Women and squats

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  • wonderwoman234
    wonderwoman234 Posts: 551 Member
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    These are all GREAT tips! Thanks everyone!!
  • Sarahliquid
    Sarahliquid Posts: 201 Member
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    Asian squats helped me keep my weight back on my heels by fixing flexibility problems. I warm up with a few ATG squats to loosen up.
  • bacamacho
    bacamacho Posts: 306 Member
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    I have better success after I've warmed up the joints. I usually run or bike, but I think a little jump roping or the elliptical would help too. Yes, you gotta push that butt back like you're about to sit down in a chair, keep that back straight, chin up, make sure your knees don't go over your toes.
  • walkwithme1
    walkwithme1 Posts: 492 Member
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    Air squats! Get your form down before you add weight, don't rush it. More important to have great form before you focus on weights. Start light with weights too, 15lb bar? Make sure your knees don't extend over your toes. Sit back in your heels, feet shoulder with apart, toes slightly out. Maybe 25 air squats 3 times a day and watch in mirror or like mentioned above get a video of yourself to watch. I started lifting in September just air squats, slowly adding weight and 1 rep max was 180 a few weeks ago. Keep it up, you'll get it! Add me if you want.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    Play around with your foot placement... Actually try to pretend like you are sitting. I'll be the oddball and share that I personally couldn't get further down until I had weight on the bar.. 45# is too light for me - even when I started squatting. When I warm up with the bar, it always feels awkward. That's just me though.

    Ignore the post(s) that mentions not going past the knees.... Not true at all particularly for close stance squats....
  • bacamacho
    bacamacho Posts: 306 Member
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    I've been told not to let the knees go past the toes to avoid injury. You're saying that doing so will not hurt my knees? It'd be a good to know.
  • walkwithme1
    walkwithme1 Posts: 492 Member
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    Not letting your knees go past toes will help prevent injury.
  • walkwithme1
    walkwithme1 Posts: 492 Member
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    Excerpt from Bodybuilding.com

    The quadriceps muscles can contract more efficiently when the feet are pointing slightly outward. They should never point straight ahead. If you squat with a very wide stance, your adductors tend to assist the quads. This can result in stress to the medial collateral ligament, abnormal cartilage loading, and improper patellar tracking.
    During the descent phase of any type of squat, do not allow the knees to extend beyond your feet. The farther your knees travel over your feet, the greater the shearing forces on the patellar tendon and ligament.
    Make sure that your knees point in the same direction your feet are pointing during the descent and ascent. Because of weak quads, many lifters inadvertently turn their knees inward during the ascent, placing great stress on the medial ligaments of the knee.
    Although many top bodybuilders advocate a close stance for the purpose of isolating the outer quads, this is a myth, and it places you at risk, particularly since you'll have to use a lot of back to execute the lift, or (if you use heels) place great shear and compression on the knees. The best way to squat is to put your feet in a position where they can generate the greatest opposing force to the weight ("the athletic position").
    Warm up thoroughly before squatting. Your muscles and other tissues of the knee joint love warmth! Remember the analogy, cold taffy breaks, warm taffy doesn't.
    Maintain reasonable flexibility in the joints of your lower extremities and back. Many knee injuries can be traced back to poor position resulting from inflexibility.
    Finally, be careful in the exit out of the rack, and getting "set" in the squat stance. After lifting the weight off of the pins, you should take just one step backward and immediately assume your squatting stance. This takes time to master, but eventually all the minute adjustments can be pared down substantially.

    Once set in the stance, keep your feet "nailed down" for the duration of the set. Many people "fidget" with their feet and toes between reps which can cause a variety of problems ranging from a break in concentration to a loss of balance—and attendant stress on your knees.
  • dixiewhiskey
    dixiewhiskey Posts: 3,333 Member
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    Having correct form every time will help prevent injury.

    I remember being told the same thing and that prevented me from really getting deep in my squats for a long time
  • JazmineYoli
    JazmineYoli Posts: 547 Member
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    A friend on my FL posted this and it helped me a lot .


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw8Q4yxHG7Q
  • beabria
    beabria Posts: 541 Member
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    I think focussing on keeping your weight on your heels is the easiest way to avoid your knees going past your feet. From the angle of your body, it's hard to visually tell if your knees are past your toes, but if all of your weight is on your heels, it's really hard if not impossible for your knees to extend too far forward. Also, these two pages were helpful for me and include videos.
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/07/08/why-you-need-squats-in-your-workout-and-how-to-do-them-right/
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2014/03/03/strength-training-101-how-to-squat-properly/
  • pinkshiningstar
    pinkshiningstar Posts: 140 Member
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    All I can say is:
    Be sure you can wiggle your toes when you're down (weight hard onto your heels) and don't add weight until you have your form down. Adding weight to an incorrect form isn't going to do any good. If your mission is to get to the point where you can get deep into squats, make that your first goal, then add more weight :)
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
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    Not letting your knees go past toes will help prevent injury.
    False myth.
  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
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    This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSSDLDhbacc
    (Joe DeFranco's Limber 11)
    has helped my hip mobility and squat depth.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    Increasing your hip and ankle mobility will help a lot. You can find lots of really good videos on YouTube. I recommend Kelly Starrett's Mobility WOD series.

    Also doing more squats will make you more flexible. Just keep feeding the beast and it will come. Have some one watch you to give you feedback on your form.

    this.

    it's probably MORE a matter of ankle mobility than hip mobility- but often times it's both.

    Keep working it.

    Also- pry squats (holding on to something- feet close- walk hands down the bar - knees open- heels down- so you are in almost a garland pose- a yoga squat if you will)

    also- KB/Goblet squats (position is different for those as to where the weight is- but both are helpful)
  • ski0721
    ski0721 Posts: 109 Member
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    bump for the links and good info.

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