Squat bar is starting to bruise/hurt my shoulders - tips?

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fittiephd
fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all --

So I've been lifting a little over a year now (nrolfw then sl5x5 starting in october) and I've recently started plateauing on my squats because my shoulders can't seem to handle the bar weight. I know the rest of my form is right.

For a little while I was putting my elbows under the bar causing the weight to push down on my arms and that strained my shoulder some, but I've since fixed that (about 1 month ago). My shoudler stopped hurting for a little while and then it's started hurting again. Course the bruises on the backs of my arm/shoulder area dont' feel great when I put a bar back on them either!!

I think that one of the reasons my shoulder is hurting is because I picked a weight up weird recently and kinda tweaked it but putting the squat bar on it seems to be making it worse.

Anyone else experience this and know anything to help? I'm plateauing around 165 lbs for 5x5 right now and I really wanna hit my goal of 200 by the end of the year, so any help would be greatly appreciated :) And no, I don't want to try using the bar pad. I guess I'm looking more for like positioning tips.

Or maybe I'll have to stop doing squats 3x per week... stronglifts has squats every workout and maybe that's just too much!

Thanks in advance!
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Replies

  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    you might google high bar vs. low bar squats. Whichever you're not doing may be more comfortable.

    I find switching between the 2 after long layoffs leads to one or the other hurting a bit, but that should have gone away after a year.
  • grantdumas7
    grantdumas7 Posts: 802 Member
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    this may help as well http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most.../my_shoulder_hurts_the_finest_whine

    work on shoulder mobility.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    There's a device called a Manta Ray that is supposed to sit on your shoulders and hold the bar, but I've never tried it or seen anyone try it. There's one in my gym for use, but like I said, I've never tried it.

    Wondering if there is anyone out there who has tried it successfully and can give feedback.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    Maybe it's time to progress to a more advanced program?
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    There's a device called a Manta Ray that is supposed to sit on your shoulders and hold the bar, but I've never tried it or seen anyone try it. There's one in my gym for use, but like I said, I've never tried it.

    Wondering if there is anyone out there who has tried it successfully and can give feedback.

    We bought a manta ray a few weeks ago. It fits over the bar and distributes the load much, much better than having it sit on your neck.
    bar.gif

    I've been doing low-bar squats where it sits on my shoulder blades because my lumbar region is a little wonky and prefer the low bar posture.

    I definitely, definitely recommend the manta ray for high position.
  • morticiamom
    morticiamom Posts: 221 Member
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    I put a length of closed-cell foam pipe insulation around the part of the bar that rests on my shoulders. I work out in my garage, though, so there's no one to look at me funny.
  • _noob_
    _noob_ Posts: 3,306 Member
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    yeah, I was gonna post that the manta ray is probably good if you high bar squat.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    If you plateau at 5x5, the program calls for you to deload. If you have to deload twice (or is it 3x?) on a particular lift, then move from 5x5 to 3x5, to allow greater recovery. When you deload twice (3x?) at 3x5, then you can go to 1x5. Of course, if you get to 1x5, it may be time to move on to a different program.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
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    Maybe it's time to progress to a more advanced program?

    Yeah I was hoping to wait until summer to do a more advanced program just because i have more time then to plan things out. Any recommendations on a new program?
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
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    If you plateau at 5x5, the program calls for you to deload. If you have to deload twice (or is it 3x?) on a particular lift, then move from 5x5 to 3x5, to allow greater recovery. When you deload twice (3x?) at 3x5, then you can go to 1x5. Of course, if you get to 1x5, it may be time to move on to a different program.

    I thought it was if I don't hit 5x5 once then I just don't add weight until I can? I recently deloaded from 170 down to 135 and worked my way back up so I don't think that a huge deload would be necessary but maybe a small one. Maybe I'm too eager :)

    I honestly think I may just need to switch a different program sooner than I thought. Maybe doing 3 big lifts at each workout is just too much at this point in my lifting career. Maybe I just need to focus on one big lift at each workout and then do accessory lifts to improve? Any suggestions!

    Thanks for all the tips guys!

    Also of note, I do low bar squats. I've never tried that manta thing but it looks cool! Does it work on low bar squats?
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    Also of note, I do low bar squats. I've never tried that manta thing but it looks cool! Does it work on low bar squats?

    Sorry - - manta can't be used with low-bar; the bar has to be up on top of your traps, not down on the scapulas.
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
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    Also of note, I do low bar squats. I've never tried that manta thing but it looks cool! Does it work on low bar squats?

    Sorry - - manta can't be used with low-bar; the bar has to be up on top of your traps, not down on the scapulas.

    Hm ok. Is there any reason to do high bar vs low bar squats? I've just always done low bar.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
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    Maybe it's time to progress to a more advanced program?

    Yeah I was hoping to wait until summer to do a more advanced program just because i have more time then to plan things out. Any recommendations on a new program?

    I'm pretty much an unabashed 5/3/1 pusher
  • murphy612
    murphy612 Posts: 734 Member
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    I've never seen the Manta bar, looks cool. I do low-bar squats and let it rest on my shoulder blades as well as using a foam pipe cover on the bar.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
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    I thought it was if I don't hit 5x5 once then I just don't add weight until I can? I recently deloaded from 170 down to 135 and worked my way back up so I don't think that a huge deload would be necessary but maybe a small one. Maybe I'm too eager :)


    No, not quite. It's true that you don't add weight. But if you miss that weight three times in a row (I just rechecked the program documentation) you deload 10%. IOW, you didn't need to go down from 170 to 135 and work your way back up - only to 150 or 155. Once you have to deload twice on a lift, you switch to 3x5. Mehdi's documentation shows that many/most men have to switch to 3x5 at around 200 lbs. As a woman, 165-170 seems like a completely reasonable point where you'd have to switch.
  • lotushead
    lotushead Posts: 200 Member
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    I also had this problem! I fixed it by narrowing my grip and lowering the bar. Someone posted a helpful photo to the thread I posted. Let me see if I can find it. One sec...

    Ah! Found it.

    Scroll down to the guy with the upper arm tattoo and really red face. My back is much more boney than his is though, so the bar didn't sit quite as comfortably looking as his. But it worked!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/936717-upper-back-pain-from-squatting-with-bar
  • fittiephd
    fittiephd Posts: 608 Member
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    I thought it was if I don't hit 5x5 once then I just don't add weight until I can? I recently deloaded from 170 down to 135 and worked my way back up so I don't think that a huge deload would be necessary but maybe a small one. Maybe I'm too eager :)


    No, not quite. It's true that you don't add weight. But if you miss that weight three times in a row (I just rechecked the program documentation) you deload 10%. IOW, you didn't need to go down from 170 to 135 and work your way back up - only to 150 or 155. Once you have to deload twice on a lift, you switch to 3x5. Mehdi's documentation shows that many/most men have to switch to 3x5 at around 200 lbs. As a woman, 165-170 seems like a completely reasonable point where you'd have to switch.

    Oh I should have been more clear, the reason I deloaded down to 135 was because I got rid of the barbell pad and also learned proper form and realized I was pretty much doing partial squats before. They weren't like half way down or anything but they weren't all the way to top of thigh parallel etc. I recently started talking to a lot of power lifters who have helped me immensely with form. Anyways that's why i deloaded because I wasn't strong enough to do full squats at 170 and wanted to make sure I really got the form right this time around :)

    And Ok, I haven't been stuck more than 2 workouts in a row at any weight.

    Yeah you're right, given that I weigh much less than a man (135), it is probably about time I switch to 3x5.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    I also had this problem! I fixed it by narrowing my grip and lowering the bar. Someone posted a helpful photo to the thread I posted. Let me see if I can find it. One sec...

    Ah! Found it.

    Scroll down to the guy with the upper arm tattoo and really red face. My back is much more boney than his is though, so the bar didn't sit quite as comfortably looking as his. But it worked!

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/936717-upper-back-pain-from-squatting-with-bar

    I do the same thing. I bring my hands in as close as possible in order to create a a platform with trapezius. You shouldn't be getting bruising unless you're too high and it's resting on the top of your thoracic vertabrae. Which isn't good.
  • _namaste_
    _namaste_ Posts: 246
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    Subbing for info, great thread fittie! :)
  • BurtHuttz
    BurtHuttz Posts: 3,653 Member
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    Hm ok. Is there any reason to do high bar vs low bar squats? I've just always done low bar.

    I chose low-bar because of my back - I'm sure there are people who have very strong opinions supported by research and yadee yaddah :-)

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