Tried Squats now my hip aches

OrdinaryDude300

I am new to this gym. Gf has been going for just over 6 months. She hates my home gym because it only has upper body related setup. I have used it for 2 decades lol. So I have never done much lower body exercise with weights before. All upper but I did run and play a lot of sports. I started at her gym cause I noticed she was making noticable changes and she been asking me to come out. Second week she insisted I try Squats. We both agree that I got much more upper body strength and should get my lower half to a stronger level. Then I started using the same weight as her after she starts me with the bar only and explained the technique. Appearently I was not bad with technique. Two sets of 10 reps with 95lbs but then could only manage 8 reps on the third (hey my first time at it). My upper hamstrings started tightening right up. I passed on the 4 and 5 sets. That night my right hip started aching. Woke me up from my sleep.
3 days later my hip is better but still aches somewhat. My hamstring tightness just recovering too. I went below parallel as told. Maybe a messed up my hip. I am over 50 years old so maybe I over did it for the first time experience. She is only 40 and been doing for 6 months so she is all gun ho on these. Whats going on at the hip area when you go that low? I wonder if I pulled something out of place or maybe just muscles used in a way never before. ? She wants me to try again after my hip is pain free. I tried the leg press and lunges with her a few days earlier and did not feel pain. I was not that stable at lunges though.

Drewlssix

Possible to much weight. And 10x5 is pretty ambitious for someone who has not developed strength in the movement. I wouldn't be surprised you were very sore.

As for form you should post a video. There are lots of folks here who can offer refinements. Even with in the range of "good" form there is room to adjust for your own anatomy.

jemhh

Sounds like you overdid it. If you are interested in continuing to squat, I would get on a beginner's program that has you start at a low weight and work up over time (by time I mean several weeks, not 30 minutes.)

JustMissTracy

I'd suggest starting without the weightbar......your body isn't accustomed to squats, let alone squats + 95lbs! May I also suggest next time you're at the gym, talk to the person at the front desk about getting a one on one session, so they can show you/teach you/guide you, the proper way for success! Good luck!

yusaku02

If you're an ordinary dude it sounds like the volume was more of an issue than the weight. Your profile says 54 year old female, I'm guessing that's not accurate. 95lbs is fine for an (youngish average male) beginner learning form. 5x10 is... not as fine... I'd recommend finding a novice lifting program (stronglifts 5x5 is pretty good).

nordlead2005

Sounds like you lifted too much for what you are used to.

Going from 45lb (bar) to a working set of 95lb is also a big jump and should have had a few warm-up reps in between (say a few reps at 65lb, then a few more at 85lb). I don't warm up and then double my weight for any exercise.

If you want to squat, then I would say start with the bar (or even less) and add 5lb every session and squat 3x/week. You'll be up to 95lb in less than 4 weeks. Also, 5 sets of 10 is a lot for a beginner. I would either go with a more conventional 3 sets of 10 (or 8 even) or 5 sets of 5.

Getting form checked by someone besides your GF is also a good idea.

Mayor_West

What kind of pain are you experiencing? Is it soreness in the muscle, which is common for people new to lifting (google DOMS) or is it more acute in the hip joint? Ultimately, you'll probably need to get checked out by a medical professional to get a proper diagnosis for your injury.

Squats are and incredibly effective lower body exercise, but it takes a lot of time to master proper technique. It took me years to be able to refine and adjust my technique in order to be able to squat heavy weight with little to no pain, so realize that learning this is going to take time.

ninerbuff

You overdid it. More than likely, lacking any lower body strength, stability and flexibility didn't help either. Rest up, reassess when your pain level is down and start over again with just the bar nailing the form. And get a certified pro, to check form. Nothing against your girlfriend, but there are many subtleties that regulars miss when assessing correct form to squats.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

OrdinaryDude300

Crap I screwed up on my profile lol. No I am s 54 male. Can't sem to change my mistake.

The pain is mostly on the back side at the top where the ball and socket is. Then it goes over my thigh below the groin area. Now painfulful to lift my leg to put on pants. Better each day though.

To much too fast is probably right. Guess because i could leg press slighly more then her so we thought i could handle it. Do i need to go that low? Could something of rotated too much? What about sticking to just the leg press and lunges.

adamnn

Leg press and squat are completely different man.

I can leg press around 850 for reps, but my squat is tapping out at 275 for 5 reps.

Deep squats (*kitten* to grass) will put a little more strain on your hips especially so with more added weight. I would recommend getting form down before jumping weight, then slowly increase every time you squat since your mobility is sort of constricted I'm assuming.

Also... Don't skip out on the warm up and stretch.

I whoosh suggest against shying away from squats simply because the benefit of the compound lift is amazing. It also targets a lot of secondary muscles that lunges and leg press dont.

Keep it up, and good luck!

Sam_I_Am77

ninerbuff wrote: »

You overdid it. More than likely, lacking any lower body strength, stability and flexibility didn't help either. Rest up, reassess when your pain level is down and start over again with just the bar nailing the form. And get a certified pro, to check form. Nothing against your girlfriend, but there are many subtleties that regulars miss when assessing correct form to squats.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Nice, he said exactly what I thought after reading the post. Make sure to get a little bit of a warm-up in before you train, get your body moving right and ready to train. Your hip flexors play a huge part on the eccentric portion of the squat, so you need good mobility to squat correctly. Watch your loading too, probably did go too fast.

rhtexasgal

I concur with getting some consultation on proper form. I thought I had proper form for squats but I was always sore, beyond what would be normal. Turns out, I had to adjust my butt back a mere 2 inches! My trainer saw that right away. After that, whenever I was sore, it was in the right places

nickynoneck83

Over did it, stretch, stretch, stretch.

OrdinaryDude300

I did a bit more damage then I thought. Doc said I stressed a old injury. It reminded of something I did to my hip 15 years earlier. I went to physio which confirmed I had weak hip flexors and VMO. Hamstrings a tad weak. My outer quad pretty descent. I had a very tight IT band too and knee tracking problems. My flexibility was not poor but needed improvement. Said I had a 30 year old very strong upper upper body but a lower body certainly showing its age and lack of training. Certainly the results of my bad exercise focused habits.
I started building up to barbell squats with gobblet squats. I like these. Thought I could ease into the back squats again. Started with the bar and just concentrating on forum. I built up to 95 pounds 5 x 5 with said good form. The GF is doing 135 smoothly for 4 x8 reps now. I figured it was safe to try with weight. I notice my knees start to fade inward with this weight at the first rep. Obviously means a touch too much for me still. What muscles are not strong enough when your knees start to go inward on a heavier squat? I am still stronger at leg extensions and leg press then she is but not on lunges or the squat.

It tried front squats just the one time. Seems impossible for me to get the bar to rest on my chest. Its like my biceps get in the way. I got big but not huge arms (16") but I have seen men with bigger arms then me able to do this. I guess I don't keep a straight enough back. Not sure what the reason is I can't do this one well.

Sued0nim

OrdinaryDude300 wrote: »

I did a bit more damage then I thought. Doc said I stressed a old injury. It reminded of something I did to my hip 15 years earlier. I went to physio which confirmed I had weak hip flexors and VMO. Hamstrings a tad weak. My outer quad pretty descent. I had a very tight IT band too and knee tracking problems. My flexibility was not poor but needed improvement. Said I had a 30 year old very strong upper upper body but a lower body certainly showing its age and lack of training. Certainly the results of my bad exercise focused habits.
I started building up to barbell squats with gobblet squats. I like these. Thought I could ease into the back squats again. Started with the bar and just concentrating on forum. I built up to 95 pounds 5 x 5 with said good form. The GF is doing 135 smoothly for 4 x8 reps now. I figured it was safe to try with weight. I notice my knees start to fade inward with this weight at the first rep. Obviously means a touch too much for me still. What muscles are not strong enough when your knees start to go inward on a heavier squat? I am still stronger at leg extensions and leg press then she is but not on lunges or the squat.

It tried front squats just the one time. Seems impossible for me to get the bar to rest on my chest. Its like my biceps get in the way. I got big but not huge arms (16") but I have seen men with bigger arms then me able to do this. I guess I don't keep a straight enough back. Not sure what the reason is I can't do this one well.

Sounds like you've got the right process going ...at least right up until that point where you start getting competitive with your girlfriend

Stop leaping 40lb and reps ...work up to it concentrating on form

singingflutelady

If your knees collapse inwards it could be your glutes, hips, hamstrings or ankles. In my experience glute strengthening exercises and ankle mobility exercises (if ankle mobility is an issue- do you tend to put your weight on your toes or fall forward?) It is a pretty common form error but it can lead to knee and it band issues.

Chieflrg

Not uncommon for men our age to have hip soreness especially if you have taken a break from lifting, have arthrits, tall, or have been inactive in general.
As others have stated warm up, check ego and start with only bar and slowly add weight while using a slow progressive proven beginner program while adjusting your form from video of your sets.
With me being tall and muscular but dealing with hip dislocations, I hold my feet a little more narrow with feet pointed out a touch more than most. Everyone is different body types and limb lengths so you squat will look different than somebody with a different body, but essentially most of the mechanics are the same and will need tweaking.

Packerjohn

I would suggest using goblet squats to grove the squat pattern then work to a loaded bar if you have enough shoulder mobility.

http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/leg-exercises/videos/goblet-squat

DavPul

Next time don't work out for 20 years without training legs

auddii

jemhh wrote: »

Sounds like you overdid it. If you are interested in continuing to squat, I would get on a beginner's program that has you start at a low weight and work up over time (by time I mean several weeks, not 30 minutes.)

This. Adding 50lbs at once is probably not the best idea.

jofjltncb6

nickynoneck83 wrote: »

Over did it, stretch, stretch, stretch rest, rest, rest.

And then try again with less weight.

And never skip leg day.