I need tips to help me from leaning forward when I squat!

JoRocka

It's not necessarily a bad thing to bend down when you squat. Some people's anthropometry makes it necessary to lean forward in order to sit back into it. One thing you can do to remain more upright is to wear a shoe with a raised heel, take a narrower stance and a higher bar position. If you are already setting up to stay upright with a big chest but you're caving in, there are a few things that could be going wrong. They are:

1) Your shoulders aren't flexible enough. So in order to hold the bar on your shoulders you have to hunch forward. Solution, take a wider grip on the bar and do some external rotation stretches to get a greater range of motion in your shoulders.

2) Your upper back muscles are weak, causing your chest to cave in when you get some weight on your back. Solution, lots and lots of upper back work. You can train your upper back 5-6 times a week without over doing it. Your upper back has a tremendous work capacity compared to the rest of your body.

3) You are keeping too much weight on your toes or are looking down. Solution, lift your big toe off the floor and keep your head up.

Did... did we just *agree* on something?! I may drop dead!

Seriously though, OP, all good advice. Even after working on all the other stuff he mentions above, looking up is something I still work on. I just pretend I'm Donkey from Shrek and I'm going over a rickety bridge over a boilin' lake of lava... "Keep on squatting... and don't look down!"

it's definitely solid advice- the only thing that red flags to me is the training back 5-6 days a week- I've never read anything that supports that- and I don't typically find it useful to target any one body part that much- it's just like everything else- it needs rest.

But yes- back work- it gets neglected a lot because you can't see it. (I personally don't get that- I adore back work)

Fullsterkur_woman

It's not necessarily a bad thing to bend down when you squat. Some people's anthropometry makes it necessary to lean forward in order to sit back into it. One thing you can do to remain more upright is to wear a shoe with a raised heel, take a narrower stance and a higher bar position. If you are already setting up to stay upright with a big chest but you're caving in, there are a few things that could be going wrong. They are:

1) Your shoulders aren't flexible enough. So in order to hold the bar on your shoulders you have to hunch forward. Solution, take a wider grip on the bar and do some external rotation stretches to get a greater range of motion in your shoulders.

2) Your upper back muscles are weak, causing your chest to cave in when you get some weight on your back. Solution, lots and lots of upper back work. You can train your upper back 5-6 times a week without over doing it. Your upper back has a tremendous work capacity compared to the rest of your body.

3) You are keeping too much weight on your toes or are looking down. Solution, lift your big toe off the floor and keep your head up.

Did... did we just *agree* on something?! I may drop dead!

Seriously though, OP, all good advice. Even after working on all the other stuff he mentions above, looking up is something I still work on. I just pretend I'm Donkey from Shrek and I'm going over a rickety bridge over a boilin' lake of lava... "Keep on squatting... and don't look down!"

it's definitely solid advice- the only thing that red flags to me is the training back 5-6 days a week- I've never read anything that supports that- and I don't typically find it useful to target any one body part that much- it's just like everything else- it needs rest.

But yes- back work- it gets neglected a lot because you can't see it. (I personally don't get that- I adore back work)

I assumed he meant PT-type work. Is, Ts, Ws, Ls, swims, etc. (And you've got the back to show for it, too, which of course I've always admired-- and, big smile, I noticed my back is starting to resemble yours more and more! Yay! :bigsmile: )

JCLondonUK

There are a number of potential problems, but it is hard to pinpoint the issue without seeing you lift. If you could post a vid that would assist greatly.

That being said, I think the most likely cause is simply that the weight is too heavy for you and you need to scale back to dial in your form. There is a weak link in your muscular development and with forward lean it is often a lack of core strength. Are you bracing properly - with a big breath of air and squashing your abs (as if someone is going to hit you in the stomach)?

The other possibility is a lack of mobility. I have seen a few people with poor range of motion in their ankles (dorsiflexion) causing people to lean forward too.

My main recommendation would be to cut the weight back down to a point where you are comfortable with your form, and work on increasing reps at that weight to get your motor patterns set before you go any heavier. Then increase the weight slowly and always pay attention to form.

This is exactly what my problem was today. I started my first squats with a proper bar, and as I tired, I started leaning forward. My trainer encouraged me to use my core, but it was just too weak to help. Otherwise my form is fine, but as the weight gets too heavy, my form faltered too.

Great advice on this thread! Thanks everyone!

JoRocka

I assumed he meant PT-type work. Is, Ts, Ws, Ls, swims, etc. (And you've got the back to show for it, too, which of course I've always admired-- and, big smile, I noticed my back is starting to resemble yours more and more! Yay! :bigsmile: )
[/quote]

I did not assume that LOL_ but yes- PT work is good.

Yesssss- who needs to bring sexy biceps back when you can bring a sexy back

DOUBLE yay for sexy back you've got going for you!!! FULL OF WIN

Lofteren

It's not necessarily a bad thing to bend down when you squat. Some people's anthropometry makes it necessary to lean forward in order to sit back into it. One thing you can do to remain more upright is to wear a shoe with a raised heel, take a narrower stance and a higher bar position. If you are already setting up to stay upright with a big chest but you're caving in, there are a few things that could be going wrong. They are:

1) Your shoulders aren't flexible enough. So in order to hold the bar on your shoulders you have to hunch forward. Solution, take a wider grip on the bar and do some external rotation stretches to get a greater range of motion in your shoulders.

2) Your upper back muscles are weak, causing your chest to cave in when you get some weight on your back. Solution, lots and lots of upper back work. You can train your upper back 5-6 times a week without over doing it. Your upper back has a tremendous work capacity compared to the rest of your body.

3) You are keeping too much weight on your toes or are looking down. Solution, lift your big toe off the floor and keep your head up.

Did... did we just *agree* on something?! I may drop dead!

Seriously though, OP, all good advice. Even after working on all the other stuff he mentions above, looking up is something I still work on. I just pretend I'm Donkey from Shrek and I'm going over a rickety bridge over a boilin' lake of lava... "Keep on squatting... and don't look down!"

it's definitely solid advice- the only thing that red flags to me is the training back 5-6 days a week- I've never read anything that supports that- and I don't typically find it useful to target any one body part that much- it's just like everything else- it needs rest.

But yes- back work- it gets neglected a lot because you can't see it. (I personally don't get that- I adore back work)

I assumed he meant PT-type work. Is, Ts, Ws, Ls, swims, etc. (And you've got the back to show for it, too, which of course I've always admired-- and, big smile, I noticed my back is starting to resemble yours more and more! Yay! :bigsmile: )

I didn't mean PT work at all. PT work is good, I'm not dissing it, but you can train your back with moderate/heavy loads several times per week because there are so many different means of loading and because there's so much muscle to work through so many planes of movement. This idea has been written about by Louie Simmons who uses it on the lifters he trains. It is important to note also that I don't mean doing the same lift every single day, you can cycle between chin ups, pull ups, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, meadows rows, t bar rows, chest supported rows, lat pull downs, etc... So long as some area of the upper/mid back is getting hit very frequently. It did wonders for my strongman events.

_rachel_k

Rayman79: we can rule out the weight issue, but I am not very flexible and my muscles may be insanely tight (I get shin splints insanely easily, I also have arches that fall when I put weight on my foot)

Fullsterkur_w: I had a personal trainer who never tried to correct my squats, but told me that I did lean forward too far so I figured I can't be all wrong so I didn't bother working on it when I FIRST started losing weight years ago.

Ennui_Miller & RobsGirl_lds: I will definitely try to angle my toes out more

webbeyes: hahahahahaha

jim9097: flexibility could be an issue.. I should try fit in some yoga in between C25K and my weight training.

bryant28408: I do my workouts at home, unfortunately, no smith machine there

jennycjenny: I find I am on my toes less doing squats in socks, but I still lean my chest forward.

JoRocka

I didn't mean PT work at all. PT work is good, I'm not dissing it, but you can train your back with moderate/heavy loads several times per week because there are so many different means of loading and because there's so much muscle to work through so many planes of movement. This idea has been written about by Louie Simmons who uses it on the lifters he trains. It is important to note also that I don't mean doing the same lift every single day, you can cycle between chin ups, pull ups, barbell rows, dumbbell rows, meadows rows, t bar rows, chest supported rows, lat pull downs, etc... So long as some area of the upper/mid back is getting hit very frequently. It did wonders for my strongman events.

that makes sense- I do 2 back days- I tend to think lower and upper or wide and mid- so yeah that makes sense- I initially though typically bro split back day and just doing it several times and that made me blanche.

I have so many back things I love doing- I have to rotate through my lifts so I can do them all- I forget stuff and I'm like DMANIT I LOVE THOSE WHY HAVEN"T I BEEN DOING THEM.

Tracking now.

Yes- I back work- and anyone has a really defined back- knows a little something something.

HardyGirl4Ever

Keep the weight on the back of your heals. You can even lift your toes if you're steady enough. And be sure to keep good posture.

beardofginger

concentrate on lifting your toes while you are squatting, even if you can't get them up

No_Finish_Line

call me crazy, but i would say a certain amount of forward lean is propper form, and indeed necessary

http://70sbig.com/blog/2012/01/low-bar-vs-high-bar-squatting/

maybe i'm miss understanding the question.

live_2_ski

saving to read later

VASMA63

I like to tell the new runners that I train the proper form with this image: "Look for the baby chair".

Imagine yourself going to a pre-school to read a story to some kids. The only chair they have for you is a tiny little chair.

Keeping your knees behind your toes, head up, eyes straight ahead, squat down really sticking your butt out/back and imagine your butt is trying to reach back to sit on that little baby chair. Every time you go down, focus on sticking your butt out and down looking for the baby chair. Hope it helps!

Fullsterkur_woman

call me crazy, but i would say a certain amount of forward lean is propper form, and indeed necessary

http://70sbig.com/blog/2012/01/low-bar-vs-high-bar-squatting/

maybe i'm miss understanding the question.

I think most people on this site are not ready to handle the awesomeness that is 70sbig. :laugh: Don't even get me started on LBEB.

Rayman79

Well given all the information we have now I think its pretty safe to say you are not yet ready for barbell squats.

Work on keeping good form with goblet squats (with a KB or DB) and work on your core strength and mobility for a while. After a few weeks if you are consistent you should be ready for the barbell.

Best of luck!

_rachel_k

Rayman79: I am soo not ready for barbell squats lol
No_Finish_Line: a little lean I'm sure is expected but I'm leaning forward more than I am putting my butt down

_rachel_k

So I have a tony little EZ shaper in the back of my closet and tried to create a makeshift smith machine by standing in a doorway with the bar about an inch away from the doorframe and squatting. Almost never hit the wall!!

ublanchard

I've had to google half of what people are saying but this is v. informative. cheers :drinker:

Fullsterkur_woman

So I have a tony little EZ shaper in the back of my closet and tried to create a makeshift smith machine by standing in a doorway with the bar about an inch away from the doorframe and squatting. Almost never hit the wall!!

Please don't do "makeshift" anything when you start adding weight, especially as a beginner. It isn't safe.

And also nobody seconded the smith machine recommendation because most of the people on this thread responding to you are experienced lifters who know that the smith machine isn't a very good tool to use for much of anything, leastwise squats, because it does not allow your skeleton to move in the ways it needs to to protect your spinal alignment.

I use it for assisted push-ups so that I can vary the height of my push-ups. I could also use it for an adjustable height body-weight row. That's about all it's good for.

kaaaaylee

I try to remember to 'put my weight on my heels.'

Yup. All about the heels. Maybe try to sit back a little further. OOH AND ALWAYS LOOK AT A HIGHER POINT WHEN YOU SQUAT. If you look down, you will go down.

JoRocka

So I have a tony little EZ shaper in the back of my closet and tried to create a makeshift smith machine by standing in a doorway with the bar about an inch away from the doorframe and squatting. Almost never hit the wall!!

Please don't do "makeshift" anything when you start adding weight, especially as a beginner. It isn't safe.

And also nobody seconded the smith machine recommendation because most of the people on this thread responding to you are experienced lifters who know that the smith machine isn't a very good tool to use for much of anything, leastwise squats, because it does not allow your skeleton to move in the ways it needs to to protect your spinal alignment.

I use it for assisted push-ups so that I can vary the height of my push-ups. I could also use it for an adjustable height body-weight row. That's about all it's good for.

it's also a great seat and towel holder for between sets.


goblet squat.

and barbell squat- the only way you are going to get better at doing them is by doing them.

Goblet will help- DB will help- but the only way to get better at BB squats- is by doing BB squats.