A word of warning about squats.

Dynamis600

So I am new here and see all this stuff about squats, new to the whole idea about weights too. So I tried the squats well as far as my creaky knees would let me until it hurt and then found I had some back pain afterwards. So checked it out on the net and found that I have poor core strength. So now I have to work on core strength and flexibility before doing squats. Just thought I would share in case like me you carried away by the squats enthusiasm and end up hurting yourself.

ShannonMpls

I thought this was going to be more like:

Caution, they will make your *kitten* look awesome.



(just kidding, good form is obviously important and core strength stabilizes your back to help prevent injury)

Dynamis600

I thought this was going to be more like:

Caution, they will make your *kitten* look awesome.



(just kidding, good form is obviously important and core strength stabilizes your back to help prevent injury)

LOL, I was a bit miffed when I realised I had to do other stuff before doing squats, I was looking forward to losing a couple of inches off my butt. It's gonna happen just it'll take longer than I thought in the meantime I can work on awesome biceps.

whierd

It is very likely that your squat form was off and you were using too much weight for your experience level. Squatting, with proper form, actually helps improve your core strength.

I suggest going to Youtube and searching for So You Think You Can Squat, a great multi-part video teaching proper form.

LoraF83

When you say that you started doing squats, what exactly do you mean by that? How much weight were you using? Did you research form first? How many sets/reps did you do?

And when you say that you have pain in your back - is it actual pain or are you sore?

MzManiak

It is very likely that your squat form was off and you were using too much weight for your experience level. Squatting, with proper form, actually helps improve your core strength.

I suggest going to Youtube and searching for So You Think You Can Squat, a great multi-part video teaching proper form.

I was thinking the same about form. More than likely weren't keeping your back straight and were trying to use it to help you get back up. Always better to do well rounded workouts though, instead of concentrating only in one area. You'll get there!

ShannonMpls

I thought this was going to be more like:

Caution, they will make your *kitten* look awesome.



(just kidding, good form is obviously important and core strength stabilizes your back to help prevent injury)

LOL, I was a bit miffed when I realised I had to do other stuff before doing squats, I was looking forward to losing a couple of inches off my butt. It's gonna happen just it'll take longer than I thought in the meantime I can work on awesome biceps.

Truthfully, you should be able to squat now and it will help build your core strength. What kind of squats were you doing? When I first started strength training (weighing 130 pounds more than I do now, very weak, couldn't hold a plank for 10 seconds) I did squats. They started off as physioball wall squats:

[img]Then I progressed to body weight squats. Then I added a plate or dumbbells. Then I moved to the rack, which is where I have stayed Anyway, my point is hat you need to progress into heavy weighted squats, but modifications now will help strengthen your core and perfect your form for the heavy stuff later.[/img]

Dynamis600

It is very likely that your squat form was off and you were using too much weight for your experience level. Squatting, with proper form, actually helps improve your core strength.

I suggest going to Youtube and searching for So You Think You Can Squat, a great multi-part video teaching proper form.

Thank you for that I will check it out.

byustrongman

Squatting is one of the best core- strengtheners there is. So the answer is do more, but with good form and an appropriate weight for your strength level.

Dynamis600

When you say that you started doing squats, what exactly do you mean by that? How much weight were you using? Did you research form first? How many sets/reps did you do?

And when you say that you have pain in your back - is it actual pain or are you sore?

I did research form and made sure I didn't let my knees go past my toes and also concentrated on keeping my back straight. I did 3 sets of 12 with only an 8kg bar as I wanted to start of slow and I figured that with my excess weight already it would be enough.

I suppose it is more soreness which I still have 3 days later.

celtbell3

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

bostongrl13

Agreed, squats are one of the best core strengthening exercises you can do.

Also, strengthening your lower back and hamstrings will affect your squats. Back hyper-extensions, supermans, good mornings, and straight leg dead-lifts have improved my squat significantly. In my experience, my lower back is the first part of my body to tire out under the weight.

heybales

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

Most would quickly get to the point that it turns in to so many reps to even be a load on your body, but then it's cardio, not lifting focus.

And you can't learn good lifting squat form without a bar and enough weight to learn to balance properly, well, usually can't.

Yogi_Carl

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

Yes - and progressing to Pistol Squats. Not against lifters or weights, just personally hooked on bodyweight exercising.

Sabine_Stroehm

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

Yes - and progressing to Pistol Squats. Not against lifters or weights, just personally hooked on bodyweight exercising.

Pistol squats are brutal!

I tend to do some days of "functional" body weight exercises, and some days of compound lifts with weights.
Push ups and pistol squats are the hardest.

ImtheOnethatsCool

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

Yes, but your body will adapt to these fairly quickly, and you'll need to either add weight or move on to more challenging variations of body weight squats

RunnerElizabeth

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

Yes - and progressing to Pistol Squats. Not against lifters or weights, just personally hooked on bodyweight exercising.

Me too! I also don't have anything against lifting. I do body weight strength training because it fits into my schedule much easier than going to the gym. Also it's very fun!

Dynamis600

Thanks for your help.

Does it matter that I can't actually get past about 45degrees because my knees hurt?
When I did them again I did them with a broom handle instead of a weight as I thought I had overdone it.

oh and to make it clear I did it as part of a routine doing push ups off the wall, and back extensions as well as side leg lifts and bicep curls with 3kg weights.

missdibs1

you should def drop the weight unless you are doing low rep max load (and as a newbie, it obviously is a bad idea to do that)

Practice good form with your broom handle

sit back in your heels and tummy in back straight use a mirror

da_bears10089

i would look into stronglifts 5x5 in my opinion. 5 sets of 5 reps. start off with the broom handle if you want to get form down then move onto an empty bar, and progress from there. You would be amazed at how that program increases core strength.

Dynamis600

Ok have watched the first part of "so you think you can squat" and will work on form with the broom handle.

Will look into stronglifts 5x5 tomorrow and buy a full length mirror.

Time to sleep it's 10:30pm here.

Thanks all for your help.

3foldchord

I had to squat with very low weight for a couple weeks, by back muscle/form was bad due to mild scoliosis, so it took a while for my back muscles to align themselves, or whatever.

Good form is super important. My knees actually creak LESS now, from doing squats. It's been good for them, I think.

contingencyplan

If your core strength is preventing you from properly squatting with good form, I recommend doing goblet squats for the time being while up against a wall.

LordMarius

I thought this was going to be more like:

Caution, they will make your *kitten* look awesome.



(just kidding, good form is obviously important and core strength stabilizes your back to help prevent injury)

lol...One of the many awesome "side-effects" of squats!!

I found when beginning to learn how to properly execute a squat in my Crossfit class, placing a large medicine ball or anything that stands as high as the backs of your knees behind you, then keep the chest high, feet FLAT on the ground, looking forward...squat so that your behind just touches the ball and come back up...this really helped in learning how to do them!

jocruzn14

Thanks for the heads-up, I'm having the same problem, definitely weak in the core area so I put alot of pressure on my knees, I'll have to research form.

ryry_

As others have said, compound exercises are awesome, but the risk of injury if the excercises are not performed CORRECTLY is high. It's important to nail down form, and work on any flexibility issues as well.

While you learn squats, there are several other exercises you can incorporate that will give your butt a great workout

- Lunges
-Split Squats
-Bulgarian Split Squats (back leg anchored on a bench)
-Leg Press (feet high on the platform, focus on pressing through your heels)
-Smith Machine Squat (I might be stoned for this one. But I personally believe it is safe, form is important. Many pro athletes perform smith squats in addtion to traditional).

ETA: You said you were hoping to lose inches in your butt. You need to be in a calorie deficit and just lose weight and that will happen. The workout is going to give it that lift and firmness as you lose weight so like what you see when you get to your goal.

mikejholmes

Honestly, Starting Strength will give you WAY more information about correct form than StrongLifts will. I'd go find the book. I bought mine off amazon.ca.

Also, I read somewhere (can't remember where) Rippetoe talking about training a woman who couldn't do a bodyweight squat, so he had her started on 55lbs deadlifts to get her strength up before she could squat.

And yes, squatting below parallel is good for the knees. If it's just a flexibility issue, keep going!

And to the person addicted to bodyweight squats -- how do you make progress? Ok, pistol squats, but surely you get to a point where you can do 50 of those, and then, as someone said, it becomes cardio. The nice thing about a barbell is that it's practically infinitely scalable. You can start with a broom handle or a piece of PVC pipe, and keep adding just a little bit every workout until 2 years later, you can squat with a 315lb barbell on your back. Not trying to criticize, I'm genuinely curious -- where do you go after pistol squats?

cals83

Do you have anything that you can hold on to for balance? Squats hurt my knees too. At the gym, the instructor gave me a ball to lean against the wall and just roll down the ball but it seemed to put even more pressure on my knees. I took a TRX class and found that if you have something to hold on to, you can lean back more and it reduces the pressure on your knees.

Just so you can see what I mean here is a pic of a squat with TRX straps:



When I do squats with those, I feel it in my muscles before my joints.

dbmata

Thanks for your help.

Does it matter that I can't actually get past about 45degrees because my knees hurt?
When I did them again I did them with a broom handle instead of a weight as I thought I had overdone it.

oh and to make it clear I did it as part of a routine doing push ups off the wall, and back extensions as well as side leg lifts and bicep curls with 3kg weights.

Yeah it matters, it means you have horrid form.

Do look for some squatting videos from mark rippetoe, and possibly invest in the book starting strength... before you hurt something.

booherd

I thought this was going to be more like:

Caution, they will make your *kitten* look awesome.



(just kidding, good form is obviously important and core strength stabilizes your back to help prevent injury)

lol...One of the many awesome "side-effects" of squats!!

I found when beginning to learn how to properly execute a squat in my Crossfit class, placing a large medicine ball or anything that stands as high as the backs of your knees behind you, then keep the chest high, feet FLAT on the ground, looking forward...squat so that your behind just touches the ball and come back up...this really helped in learning how to do them!

Love this suggestion about achieving optimum form! Squats are definitely worth the effort it takes to learn to do them right. I went from having a flat no-butt to having some nice rounding of the ba-donk-a-donk after doing squats in Body Pump class.

doowop713

Does anyone just do the squats without weights?

Me! lol unless I feel extra tough. Then it is no weights + a few sets of goblet squats with a kettlebell!