Squats...

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alisonmarie85
alisonmarie85 Posts: 55 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I struggle with squats big time, and I know how important they are for exercise routines (especially for little bums like me :neutral_face: )

I lean forward as I squat down which I know is a big no no. I started using the assisted bar to hopefully keep my back upright, but still somehow find my self leaning forward!

Secondly, I have trouble reaching parallel with my legs. And feel it BIG time in my knees, which I know isn't good. I sit my butt back but still, feel it in my knees.

Any suggestions would be helpful as I NEED to build my derriere!
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  • goddessofawesome
    goddessofawesome Posts: 563 Member
    edited November 2014
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    While they are good contrary to popular belief squats aren't the end all be all of exercises to build your posterior. Lunges are great -- walking lunges are great, lunges with the back foot on the bench. Curtsey squats are good, step-ups, donkey kicks, bridges, cable kicks(probably not the right term but you attach the cuff to your ankle and lift your leg up behind you), the abductor machine works the outside of your bum (you can also do this with the cable. Attach the ankle attachment and lift leg out) . . . there's a lot of different exercises that you can do that will work the bum. You don't "have" to do squats. A good website that I use is exrx.net. You can select a body part and not only does it give you the different exercises and equipment to use for it but it also has a clip of how to do it.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited November 2014
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    This is a really good video to help with squat form. It's a bit long but it's worth the watch.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs_Ej32IYgo
  • Fit_Content
    Fit_Content Posts: 29 Member
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    bump
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
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    Start with just bodyweight squats or the bar until you get your form/flexibility down and increase weight from there. You don't want to injure yourself.
  • alisonmarie85
    alisonmarie85 Posts: 55 Member
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    @not_satisfied I feel it in my knees and quads mostly. I have in the past tried looking up at the ceiling and that helps a bit. Body weight squats I find even worse @JenAndSome for leaning forward. I guess I could hold a broom or something until I get my form down.

    I've also tried squatting TOWARDS a wall as dumb as that sounds... therefore if I lean forward my head would hit the wall LOL.
  • ThePhoenixIsRising
    ThePhoenixIsRising Posts: 781 Member
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    alisonmarie85 wrote: »
    @not_satisfied I feel it in my knees and quads mostly. I have in the past tried looking up at the ceiling and that helps a bit. Body weight squats I find even worse @JenAndSome for leaning forward. I guess I could hold a broom or something until I get my form down.

    I've also tried squatting TOWARDS a wall as dumb as that sounds... therefore if I lean forward my head would hit the wall LOL.

    I have this same problem, and have started doing front squats. They keep you upright and i feel them more in The but and hams.

  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    edited November 2014
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    Try chair squats. You could do them using a broom handle or dumbbells if you want, too.

    http://healthyliving.azcentral.com/squat-vs-chair-squat-8923.html
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
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    video for form check?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    depending on the squat form you are doing leaning forward could be completely correct. Check out Youtube, you may be doing a low bar squat, which has you lean much more forward than high bar, and is the correct way to do it.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
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    I like using the TRX for squats--having the straps makes it feel 'safe' to keep an more upright posture and get my butt low without losing my balance.
  • Keladelphia
    Keladelphia Posts: 820 Member
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    alisonmarie85 wrote: »
    @not_satisfied I feel it in my knees and quads mostly. I have in the past tried looking up at the ceiling and that helps a bit. Body weight squats I find even worse @JenAndSome for leaning forward. I guess I could hold a broom or something until I get my form down.

    I've also tried squatting TOWARDS a wall as dumb as that sounds... therefore if I lean forward my head would hit the wall LOL.

    Squatting towards a wall actually isn't dumb at all! Wall Squats have definitely helped my form with consistent practice over time.

    http://crossfit915.com/2014/02/benefits-of-the-wall-squat/

  • ThePhoenixIsRising
    ThePhoenixIsRising Posts: 781 Member
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    yopeeps025 wrote: »
    video for form check?

    It sounds like she is pushing through the binge at the knees too early and never really activating the hams and but to hinge at the hips.

    I'm willing to bet she had a back injury in the past that made her favor her quads so as not to further injure herself, and she never learned to deactivate her posterior chain.

    Op you may want to look up body weight activation exercises. These need to be done with no weight because till you learn to move again your quads will always take over when a heavy load is involved.
  • Nachise
    Nachise Posts: 395 Member
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    The easiest way to keep from leaning forward is to focus your gaze at a point straight ahead. Push your derriere back and keep looking ahead. If you are not going down as far as you would like, work with what you have. Use a chair initially and touch your butt to the chair but do not sit. Start with three sets of 15, and concentrate on form. Make sure you are also doing core work, because you'll need that core to maintain form once you incorporate weight.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    erickirb wrote: »
    depending on the squat form you are doing leaning forward could be completely correct. Check out Youtube, you may be doing a low bar squat, which has you lean much more forward than high bar, and is the correct way to do it.

    Very much this.

    If you fast forward to the 11 minute mark on the video I posted above, you'll see side shots of both high bar and low bar so you can see the difference in the lean.

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    Do some front squats...you won't lean forward because if you do, you're going to crash.

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    alisonmarie85 wrote: »
    I struggle with squats big time, and I know how important they are for exercise routines (especially for little bums like me :neutral_face: )

    I lean forward as I squat down which I know is a big no no. I started using the assisted bar to hopefully keep my back upright, but still somehow find my self leaning forward!

    Secondly, I have trouble reaching parallel with my legs. And feel it BIG time in my knees, which I know isn't good. I sit my butt back but still, feel it in my knees.

    Any suggestions would be helpful as I NEED to build my derriere!

    Video of front, side and rear.
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    edited November 2014
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    JenAndSome wrote: »
    Start with just bodyweight squats or the bar until you get your form/flexibility down and increase weight from there. You don't want to injure yourself.

    Was going to say the same thing - also, is it possible you're using too much weight and your body is automatically trying to correct for this? Further, as one person said you could be doing a different kind of squat than other people are . . . as long as your back isn't correcting to bear the weight there might be little to no harm in this. If you're hinging from waist with the back bend, again little to no harm as long as you aren't curving your spine.

    I started with body weight and now my highest is about 130lbs on top of body weight. We use our squat muscles all the time, but when it comes time to actually do concentrate and just squat it seems like the hardest thing in the whole world lol.

    Good luck!

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