Squat problems... darn hips

Charlenelindsay5

So I'm about to begin week 4 of stronglifts.

I got up to 65 lbs on squats and I've just pulled them back to 60 lbs. I'm not sure that I shouldn't pull back further? My right knee caves in when I add weight to the bar. I've gone slowly, in front of mirrors, etc to try to figure it out. I've been reading a bunch and I think I've narrowed it down to hip mobility issues?

Will consistently stretching this out eventually help? I don't quite know what to do about this and have actually thought of going back to physio to try and get to the bottom of it so I can fix it.

I'm really enjoying the program and have gotten over most of my anxiety of going into the weight room at my gym. My left shoulder is acting up as well, but that's been an issue I've been dealing with for years and am thinking weights might help with. So far it hasn't been a problem with any of the moves, just a little more tender than the right.

Fittreelol

If your knee is only caving in when you add weight and doesn't during a bw squat it would point to a strength or neuro-muscular issue. For most people the issue would be with the glute max since it's the largest external rotator of the hip. I would try some glute activation drills as part of your warm-up and see if that helps the issue.

canadianlbs

i'm feeling like it's hard to know what direction to take in a response, because even 'hip mobility' could mean so many different things in my mind. the hip joint's natural range of motion is pretty close to 360 degrees, so just saying it's 'restricted' doesn't help with knowing which part of the range it's restricted in.

i have had all the problems with squat form though, so i'll throw in that one of the biggest bang-for-buck things i've tried was the therapy band round the knees. wearing it for actual squats was the start of that revelation, but actually i think i got the most mileage out of just wearing it around the house. that, and doing 'side walks' against the resistance from it. it's been huge for activating all the different muscles that kind of pull the head of my femur properly into the socket and hold it there.

and my second thing has been doing the quadruped hip-circle drill, 10 reps in each direction per leg before i get started lifting. i hate doing it, because my left hip still has something that snaps EVERY TIME. but i do it, because when i started i was so full of snap-crackle-pop and impingments and twinges and things getting pinched it was a ridiculous joke. i still do have certain things, but i think at least 80% of the more trivial stuff is now gone.

canadianlbs

will also add that if you have access to physio then i would say YESsssss DO IT. for the shoulder as well as the hip.

Charlenelindsay5

Thanks ladies! I used to go to physio but haven't in years. It's covered by work... well, 9 or 10 sessions per year. You're right, no need to try to self diagnose when I have professionals that can do it for me. I'm going to call them this week

canadianlbs

this really is worth it, if there's an impingement or an imbalance or an alignment issue. because if it's any of those, then my experience so far has always been: you're going to end up in their office in the end anyway.

might as well do it early while there's less to correct and way less to recover from.