Barbell Squats, I shall miss thee =/

contingencyplan

The training program I've been following (and seeing great success on) for months is primarily calisthenics based and the only weighted resistance training was doing deads and squats at the gym. I am now being forced to abandon those exercise and supplement them for calisthenics as well because my form when doing them is very poor and I do not have the motor control needed to exercise proper form when doing them. I'm not sure how I'll manage getting in a proper lower body workout without them.

BrettPGH

Yeah I haven't done squats for a while myself, my form isn't great either. Gotta get back to them...

Jacwhite22

The training program I've been following (and seeing great success on) for months is primarily calisthenics based and the only weighted resistance training was doing deads and squats at the gym. I am now being forced to abandon those exercise and supplement them for calisthenics as well because my form when doing them is very poor and I do not have the motor control needed to exercise proper form when doing them. I'm not sure how I'll manage getting in a proper lower body workout without them.

Have you tried lowering weight to work on your form?

Elizabeth_C34

I love squats. I used to hate them, but that's because I stunk at them. I'm much better now.

Practice with lower weight or just the bar for a while, and it gets much easier.

beanerific518

I got help with my form from one of my buddys at the gym. Stick your butt out a little before you drop down - goes much smoother and then you can focus on the up movement. Love squats! Don't give up :-) Maybe someone could help you with your form? A friend or a PT??

contingencyplan

The problem has nothing to do with not knowing how. I have very poor motor control as a result of neurological dysfunctions and cannot safely do many things. Balancing with heavy loads is one of them.

dlwyatt82

Drop the weight until you get the form right, then work back up gradually. I have kind of a love-hate relationship with the book "Starting Strength"... it has some real gems to help you get your form right (mental cues, visualization exercises that get your motor skills working properly), but you wind up having to read through a few hundred pages of medical textbook to find them. Here are a couple of great helpful hints I got from that book:

* Visualize the bar moving in a completely vertical path over your mid-foot, and your body will make it happen. You don't have to focus on each individual part of the movement; your motor skills will take over and do all of that.

* Your heels should be about shoulder width, and your toes pointed out. Start with an angle of around 30 degrees, but adjust it to what's most comfortable for you in the bottom position.

* Focus hard on shoving your knees out through the entire movement, so they track parallel with the direction your toes are pointing. It's easy to do this on the way down, then let them collapse inward as you start to push back up.

* Practice the bottom position first! Get your feet in the right place, and while keeping your weight over your mid-foot and heels on the floor, just sit right down as far as you can go. Straighten your back and push your knees out with your elbows so they're parallel with your feet. Once your body is familiar with the bottom position, it's much easier to get back there after adding the bar. I do this every single workout as part of my warmups.

dlwyatt82

The problem has nothing to do with not knowing how. I have very poor motor control as a result of neurological dysfunctions and cannot safely do many things. Balancing with heavy loads is one of them.

Hmm, tricky. Balancing is a better workout, of course, but you could make use of Smith machines as an alternative.

Elizabeth_C34

The problem has nothing to do with not knowing how. I have very poor motor control as a result of neurological dysfunctions and cannot safely do many things. Balancing with heavy loads is one of them.

Machine hack squats might be good then. It's safer (safety catches involved) and you can still work your quads nicely.

contingencyplan

I dislike Smith Machines because of how I cannot move along a natural arc.

myfitnessnmhoy

I dislike Smith Machines because of how I cannot move along a natural arc.

Well, there is that, but they could allow you to do squats (albeit not as good ones as you are used to) safely.

You're lamenting giving up squats, so why not meet your condition halfway and see if you can learn to live with less-than-perfect ones as an alternative to giving them up entirely?

jennifer52484

try split squats... but don't lose your balance..eeeek

PayneAS

Have you tried lowering weight to work on your form?

That was the first thing that came to my mind as well.

contingencyplan

try split squats... but don't lose your balance..eeeek

Split squats are ABSOLUTELY out of the question. I fall over to one side

dlwyatt82

I dislike Smith Machines because of how I cannot move along a natural arc.

Well, a properly executed squat moves the bar in a vertical path, so the Smith machine shouldn't be too bad for that exercise. It's still a better option than the silly leg press machines.

contingencyplan

I dislike Smith Machines because of how I cannot move along a natural arc.

Well, there is that, but they could allow you to do squats (albeit not as good ones as you are used to) safely.

You're lamenting giving up squats, so why not meet your condition halfway and see if you can learn to live with less-than-perfect ones as an alternative to giving them up entirely?

Suppose you're right.

contingencyplan

Have you tried lowering weight to work on your form?

That was the first thing that came to my mind as well.

Form is unlikely to ever improve. I do not have the motor control needed to be that deliberate in my movements. I've been working on improving it for years and no luck =(

Johnsweaver

I can't barbell squat right now due to a shoulder injury. The best (still not as good as barbell squats) substitute I've found is the hack squat machine like the third one down on the link below:

http://www.zimmerexercise.com/new-strength-equipment.shtml

Use it not with your back against the pad, but turned around facing the machine. It allows me to still bend over more than a regular hack squat and involve more of the posterior chain.

parsonsmatt

Read "Starting Strength", do squats, be manly.

usmcmp

Our gym has a squat machine (not a smith machine or hack squat machine) that allows the body to move in an arc. If all else fails leg presses work without needing balance.

usmcmp

Read "Starting Strength", do squats, be manly.

Did you not read he has balance issues due to something beyond his control. Sometimes things just aren't an option.

redcat17

Our gym has a squat machine (not a smith machine or hack squat machine) that allows the body to move in an arc. If all else fails leg presses work without needing balance.

This is what I use. I have neck problems (disc related), so I can't squat with the bar behind my head. I use the squat machine instead.

wellbert

...but you could make use of Smith machines as an alternative.

Smith Machines enforce bad form.



OP - lunges? step ups? Though step ups might be difficult.

ninerbuff

2 suggestions that might help.

Get shoes that are "minimalist". I've had clients who have not been able to balance correctly because of training in the wrong shoes. Personally myself, I have VIBRAM five finger toe shoes that I use on leg and deadlift days. With my feet securely flat on the floor, my balance is at it's best.

Try squatting with dumbells. Sometimes holding weights in you hands helps with actual balance. You may not be able to go as heavy anymore, but at least you don't have to give up squats.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

poledancing_ninja

My PT used to have me simply stand with the bar on my shoulders, sit down on a chair and stand up again. You could try this?

BerryH

Try adding resistance to your cardio instead - fast walk on a treadmill at very high incline, or cycle at high resistance.

wellbert

My PT used to have me simply stand with the bar on my shoulders, sit down on a chair and stand up again. You could try this?

Sounds like box squats. They are good for helping force you to 'sit back' but proper form is still required.

contingencyplan

2 suggestions that might help.

Get shoes that are "minimalist". I've had clients who have not been able to balance correctly because of training in the wrong shoes. Personally myself, I have VIBRAM five finger toe shoes that I use on leg and deadlift days. With my feet securely flat on the floor, my balance is at it's best.

Try squatting with dumbells. Sometimes holding weights in you hands helps with actual balance. You may not be able to go as heavy anymore, but at least you don't have to give up squats.


A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

The shoes I have and use are minimalist. Nike Free TR2. They help but not much.

contingencyplan

Try adding resistance to your cardio instead - fast walk on a treadmill at very high incline, or cycle at high resistance.

I use cycle or elliptical, not treadmill. Can't do treadmill for the same reasons I can't do squat. I can't control my body movements enough to be able to stay on it without falling off.

myfitnessnmhoy

I dislike Smith Machines because of how I cannot move along a natural arc.

Well, there is that, but they could allow you to do squats (albeit not as good ones as you are used to) safely.

You're lamenting giving up squats, so why not meet your condition halfway and see if you can learn to live with less-than-perfect ones as an alternative to giving them up entirely?

Suppose you're right.

Sometimes we have to make the best of a bad situation. Squats are good for you, so an imperfect one done safely on a machine that supports you and can at least remove the weight if you fall is better than no weighted squats at all.

I also like Poledancing_n's suggestion of sitting down on a chair and standing up. That might be useful - if you start falling something can catch you. Just make sure it's a chair strong enough to handle you and the weight you'll be carrying, otherwise you're basically falling on broken pointy things with weights.

jofjltncb6

The training program I've been following (and seeing great success on) for months is primarily calisthenics based and the only weighted resistance training was doing deads and squats at the gym. I am now being forced to abandon those exercise and supplement them for calisthenics as well because my form when doing them is very poor and I do not have the motor control needed to exercise proper form when doing them. I'm not sure how I'll manage getting in a proper lower body workout without them.

Have you tried lowering weight to work on your form?

I haven't read the rest of the replies, but ^this.

My question is, why would ^this not have been a ridiculously obvious starting point to address your problem?

(Granted, I'm a guy who is on week two of a squat hiatus due to a to-be-diagnosed-next-week-by-ortho knee problem, but absent an injury, shouldn't ^this always be the starting point?)

Or maybe you read a recent online post by someone decrying the safety of the squat and you were swayed?