Which muscles are supposed to hurt after doing squats?

zyxst
zyxst Posts: 9,147 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've just started a resistance band program that has body weight squats. I'm wondering if the muscles that hurt are the ones that are supposed to be hurting, or if I'm doing wrong form. I don't have a video or pictures. I'm also not sure of the muscle names, so bear with my layman descriptions.

Workout - http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-you/workout-routines/10-minute-tuneups-resistance-band-workout?slide=5#fZFDMK3b9chfHcVg.97 - I do the modified version because I keep tripping over the band.

Day 1 soreness - quads (muscles on front/top of thigh)
Day 2 soreness - still quads? (muscles going from knee joint to front of thigh)

Isn't my butt and back of thighs supposed to hurt, too?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Squats are a full body exercise but their main muscle worked is quads. I'm copying this from bodybuilding.com:
    Barbell Squat

    Also Known As: Squats
    Exercise Data
    Type: Strength
    Main Muscle Worked: Quadriceps
    Other Muscles: Calves, Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back
    Equipment: Barbell
    Mechanics Type: Compound
    Level: Beginner
    Sport: No
    Force: Push
    Your Rating: Rate this exercise

    I don't think it is abnormal to feel them more in your quads than in other areas.
  • bcruz313
    bcruz313 Posts: 56 Member
    From squatting I am usually sore in my quads and my butt. It makes it hard to sit down. Are you sqeeuzing your glutes?
  • pzarnosky
    pzarnosky Posts: 256 Member
    Your quads should hurt. Your butt (glutes) and back of thighs (hamstrings) should also be sore. Squats are fabulous! Your lower back muscles and core may be sore too. Make sure you pay close attention to form though. It's everything. Your femur (top leg bone) should be parallel with the floor at the deepest point of your squat. Keep your chest up so you don't round your back. And don't let your knees track past your toes. It's uncomfortable and takes a lot to get really good form, but it's so worth it :smile: and yes, your should be sore for at least 2 days after a lift.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I have never had sore hamstrings after squatting. Well, maybe the first two weeks I ever did them, but not after that.

    Knees past toes are fine.

    And sore for 2 days is not a requirement.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    What I have noticed having to "refind" my squat form is that at first all the work was in my quads and whilst I never struggle with a straight back I did lean forward more, as I got stronger and could really tweak and concentrate, I now really focus on getting the weight into my heels and sitting back into the squat more with my chest higher, this is now working the glutes and hamstrings a lot more and making my squats more efficient and harder!

    Just really focus on form and you'll get there.
  • bostongrl13
    bostongrl13 Posts: 58 Member
    Just a suggestion since I can't see your form but do a squat and check and see if you are driving up on your toes and if your heels are coming off the ground. Try focusing on pushing up from the bottom of the squat through your heels and squeezing your glutes through to the top , but don't let the front of your foot come off the ground.
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    For me, My lower back is usually sore, my stomach (bracing and flexing), and definitely my quads. My knees use to hurt, BAD, before I got the SlingShot knee pads.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,147 Member
    bostongrl13 wrote: »
    Just a suggestion since I can't see your form but do a squat and check and see if you are driving up on your toes and if your heels are coming off the ground. Try focusing on pushing up from the bottom of the squat through your heels and squeezing your glutes through to the top , but don't let the front of your foot come off the ground.

    I do push up on my toes and I'm trying to stop that. It's hard since I don't walk on my whole foot and balance on my toes. I'm probably not squeezing my glutes since I have no idea how to do that. I know my form is bad, but it's difficult to fix without some one physically putting me the way I should be.

    My hubby is home, so I can get a short video of my squatting in a few minutes.
  • ungeneric
    ungeneric Posts: 60 Member
    edited June 2015
    I do barbell squats, but I imagine similar principles apply. Here's what I would say to a barbell squatter...

    If you're tending to push forward onto your toes:
    1) Make sure your chest is up through the whole rep. If you drop your chest you will tip forward a little.
    2) Make sure you're pushing your knees out as you squat down. Otherwise your center of balance will change during the rep. (Also you might just hurt your knees.)
    3) Make sure you lift by raising your hips rather than by pushing up from the floor. Imagine that you have a chain connected to the back of your waistband, and is lifting you straight up. This is crucial -- if you are driving down with your feet, like you're trying to push off the ground, you will screw up the form pretty bad. (This one made the biggest difference for me.)
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,147 Member
    Did this upstairs on thicker carpet. My feet were flat, but I was using the whole foot to push up.

    https://youtu.be/K7gUZzPt6wE
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    edited June 2015
    you're leaning way too far forward. sit back, keep your chest up. When you first start squatting, everything will hurt. After you get in better shape, you'll feel it more in your butt and hams, but you gotta fix your form. Wrap a rope around something like a tree and hold it so you can sit back more and keep your shoulders up, until you get your muscles trained, then you can lose the rope assistance.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    Also balance the sit-back with straight arms in front (push your butt back while swinging your arms forward). Keep your head/neck neutral. Going past parallel will help engage the glutes and hams. When you get your form down, you can balance with weights rather than arms.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    All of them.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited June 2015
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    you're leaning way too far forward. sit back, keep your chest up. When you first start squatting, everything will hurt. After you get in better shape, you'll feel it more in your butt and hams, but you gotta fix your form. Wrap a rope around something like a tree and hold it so you can sit back more and keep your shoulders up, until you get your muscles trained, then you can lose the rope assistance.

    Another option is if you have a post somewhere, you can hold onto it instead of a rope. I use the support posts in our basement to do this as part of my warm up stretching.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    squats are primarily going to work your quads until you go below parallel...that's when your glutes and hammies will activate more.

    That said, in watching your video, you are hinging forward at the waist...imagine if you had a barbell on your shoulders what would happen there. keep your chest up and back straight and squat with your legs, not with your back.
  • G33K_G1RL
    G33K_G1RL Posts: 283 Member
    My coach had us all start with box squats. Get a box (I used a rigid ottoman, not too much cushion) and sit down on the box. Get back up. Incorporate all the tips from previous posts :

    - Chest up
    - Hands forward
    - Hips back
    - Weight on the heel/mid-foot

    The box can be high to start with but eventually lower it to knee height. And really sit back on the box. That will teach your muscles how to lean back without being afraid of falling backwards.

  • AsISmile
    AsISmile Posts: 1,004 Member
    From 2:17 onwards http://youtu.be/_onIsUZD-yM

  • unrelentingminx
    unrelentingminx Posts: 231 Member
    G33K_G1RL wrote: »
    My coach had us all start with box squats. Get a box (I used a rigid ottoman, not too much cushion) and sit down on the box. Get back up. Incorporate all the tips from previous posts :

    - Chest up
    - Hands forward
    - Hips back
    - Weight on the heel/mid-foot

    The box can be high to start with but eventually lower it to knee height. And really sit back on the box. That will teach your muscles how to lean back without being afraid of falling backwards.

    In addition to doing the above, if you have the box a foot or so in front of a wall and sit facing the wall it will force you to keep your chest up otherwise you will headbutt the wall! Chest should be parallel with the wall all the way down and up again.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    See that chair in your video? Use it for chair squats (touch but don't sit).

    And every time you go to sit down and stand back up think of squats.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,147 Member
    My problem is I don't sit down the way I'm supposed to do squats. Squat position feels so unnatural to me.
  • mistib1229
    mistib1229 Posts: 14 Member
    Your body should in a position that's more similar to a wall sit. You're leaning your upper body way too far forward. The correct form actually feels really awkward until you get accustomed to it. Maybe practice by doing some wall sits for awhile first?
  • whatatime2befit
    whatatime2befit Posts: 625 Member
    Probably the best video I've seen explaining how to squat is "how to low bar squat" by mark rippetoe (sorry if spelled incorrectly) on YouTube. It's about 10 minutes long, but he goes through it step by step. Made me realize a few form mistakes I had been making. You need to learn how to do it without the bar first, but his points on the squat itself are good.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    zyxst wrote: »
    My problem is I don't sit down the way I'm supposed to do squats. Squat position feels so unnatural to me.

    And everyone else on the planet. You get used to it after a few years.
  • rmitchell239
    rmitchell239 Posts: 125 Member
    Review the posts and videos on proper squat form. Two of the biggest things are: keep your weight on your heels, and make sure your knees track the direction your toes are pointed. Find the foot position that is most comfortable for your body and use it. Squats primarily work your quads. You will be the most sore 2 days after working out so plan your rest days accordingly. Begin with no weight squats. If you want to work your gluts (butt) the best exercise I have ever found are lunges. These are a totally different exercise and you may need squats first if your leg strength is making you unstable. If you start lunges use only your body weight as well. Good job working out!!


  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,406 Member
    I've been reading "becoming a Supple Leopard" by Dr. Kelly Starrett. And in the book he emphasizes the importance of keeping shins vertical. This helps to activate your posterior chain during the squat. This activation of your hips and hamstrings relieves the stress to the knees.
  • XavierNusum
    XavierNusum Posts: 720 Member
    It really depends on how YOU squat. If you squat with feet closer to hip width, even if you "sit back" you're going to feel it more in the quads. More akin to olympic weight lifters. If you squat with your feet wider than hip width with toes pointed out further you'll feel immediately, as you sit back, the loading of the hamstrings and glutes. Not only that but you'll almost be forced to contract your glutes to get back up. Give it a try. Remember the tips given by the others to, knees track over toes, chest up and neutral neck! Don't try to look up or down dramatically. Google plies squats or goblet squats.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    Being extremely sore several days after a workout is actually not good for you. It would mean you are not recovering (eating the proper recovery food post-workout) properly, or not getting enough sleep, and are not stretching or healing your muscles fast enough. So if you're not super sore, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I used to be sore ALL week after leg day...now that I've figured out the CORRECT way to recover & heal my muscles, I'm sore about 2 days after leg day now. I foam roll & stretch before and after each workout and eat within an hour of each workout.

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