Crappy Squats. Halp.

MisterDerpington
MisterDerpington Posts: 604 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I hate Squats. And not because "oh they're so hard" (they are). But because being super obese (440lb) seems to make my form absolute garbage. My chest/upper back always cave in and I end up Squat Morning. I tried doing Parallel Box Squats instead, but still have this problem. I tried different setsXreps, but the form still degrades as I do my reps. With both, eventually my form will break down completely and I'll have to reset the weight by 10-20%. I've been trying to find a way to fix it for over a year. I know losing weight will probably help, but what do I do in the mean time because squats just zap my motivation even though my other lifts are progressing somewhat well.

P.S. I do Rack Pulls instead of Deadlifts because of form garbage also due to weight.

Replies

  • Hendrix7
    Hendrix7 Posts: 1,903 Member
    Well people going to say this is sacrilege but....

    If your form is so bad that it's actually detrimental/dangerous then just stop squatting for the time being, get on the leg press or the hack squat machine or do some body weight squats for a while until your reduce your overall frame to a point where you can do the exercise safely.

    Ironically a great exercise to help with a weak back and faling forward in the squat is actually good mornings.

    Make sure you are doing some rowing exercises to build some strength in your upper back also.
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
    I don't think the above advice is sacrilege at all...

    I didn't do deadlifts when I was obese for similar reasons. Even with the lightest weight my form was awful, and it was because I just didn't have the core and lower back strength at that time to handle the exercise.

    There is nothing wrong with substituting other exercises until you gain some strength. I would just work on your form sans the weight while working with other moves to strengthen the muscles. Then you can ease into them. You want to start from scratch with good form and keep that good form as your weight gets heavier, so it does you no good at all to start with bad form.
  • MisterDerpington
    MisterDerpington Posts: 604 Member
    I'm working out in a garage gym, so machines aren't an option. I have a bunch of oly plates, two olympic dumbbell handles, a power rack, a bench, some oly bars, farmer's walk handles, and a prowler. I'd really like to use the prowler as a strength builder as opposed to more conditioning, but I'm not sure how I'd go about doing that.
  • jajnn
    jajnn Posts: 33
    This will probably sound mean but you should lose some weight first before you hurt yourself.
  • MisterDerpington
    MisterDerpington Posts: 604 Member
    This will probably sound mean but you should lose some weight first before you hurt yourself.

    I know the ramifications of my weight on my health. Please don't treat me as if I'm an oaf simply because I'm big. I've also been working out for some time, so I do know proper form on the lifts and execute it on all except the squats. Just because I'm obese doesn't mean I'm incapable of doing a real workout. I know you didn't mean it to be insulting, but your comment sounds like many I've had before of people doubting my ability to do things.
  • Elphaba91
    Elphaba91 Posts: 66 Member
    It sounds like your squatting form is a lot like mine. My PT won't let me squat with a bar on my back yet until it improves. I would suggest you stop doing the squats with the bar and instead do squats with a swiss ball between your lower back and the wall (try to stand as far away from the wall as you can). If you really want the extra weight, just hold some light dumbbells in your hands (just down by your sides) as you squat. This should help improve your form and prevent you from injuring yourself. You might also like to have a few sessions with a personal trainer to help with your form.
  • Agate69
    Agate69 Posts: 349 Member
    This will probably sound mean but you should lose some weight first before you hurt yourself.
    That is mean. Even after losing shalf my body mass, leftover skin still gets in the way of good form on some exercise. Not every body is the same. Find a trainer that can work with disabilities cause you need to stay motivated to keep moving.
  • Elphaba91
    Elphaba91 Posts: 66 Member
    This will probably sound mean but you should lose some weight first before you hurt yourself.

    And how would you suggest he do that effectively if he's not 'allowed' to exercise? Honestly, weight has nothing to do with it.
  • jajnn
    jajnn Posts: 33
    If his "chest is collapsing" and his squat is turning into a good morning type lift it is obvious that there are some serious core imbalances. I never said to not exercise but to lose weight first before trying to squat. It will be a lot harder to exercise and lose that extra weight with an injured back.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
    Maybe check out other exercises...like from bodybuilding.com. There are various forms for exercises like squats, lunges, etc and maybe you could find one (or different types of exercises) that works best for you right now. I mean, it sounds like that is what you are doing and maybe the sure I have you might help you a bit more. Hats off to you for starting your weight training now than later. I know I wish I'd focused on weight training at my heaviest rather than later.
  • MisterDerpington
    MisterDerpington Posts: 604 Member
    If his "chest is collapsing" and his squat is turning into a good morning type lift it is obvious that there are some serious core imbalances. I never said to not exercise but to lose weight first before trying to squat. It will be a lot harder to exercise and lose that extra weight with an injured back.

    I thought I alluded to me finding an alternative in my second post. However my form seems alright for light sets.
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    I'd suggest doing body weight squats until your form is spot on...reading your post suggested you were using a barbell..but if I'm wrong, forgive me.

    But I'd try that?
  • MisterDerpington
    MisterDerpington Posts: 604 Member
    I'd suggest doing body weight squats until your form is spot on...reading your post suggested you were using a barbell..but if I'm wrong, forgive me.

    But I'd try that?

    Yeah sorry if I didn't say it outright. When I say "Squat" or "The Squat" I mean a low-bar barbell back squat.
  • Wolverine13ft
    Wolverine13ft Posts: 19 Member
    Free advice, the way I am reading the OP, form is breaking down with reps. Treat each rep as a single, 1 rep breath reset another rep repeat. For me front Squats help to keep from going forward on back squats. If the OP's goal is to get stronger Squats are a great way to get there.
  • Wolverine13ft
    Wolverine13ft Posts: 19 Member
    Just read "low bar" go high bar to help with the form then if you like low bar go back to it. Low bar will lean forward more.
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    Possibly substitute goblet squats, walking lunges with a barbell, or even switch to the leg press until the weight comes off enough to keep from affecting your form. You won't progress nearly as much with your strength goals, but you should still be able to retain muscle mass while you lose. That's what I would do anyway.
  • vstraughan
    vstraughan Posts: 163 Member
    I'm no master of the squat, but here's my personal suggestion ...

    If you go to the gym then find the leg press machine and use this to replace squat efforts. After a while of doing that then a squat is pretty much just that but without the machine.

    If you don't go to the gym, put your butt against the wall and slide down until your butt is in the corner of a 90 degree angle to your thighs and your knees are in the corner of a 90 degree angle to your calf and thighs. Adjust until you get the angles right. If you are struggling with your knees, just don't sink that low on each rep until you improve, just do the first one like I note to make sure your knees will reach past your feet and then crack on.

    Last try looking up Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, level 1 on YouTube. She goes through good squat technique.
  • Imadarkswan
    Imadarkswan Posts: 113 Member
    I would try wall sits or goblet squats and forget the barbell until you can get the issue with your form worked out.
    I had to do the same thing when I first started because I was so big as well.
  • bearcrusher
    bearcrusher Posts: 90
    It's a core strength issue. You're like me probably with a big stomach that weighs down on your lower back. It gets in the way of good form and makes squatting tough.
    The best way to get you squat stronger is to strengthen your lower back because I have a feeling your legs are probably strong as hell.
    Best thing is deadlifts but since you can't do those either because of your weight I'd do high reps of good mornings and rack pulls. The goal shouldn't be to do huge weight (I know it's no fun to just use 135 lbs) but to build endurance in the core. So high reps like 12-16 per set of the lighter weight followed with intensive ab work like hanging leg lifts, and incline crunches will help.

    Also you could try power cleans to build core strength. They're my favourite and will make the back strong as hell and help with your explosiveness in your squats
  • MisterDerpington
    MisterDerpington Posts: 604 Member
    Thanks for the help peoples. I think I may try some singles and some other lifts that can help with my form that some of you mentioned while continuing linear progression on my other lifts.
  • SJ46
    SJ46 Posts: 407 Member
    How far are you leaning forward? A forward lean is ok, and to be expected with low bar, when squatting. Can you post a youtube video for people to evaluate? Can you have someone watch you squat? Two things to look out for is not letting your lower back round at the bottom and the bar should stay centered over your mid-foot. At least that is how I understand things.

    Maybe this will help:
    squat-variants.jpg

    Notice the amount of forward lean with the low bar squat on the right.

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