Help with Squats with Bar

Stage14

I had to start with a wider stance and am working my way to shoulder width. I haven't been increasing weight until
I can get parallel at least with good form and close to shoulder width apart on my feet. So far it's working really well. Be it mental or physical, I progress closer to it with each workout.

tjsoccermom

So last night I tried high bar, I got a little lower but still not where I need to be. However, I did find the hack squat machine and thought that might be a good way to work my way up to better squats. Any thoughts?

juliewatkin

So last night I tried high bar, I got a little lower but still not where I need to be. However, I did find the hack squat machine and thought that might be a good way to work my way up to better squats. Any thoughts?

No machine will replicate the movement of a free weight squat. The movement tracks differently and normal squats requirs the use of a ton of stabilizer muscles.

I would just keep hammering away at it. Even if you don't want to use the bar, use a broom stick to work on positioning.

Huffdogg

Yeah I'd ditch everything but just the bar and work on getting your depth dialed in. Try propping your heels up on a 5 lb plate and see if that makes it easier to go deeper. If it does, then you might benefit from some more mobility work.