having a hard time with squats!

fireytiger

Squats have literally ALWAYS been the bane of my existence. I seriously have always struggled with this exercise, any time I do them I'm literally in so much pain and barely able to walk from the soreness for a week. I want to do the stronglifts 5x5 program and went in today to do it, had little trouble completing the other exercises but the squats? I was already sore before leaving the place o ly having done 25 squats total. Other than "doing more squats", does anyone have suggestions for how to make it less... I don't know, miserable? The unbearable soreness always comes from the front of my thighs if that helps.

DavPul

eventually you won't be as sore as when you're starting out, but leg soreness will always be the worst. stretch, foam roll, and staying active the next day or two after squats will help

Sarauk2sf

Are you doing them at the beginning? Are you warming up?

The more you do them, the less DOMs you get.

SunofaBeach14

In addition to the above, do steady state cardio (running, biking, elliptical) the next day. You won't want to, but you'll feel better afterwards.

rileysowner

If the pain is muscle pain, you simply have to work through it for the first while. It will decrease and even go away in many cases.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I don't have much to add. I agree with the others-- warm-up properly, stretch afterward, foam roll, get enough water and protein, and do something active the next day.

But some of it is unavoidable and will get better with time. Now I rarely get DOMS from squats-- only if I change programs or have a really intense workout.

Natmarie73

The way my trainer taught me to do squats was to use your glutes to rise, not your quads. I always found that I could not squat much weight because I was using my quads to rise and he told me to basically push my pelvis forward while squeezing my glutes together so they are doing the majority of the work. This allowed me instantly to almost double the weight I was squatting plus it was a lot less of a struggle and I don't get sore quads any more. Basically the glutes are the primary muscle and the quads are the secondary muscle.

Others may do them differently but this is what I was taught and it works well for me. Check with a trainer or someone at your gym to make sure you are using correct form.

Oh, and stretch stretch stretch

laffek

Put your weight in your heels

mandieme0w

Ive found that stretching before and after really helps me with soreness.

SaintGiff

Squats are a compound movement that will reveal weaknesses. Every person who does them experiences them differently. Some people are more quad dominant and they will really feel squats in their glutes and hamstrings. For others, they feel them more in their quads or lower back. The key is just putting in the reps. Over time the weakest parts will develop faster than the strongest parts and you'll get that balance.

A few other quick ( not so quick because I like words ) thoughts:

There will be a chorus of people jumping on me for saying this, but for as much as form is incredibly important in terms of keeping your chest up, it's ok to play around with foot positioning. Some people squat sumo, others traditional. I am actually somewhere in the middle, because that's where my knees naturally track. The whole key with foot positioning is to get your feet in a place where your knees naturally track out over your toes. If you're not tracking directly over your toes you'll get all kinds of pain from your hips down to your knees that is not natural and not good.

As far as the movement itself goes, be sure that you're not focusing forward as you go down. That puts way too much stress on your quads and lower back. The knees initiate the movement, but then you should really try to sit back into the squat. Focusing on moving back and down. Sometimes people struggle with that because they are afraid of the weight pulling them backwards. It takes some practice with lighter weights to get used to doing properly.

DOMS: Walk. Walk a lot. DOMS is nothing more than a bit of swelling that is caused by stale, oxygen-poor blood and unused glycogen hanging out in the muscle fibres. The more you walk, the more you get fresh blood circulating through the muscles which dramatically cuts down on soreness the next day. Also, drink all the water. The more water you drink the faster you flush the old, stale blood out of your muscles. Foam rollers are ok, but you have to be smart about how you use them. Go any direction you want at first, but always always always finish with firm, long strokes moving toward your heart. The goal, again, is getting unwanted fluids and stale blood out of the muscles. By moving toward your heart you push that oxygen-poor blood back into the main veins and arteries so the capillaries can fill with fresh, oxygen-rich blood and get the whole healing thing going. Also, eat a banana. Or some chocolate. Potassium facilitates the exchange of water from indo-cellular to exo-cellular. Again, getting unwanted fluids out of the muscle.

Hope at least something in there helps.

MaitreyeeMAYHEM

Just go down as far as you can. Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and make sure your back is aligned. I have my group fitness certification through AFAA and that is one thing that I stress about with my zumba and aqua zumba students. alignment matters when it comes to properly doing squats.

SaintGiff

Just go down as far as you can. Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and make sure your back is aligned. I have my group fitness certification through AFAA and that is one thing that I stress about with my zumba and aqua zumba students. alignment matters when it comes to properly doing squats.

NO! Damn it, NO. How does this keep getting repeated? Your knees naturally go past your toes when squatting. It's normal. Your knees are designed to take that. There was actually a study done on the several years ago in an attempt to verify or debunk this ridiculous notion. What they found was that not allowing the knees to travel beyond the toes did decrease force on the knees by like 20% or so, but it actually increased the force on the hips by something like 800%! For the love of god, watch any power lifting competition. Any cross fit competition. Watch and try to spot one person squatting and not allowing their knees to go beyond their toes. You won't find one. Why? Because it is a complete and utter myth with absolutely no basis in medical science whatsoever.

12by311

Squats have literally ALWAYS been the bane of my existence. I seriously have always struggled with this exercise, any time I do them I'm literally in so much pain and barely able to walk from the soreness for a week. I want to do the stronglifts 5x5 program and went in today to do it, had little trouble completing the other exercises but the squats? I was already sore before leaving the place o ly having done 25 squats total. Other than "doing more squats", does anyone have suggestions for how to make it less... I don't know, miserable? The unbearable soreness always comes from the front of my thighs if that helps.

My quads don't really get sore from squats. Not in a major way.

If you are doing full squats, drive your heel and push up from there, engaging your hamstrings and glutes.

I sit in a (I call it) "toddler squat", or I've heard it referred to as an "asian squat" as part of my warm up. I just kinda hang out there for a little while.

Also, someone posted this one day on here and I've been doing it. Very helpful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBHzXF-mVjY

superlilmomma

The most important thing about doing squats is making sure your knee goes with the direction over the ankles if not it stresses the jionts and can be horribly painful even with the first one. Good luck

Momjogger

Squats are a compound movement that will reveal weaknesses. Every person who does them experiences them differently. Some people are more quad dominant and they will really feel squats in their glutes and hamstrings. For others, they feel them more in their quads or lower back. The key is just putting in the reps. Over time the weakest parts will develop faster than the strongest parts and you'll get that balance.

A few other quick ( not so quick because I like words ) thoughts:

There will be a chorus of people jumping on me for saying this, but for as much as form is incredibly important in terms of keeping your chest up, it's ok to play around with foot positioning. Some people squat sumo, others traditional. I am actually somewhere in the middle, because that's where my knees naturally track. The whole key with foot positioning is to get your feet in a place where your knees naturally track out over your toes. If you're not tracking directly over your toes you'll get all kinds of pain from your hips down to your knees that is not natural and not good.

As far as the movement itself goes, be sure that you're not focusing forward as you go down. That puts way too much stress on your quads and lower back. The knees initiate the movement, but then you should really try to sit back into the squat. Focusing on moving back and down. Sometimes people struggle with that because they are afraid of the weight pulling them backwards. It takes some practice with lighter weights to get used to doing properly.

DOMS: Walk. Walk a lot. DOMS is nothing more than a bit of swelling that is caused by stale, oxygen-poor blood and unused glycogen hanging out in the muscle fibres. The more you walk, the more you get fresh blood circulating through the muscles which dramatically cuts down on soreness the next day. Also, drink all the water. The more water you drink the faster you flush the old, stale blood out of your muscles. Foam rollers are ok, but you have to be smart about how you use them. Go any direction you want at first, but always always always finish with firm, long strokes moving toward your heart. The goal, again, is getting unwanted fluids and stale blood out of the muscles. By moving toward your heart you push that oxygen-poor blood back into the main veins and arteries so the capillaries can fill with fresh, oxygen-rich blood and get the whole healing thing going. Also, eat a banana. Or some chocolate. Potassium facilitates the exchange of water from indo-cellular to exo-cellular. Again, getting unwanted fluids out of the muscle.

Hope at least something in there helps.

I agree with all of this. As to foot position, in the exercise classes I take, they say that if you turn your toes out when you squat you work your inner thighs more and I can say that I agree as I feel it. My hips feel better though when my feet are straight, so I tend to do other exercises for inner thighs. Stretching and walking do help recuperation.The longer you sit, when you go to get up - OUCH. Keep it moving on sore days.

Momjogger

Just go down as far as you can. Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and make sure your back is aligned. I have my group fitness certification through AFAA and that is one thing that I stress about with my zumba and aqua zumba students. alignment matters when it comes to properly doing squats.

NO! Damn it, NO. How does this keep getting repeated? Your knees naturally go past your toes when squatting. It's normal. Your knees are designed to take that. There was actually a study done on the several years ago in an attempt to verify or debunk this ridiculous notion. What they found was that not allowing the knees to travel beyond the toes did decrease force on the knees by like 20% or so, but it actually increased the force on the hips by something like 800%! For the love of god, watch any power lifting competition. Any cross fit competition. Watch and try to spot one person squatting and not allowing their knees to go beyond their toes. You won't find one. Why? Because it is a complete and utter myth with absolutely no basis in medical science whatsoever.

I have NEVER heard this before, and I'm old and have taken many exercise classes and watched and worked out to many exercise videos.:bigsmile: Maybe squatting low reps with extremely heavy weights may be different?? (you referenced cross fit and power lifting)

Sarauk2sf

Just go down as far as you can. Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and make sure your back is aligned. I have my group fitness certification through AFAA and that is one thing that I stress about with my zumba and aqua zumba students. alignment matters when it comes to properly doing squats.

NO! Damn it, NO. How does this keep getting repeated? Your knees naturally go past your toes when squatting. It's normal. Your knees are designed to take that. There was actually a study done on the several years ago in an attempt to verify or debunk this ridiculous notion. What they found was that not allowing the knees to travel beyond the toes did decrease force on the knees by like 20% or so, but it actually increased the force on the hips by something like 800%! For the love of god, watch any power lifting competition. Any cross fit competition. Watch and try to spot one person squatting and not allowing their knees to go beyond their toes. You won't find one. Why? Because it is a complete and utter myth with absolutely no basis in medical science whatsoever.

^^yep.

Keep the bar above the middle of the foot - your knees will end up where they end up as long as your form is good.

Sarauk2sf

Just go down as far as you can. Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and make sure your back is aligned. I have my group fitness certification through AFAA and that is one thing that I stress about with my zumba and aqua zumba students. alignment matters when it comes to properly doing squats.

NO! Damn it, NO. How does this keep getting repeated? Your knees naturally go past your toes when squatting. It's normal. Your knees are designed to take that. There was actually a study done on the several years ago in an attempt to verify or debunk this ridiculous notion. What they found was that not allowing the knees to travel beyond the toes did decrease force on the knees by like 20% or so, but it actually increased the force on the hips by something like 800%! For the love of god, watch any power lifting competition. Any cross fit competition. Watch and try to spot one person squatting and not allowing their knees to go beyond their toes. You won't find one. Why? Because it is a complete and utter myth with absolutely no basis in medical science whatsoever.

I have NEVER heard this before, and I'm old and have taken many exercise classes and watched and worked out to many exercise videos.:bigsmile: Maybe squatting low reps with extremely heavy weights may be different?? (you referenced cross fit and power lifting)

A squat is a squat. The biomechanics are the same - does not matter what weight/reps you are doing.

Edited to fix quotes.

Sarauk2sf

fireytiger

Thank you everyone! I'm going to try the suggestions given to me. Unfortunately i'm working a desk job and can't move around as much as i'd like, but tonight i'm going to taekwondo, i'm sure that will be fun lol :P.

Capt_Apollo

Just go down as far as you can. Make sure your knees don't go over your toes and make sure your back is aligned. I have my group fitness certification through AFAA and that is one thing that I stress about with my zumba and aqua zumba students. alignment matters when it comes to properly doing squats.

NO! Damn it, NO. How does this keep getting repeated? Your knees naturally go past your toes when squatting. It's normal. Your knees are designed to take that. There was actually a study done on the several years ago in an attempt to verify or debunk this ridiculous notion. What they found was that not allowing the knees to travel beyond the toes did decrease force on the knees by like 20% or so, but it actually increased the force on the hips by something like 800%! For the love of god, watch any power lifting competition. Any cross fit competition. Watch and try to spot one person squatting and not allowing their knees to go beyond their toes. You won't find one. Why? Because it is a complete and utter myth with absolutely no basis in medical science whatsoever.

it also seems to be a new trend. i've been seeing a lot of women at my gym squatting a certain way, and it now occurs to me why. one girl put a weighted barbell behind her neck, leaned against a wall with her feet about two feet in front of her and squatted down. another girl was using the smith machine (the one that only goes up and down, not forward and backwards) and started with her feet 24" in front of her. both stopped when they were in the sitting position, and i couldn't figure out why there were doing this.