Calling people who squat heavy...

I started with more of a "sumo" stance so my stomach wouldn't get in my way.

I have a dodgy knee that hurts if I go past parallel with even just body weight, but I can now get parallel with 100kg on board.

The only compound I'm still having trouble with is the squat. I'm still doing BW squats at the moment and I simply cannot get to parallel, let alone below. I feel like I get lower now than I did 3-4 weeks ago, but I hope that's not just in my head. I feel like its a mixture of weak knees/hips, outside of stomach getting in the way of thighs, and a bit "in my head". According to the 2 trainers my form is fine.

My question is... Is there anyone here who started off like me and can now squat properly? Did you make any changes to your technique, or was it simply practice and patience??

Hip AND shoulder mobility . Start stretching now!


Hip Mobility and Flexibility Exercise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6D7JNeNHFk

Hip Mobility and Band Stretches
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwIqeBy0t28

Shoulder Mobility
http://youtu.be/5nSgHAL4w3E

Just for credibility sake my squat video

5x5 Squat Session 03/09/13
http://youtu.be/5mt3_VLPh2w

Hope this helps!

ah shoulder mobility. the bane of my existence!

Had a HORRIBLE time low bar squatting. I am still am not 100%, but my shoulder mobility is so much better.

is the problem that you can't balance (e.g. feeling like you're going to fall over backwards) or that your muscles are weak and won't let you go any further?

I can do full squats (i.e. "*ss to grass" squats) with 80lbs+ for reps with a fairly wide stance (slightly more than shoulder width apart) but with a narrow stance (less than shoulder width apart) I can barely do bodyweight squats without falling over backwards - I can balance by having my arms held out in front of me, but not with my arms in barbell holding position (and never tried with a barbell for that reason lol). I believe this is purely a matter of body proportions. My centre of gravity is in the wrong place to balance in narrow stance squats, and leaning forwards more hurts my knees, and it's a very bad idea to try to force your body into what's good form for someone with different body proportions, but bad form for you. So if this is the problem, maybe taking a wider stance will fix it.

If it is muscular weakness and you don't have any issue with balance (or a wider stance makes no difference), then you probably need to build your strength up doing some other kinds of exercises or some kind of assisted squat, until they're strong enough. I'm not entirely sure which exercises are best, but stair climbing (2 at a time works the muscles in a similar way, and there may be better exercises but this won't hurt and will help to strengthen up your legs generally.

I've never had this problem as I'm super-flexible, but my husband did take a while to get to parallel due to lack of flexibility. The things that worked for him was lots of mobility exercises and box-squats also helped a lot.

He also went to a physiotherapist and got dry-needling on his hip flexors, that really released him in the hips which he then maintained through lots of conscious mobility work. He generally gets on the foam roller every single night... I never do he's much better than me

The only compound I'm still having trouble with is the squat. I'm still doing BW squats at the moment and I simply cannot get to parallel, let alone below. I feel like I get lower now than I did 3-4 weeks ago, but I hope that's not just in my head. I feel like its a mixture of weak knees/hips, outside of stomach getting in the way of thighs, and a bit "in my head". According to the 2 trainers my form is fine.

My question is... Is there anyone here who started off like me and can now squat properly? Did you make any changes to your technique, or was it simply practice and patience??

Hip AND shoulder mobility . Start stretching now!


Hip Mobility and Flexibility Exercise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6D7JNeNHFk

Hip Mobility and Band Stretches
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwIqeBy0t28

Shoulder Mobility
http://youtu.be/5nSgHAL4w3E

Just for credibility sake my squat video

5x5 Squat Session 03/09/13
http://youtu.be/5mt3_VLPh2w

Hope this helps!

I've done these videos (not as much band work on shoulders though) and they are all great.

I started with body squats, pregressed to goblet squats, and then went to the barbell.

I would highly recommend the goblet squats. I actually found them easier than body squats and helped me to reinforce form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKmrXTx6jZs

Also,

1) If you have flexibility issues try putting your heels on small plates eg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpAZKrPkazk

2) A PT said on from his experience said:
"An easy way to squat deeper is simply to get a hard small sports ball & roll the soles of your feet. 2 mins & job done" and another PT added "rolling the soles of your feet releases the fascia of the entire posterior chain, from the sole of your foot to your occipital bone at your skull, allowing you to squat deeper."

Not too sure about the science but I've tried it with a golf ball and tennis ball and it actually feels very good, and my feet lower body doesn't feel as tight as it did.

Without seeing your setup it's tough to know with any kind of certainty, but I find that most people have way too narrow of a stance and don't turn out their feet nearly enough. You have to have enough room between your legs for your pelvis to rotate and your belly and thighs not smack into each other. The best advice I have gotten/used for others is to simply work on your bottom position without a bar or anything else.

Start off by simply crouching down, getting your butt back and as low as you can, like a child crouches down to play. Without thinking of it as a squat, shift your feet, knees, hips, etc around however you need to in order to get low and comfortable. When you've settled into a position where your torso is fitting properly between your legs and your knees don't feel pressured, look at your feet. That's where they should probably be when you squat.