Squats are SO hard for me :(

armydreamers

Today was day 2 of SL. I'm squatting 50lbs and OMG it's so much harder than I thought it would be. My trainer is having me do box squats for now. I can get down just fine but getting back up is so freakin hard. Is this normal? I'm doing great with the other lifts but the damn squat makes me feel like an old lady and I'm only 36! Help!!

ninenines

I find squats hard too. I believe for me it's a biomechanics thing, I have long legs for my height which just makes things a bit harder. I have to work really hard to make sure I keep good form. The flipside is that deadlifts are comparatively easy for me.

It's great that you have a trainer working with you and making sure you get the right form, box squats are a great place to start. Keep at it!

dcresider

Just like anything, it takes time for your body to get used to an exercise. I still have problems with my flexibility and really need to stretch more.

quiksylver296

I had to modify my stance a bit - wider foot placement - in order to be able to do squats at all. I'm super tight through the hips. I was born with one hip dislocated and I think that has something to do with it. Anyway, maybe some tweaking for form would help @armydreamers .

armydreamers

Since the squats are hard for me, my trainer has me doing box squats. But they seem even harder in a way! Thoughts on that?

ninenines

Box squats are beneficial in training you to use the right muscles and often seem to be a first step in training the right movement patterns. So even though they seem harder now, once you master them it will make full squats easier.

I agree with @quiksylver296 there is a lot of individual variation and it can take a little bit of experimenting to find the right set-up for you.

canadianlbs

i'm in a stage where they're ridiculously stupidly difficult too. idk why, but they are.

i've had phases where they were actually giong just great. those times make the struggle times worth it. and doing the prep work you're doing is a really good thing. moving too fast with squats caused me a lot of setbacks and flailing around.

forget about how hard the real thing will be. just narrow your focus to what you're doing right now. breakthroughs do come and the drills and other small things really pay off when it comes together.

canadianlbs

also, i'll just mention there's absolutely no reason for you to keep adding weight if you're not ready for it. go back to 45lb if that's easier. it's more important to use a weight that lets you 'feel' how good form ought to feel, because if you don't have that it's pretty hard to progress very far.

Deena_Bean

I strongly dislike squats. That's it. I just don't enjoy them at all. They're hard! I've gotten better at them, but it took doing what @canadianlbs said - dropping weight. I dropped down much lower and then started working up again - only this time at snails' pace. I literally won't add even 5 lbs to my lift until I have totally nailed the form at the new weight, I can get through the sets without long rest periods, and each set goes relatively quickly. So basically when the new weight feels pretty 'easy' in comparison, I will add 5. It's slow, but it's been so much better for me. I'm back up to 115 now, and it's starting to get to the comfort level where I can go to 120. I'm not in a hurry, though. So just take your time. Keep it light, move up when you are really comfortable with what you're doing. You will get stronger every time you lift, so eventually you'll be ready to move along. Don't rush it; keep the form on par to avoid injury. Good luck, don't give up

armydreamers

Thanks. I have improved a little bit since I posted this. What I have noticed though, is that I have a much harder time squatting with the olympic barbell. The same weight feels so much harder because it's so damn long. It's like I can't keep it stable. And I think I'm intimidated by it. I squatted with a fixed weight barbell (is that what it's called?) and it was 50 pounds I think and I was fine. But the 45 pound olympic barbell is harder. I can sort of do it but I can't break parallel for sure.

mirrim52

armydreamers wrote: »

Thanks. I have improved a little bit since I posted this. What I have noticed though, is that I have a much harder time squatting with the olympic barbell. The same weight feels so much harder because it's so damn long. It's like I can't keep it stable. And I think I'm intimidated by it. I squatted with a fixed weight barbell (is that what it's called?) and it was 50 pounds I think and I was fine. But the 45 pound olympic barbell is harder. I can sort of do it but I can't break parallel for sure.

Yes, it will be harder. The longer bar means you have to stabilize more. All your accessory muscles need to do more work. Stick with the Olympic bar, and those stabilizers and your core will get stronger than they would with the fixed weight bar.

armydreamers

mirrim52 wrote: »

armydreamers wrote: »

Thanks. I have improved a little bit since I posted this. What I have noticed though, is that I have a much harder time squatting with the olympic barbell. The same weight feels so much harder because it's so damn long. It's like I can't keep it stable. And I think I'm intimidated by it. I squatted with a fixed weight barbell (is that what it's called?) and it was 50 pounds I think and I was fine. But the 45 pound olympic barbell is harder. I can sort of do it but I can't break parallel for sure.

Yes, it will be harder. The longer bar means you have to stabilize more. All your accessory muscles need to do more work. Stick with the Olympic bar, and those stabilizers and your core will get stronger than they would with the fixed weight bar.

That's a great point. I'll stick with the olympic bar.