trouble with form for 5x5 squat
Bettyeditor
Posts: 327 Member
I haven't been able to start SL 5x5 yet because I've been too busy with work/school and I'm still trying to buy/set up the equipment that I need at home. But I'm impatient to get started so I have started trying to do the routines without any weights to just work on the form. I hope to get a 45-pound barbell soon and use it for "form only" workouts.
But I can't squat.
I'm serious.... my body does not go into that position. Without me falling on my *kitten* on the floor. LOL I even backed up against a wall for support and tried to lower myself.... I can only get so far. Can't do the position correctly. And the pain in my legs and especially knees is excruciating.
Does anyone else have this problem? I still have 50+ pounds to lose, btw. Maybe I need to lose more weight in my thighs before I can do the SL 5x5 program? I'm so disappointed.... I know how good for my body the squat exercise is in particular....
I can't squat worth squat
But I can't squat.
I'm serious.... my body does not go into that position. Without me falling on my *kitten* on the floor. LOL I even backed up against a wall for support and tried to lower myself.... I can only get so far. Can't do the position correctly. And the pain in my legs and especially knees is excruciating.
Does anyone else have this problem? I still have 50+ pounds to lose, btw. Maybe I need to lose more weight in my thighs before I can do the SL 5x5 program? I'm so disappointed.... I know how good for my body the squat exercise is in particular....
I can't squat worth squat
0
Replies
-
I would suggest looking into box squats to start with and then as you gain flexibility and strength in your legs and core, you should have an easier time with the standard squat. I am sure youtube will have some videos. It sounds like flexibility could be a big part of it all. I know a lot of the ladies on here do yoga to help with that.0
-
I am actually very flexible. I am double jointed and I can touch my toes without hesitation and almost do the splits. I thought I had strong thighs but maybe not. LOL Maybe its a strength issue. Also balance. I can't seem to figure out where the center of gravity of my body should be. If I keep my center of gravity forward, my legs/feet are under me. If I move my center of gravity back, I topple onto my rear. I feel like a dunce that I can't get this! 0
-
Your center of gravity varies depending on how you are holding the bar, this also impacts the position of your upper body. Hope this helps:
0 -
How wide is your stance? Try opening it up a bit, make sure your toes are turned out, and don't worry if you lean forward some as you come down. Definitely stick a box or stool behind you, so that you'll have the comfort of knowing you can just sit down instead of falling. And it is okay to have that stool be pretty high to start with, then as you get stronger start to lower it.
You can do this - we have all needed to tweak things to suit our bodies and their needs. If you have small child handy (or know of one), get them to squat, watch how they do it, look at the shape of their bodies -they squat perfectly every single time, and that can teach you a lot about how to position your own body.0 -
WOOO HOOO I did it!! Thank you everyone!! I did widen my stance and point my toes out more. I studied the picture. And I don't have access to a small child but my husband did a squat for me and it started to click. So then he watched me and gave me feedback on my form and I DID IT!! With much grunting and groaning and cursing but I did it! And when I did it correctly my knee didn't hurt anymore. I feel the burn in my quads and the muscle on the underside of my thighs.
I did 10 squats! I only got my knees in front of my feet once! Now I know how the squat "feels" too so its easier to repeat. Thank you everyone!0 -
I actually had to put a 2x4 under my heels to be able to parallel squat at the beginning, until my hip flexors and whatnot were flexible enough to go down far enough. Ya do what ya gotta do to get from where you are to where you need to be.
Yay for you for getting there! Barbell lifting is actually highly technical, so make sure you take your time until you get things under control form-wise before you add any sort of heavier weights.0 -
Great work! Also wanted to add that you don't have to worry about your knees going over your toes....just make sure that your knees don't bow in at the bottom of the squat!
:drinker:0 -
Way to go on getting it!!0
-
I DID IT!! With much grunting and groaning and cursing but I did it! And when I did it correctly my knee didn't hurt anymore. I feel the burn in my quads and the muscle on the underside of my thighs.
I did 10 squats! I only got my knees in front of my feet once! Now I know how the squat "feels" too so its easier to repeat. Thank you everyone!
Fabulous!! My knees used to hurt something fierce, too, but now they don't. Which may be the single coolest thing that has happened to me in the last four months.0 -
I DID IT!! With much grunting and groaning and cursing but I did it! And when I did it correctly my knee didn't hurt anymore. I feel the burn in my quads and the muscle on the underside of my thighs.
I did 10 squats! I only got my knees in front of my feet once! Now I know how the squat "feels" too so its easier to repeat. Thank you everyone!
Fabulous!! My knees used to hurt something fierce, too, but now they don't. Which may be the single coolest thing that has happened to me in the last four months.
That is great to hear about your knees! That is really encouraging for me to hear. I have always had troubles with my right knee. I wore a knee brace for years when I was a teen. I have never been able to run/jog because of knee issues. But... I think Stronglifts will condition my thighs more uniformly (I have over-developed quads, so they pull my kneecap over and grind it against the cartilage). My hope is by doing these workouts, I can get into running without knee pain. I just started doing the C25K so fingers crossed that my knee will hold out!
0 -
I"m not a runner so I am laughing, here you have the chance to spend an hour lifting weights, having fun, no knee pain. Why on earth would you want to run too?????? I hope you know that I am joking. We should all do the things we love to do!
I've been working out off and on for years but until I started doing deep weighted squats my knees always hurt, particularly the one that I dislocated the kneecap on long ago. I also spent about three weeks at the beginning of Stronglifts just doing bodyweight squats because they hurt my knees so much. Eventually I learned that if I kept my feet in more and my toes turned forward more, my knees didn't hurt, and I started using the barbell. As time goes on I am widening my stance little by little and turning out my toes more, and it continues to work well for me.0 -
Your knees should feel ZERO pain when squatting. I highly recommend watching some youtube videos for perfect squat form. It really helped me to perfect my squats. Mehdi has an excellent youtube video out there on squat and deadlift forms. Make sure you really puff your chest up, lats flexed and shoulders pulled down and arch your lower back - then act like you are going to sit in a chair and make sure your knees do not go past your toes. You should feel the squat in your quads, hamstrings and glutes. Like previous poster said, box squats are a great place to start to get the form right.0
-
One more thing...keep the weight on your heels and outsides of your feet...not on your toes!0
