing, my lower back hurts when I go heavy and below parallel. Im trying a few different things to correct this, but one thing that has helped is using the correct breathing method to help with tightening your core as you squat. Im no expert at this, so i won’t give you instructions, but that might be something you might want to investigate.
be careful with too aggressive stretching of the hip flexors. when i get stuck into those i develop some combo of anterior femoral glide and / or some kind of inflammation of the flexors.
i like to hold onto one of the sides of the powerrack and descend into a squat so i can watch myself side on in a mirror. that way i can see when my back starts to round and then learn to feel it. holding the lumbar arch through the range of motion can be neuromuscular more than anything else. best stretch to fix up whatever is tight for squatting is squatting.[/quote]
Alexus!! I thought you were dead. Welcome back babe.
OP; I get the same thing, my lower back hurts when I go heavy and below parallel. Im trying a few different things to correct this, but one thing that has helped is using the correct breathing method to help with tightening your core as you squat. Im no expert at this, so i won’t give you instructions, but that might be something you might want to investigate.
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I’m seeing a physiotherapist tomorrow who has done a lot of work with olympic lifters. I’ll ask him about this annoying pain and post here if you want. Maybe he’ll suggest something you haven’t tried.
[quote]ape288 wrote:
Try squatting down and putting a bar loaded with 40kg or so on top of your thighs near the vmo. Use the weight as a counter balance so that you can sit down in a nice deep squat to stretch the hips. You can also use the weight to push your knees forward and get a good stretch in the ankles. Sit down there until everything feels loose, pry around a bit, whatever. Take the weight off and try to get comfortable in the bottom position like that also. When that feels alright, put the empty bar on your back and do some squats to groove the pattern and further loosen up the hips. Every few reps pause in the bottom and hang out for a while.
Basically spend as much time in the bottom position as you can, even throughout the day if need be. Lunge type stretches can also be useful to stretch the hips out a bit.[/quote]
Well the results are in. My hammies, hips and ass are tight which is causing the buttwink. I need to stretch and mobilize like there is no tomorrow if I am to squat.
Thanks for the tips, tricks, links and such! You guys are great.
