My Squats Suck :(

MaryJane_8810002
MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Every time that I do squats my upper body leans forward and my butt sticks all the way out. This happens with and without the squat rack. Any ideas on how I can get this to stop?

Replies

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Adopt a more upright starting posture? If your torso is simply falling forward because you're not strong enough to control the weight, try dropping the weight down. If you have the same issue with little to no weight, look into mobility problems and appropriate stretching/warmup to alleviate said issues.
  • MaryJane_8810002
    MaryJane_8810002 Posts: 2,082 Member
    Adopt a more upright starting posture? If your torso is simply falling forward because you're not strong enough to control the weight, try dropping the weight down. If you have the same issue with little to no weight, look into mobility problems and appropriate stretching/warmup to alleviate said issues.

    This happens even if I am just doing squats with my hands.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    Post videos
    Side video and front video.
    Take the videos from about waist height.

    My guess is you are squatting on the ball of your foot rather than heel. You are letting your knees come in, and you are failing at intrabdominal pressure, thus doing a squat-morning.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Post videos
    Side video and front video.
    Take the videos from about waist height.

    My guess is you are squatting on the ball of your foot rather than heel. You are letting your knees come in, and you are failing at intrabdominal pressure, thus doing a squat-morning.

    Squat-morning, I like it. Will have to file that one away for future usage.
  • ritchiedrama
    ritchiedrama Posts: 1,304 Member
    Several things you can try.

    Curl your toes down so you CAN'T put weight on them

    Put small 5kg plates under each heel

    obviously don't do both those things at the same time, two separate methods.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    The cue for this problem is to keep the chest up. Pretend you are a Fembot aiming at the wall in front of you.
  • ChrisLindsay9
    ChrisLindsay9 Posts: 837 Member
    It might be a sign of weaker posterior chain? You don't have the strength in your lower back and glutes/hamstrings, and thus you're compensating with more upper body?

    If so, try to incorporate some isolation work to strengthen those areas. Don't start with a lot of weight, just gradually increase it over time - while still working on your squats.

    Glute Bridges, Glute/Ham Raises, Back Extensions, Good Mornings and RDLs are exercises that I've started doing to strengthen these areas.
  • neilvv
    neilvv Posts: 146 Member
    Try standing with your feet a bit wider apart, works for me !
  • chainone
    chainone Posts: 42
    Post videos
    Side video and front video.
    Take the videos from about waist height.

    My guess is you are squatting on the ball of your foot rather than heel. You are letting your knees come in, and you are failing at intrabdominal pressure, thus doing a squat-morning.

    This. I had a huge problem with this when I was lifting. My knees would keel inwards.

    I found that I need to squat really, really wide for me to feel balanced and to get a better posture.
    I've found that a lot of men can squat more narrow, maybe because of their hips? Maybe that's just the lifters I know.
  • crandos
    crandos Posts: 377 Member
    Make sure your toes pointed 30 degree outwards and have your legs shoulder width apart even farther to help you balance. I use wider stance just because i cant squat properly with legs being closer. Just practice at home in front of mirror have your back at 45 degree angle.

    Edit typo
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member

    I found that I need to squat really, really wide for me to feel balanced and to get a better posture.
    I've found that a lot of men can squat more narrow, maybe because of their hips? Maybe that's just the lifters I know.

    Agree. My wife basically sumo squats compared to me. =)
    Hip angles are different. Women actually have a mechanical advantage here.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Try wall squats. Stand facing a wall with your toes about 6-12 inches away from it. Squat as low as you can with just your body weight without touching the wall. Keep doing it until you can get just past parallel and it feels natural. You could also try box squats with or without weight.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Make sure your toes pointed 30 degree outwards and have your legs shoulder width apart even farther to help you balance. I use wider stance just because i cant squat properly with legs being closer. Just practice at home in front of mirror have your back at 45 degree angle.

    Edit typo

    The angle of the back actually varies depending on your anthropometry. For some people, it will be 45 degrees, but not for all.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    Every time that I do squats my upper body leans forward and my butt sticks all the way out. This happens with and without the squat rack. Any ideas on how I can get this to stop?

    It took me a second to work out what you meant by the bolded sentence, but from your avatar, I am guessing you are squatting in a Smith Machine. Is that right? If so, it isn't surprising that you are having trouble; people do all sorts of weird things when they are trying to move the bar up and down on rails.

    Have you tried squatting with a barbell in a real squat rack or power cage? What happens then?
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Watch, "So You Think You Can Squat" on YouTube; that video should answer all your questions on form. Do some weighted back extensions and heavier DB / KB Swings. I would normally say Good Mornings but it's probably not the right time for that exercise for you and the DB/KB Swings actually work your posterior chain pretty well if you go deep enough.
  • MollieA912
    MollieA912 Posts: 40 Member
    Try box squats. Just search on bodybuilding.com
  • tatasmagik
    tatasmagik Posts: 185
    Thanks for this thread, it's very timely. I watched the video series "So You Think You Can Squat?" Very helpful.
  • HelloDan
    HelloDan Posts: 712 Member
    Post videos
    Side video and front video.
    Take the videos from about waist height.

    So this is what is really needed to give any meaningful information.

    A quick and dirty guess - It's likely to be ankle or hip mobility.

    I'd go with ankle mobility as first choice, if putting something under your heel like a weight plate stops or educes the problem, it's ankle mobility. The cure is to work on ankle mobility drills and stretching and rolling the calves.

    If the plate doesn't help it's more likely to be tight hips pulling you forward, work on rolling, using a tennis\lacrosse ball on the hip flexors, and stretching them.

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