Short girl, long bar - stability issues?

Jambalady
Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am only 4'11 and I'm struggling with the balance and stability in my back squats. The weight feels ok, I did 85lbs yesterday but it felt wobbly I think due to the sheer length of the bar. Any suggestions other than trying to make sure the bar is centered? I feel much stabler with the smaller weighted barbells but can't get them over my head.

Replies

  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    As you squat more you'll develop the stabilizer muscles more and they'll help here.

    If you knock back the weight a bit are they still "wobbly"? If not, then you are hefting a weight that you can't stabilise yet.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Where do you grip the bar? Taking a wider grip might help stabilize the bar a bit more on your back.

    Also - what do you mean you can't get them over your head? Do you mean they are too short for the squat rack?
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    To add, are you creating the necessary degree of bracing for the load?

    You may want to look up people like Chris Duffin, Chad Wesley Smith and Quinn Henoch - they are a gold mine of squat bracing techniques.
  • Jambalady
    Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
    JTick wrote: »
    Where do you grip the bar? Taking a wider grip might help stabilize the bar a bit more on your back.

    Also - what do you mean you can't get them over your head? Do you mean they are too short for the squat rack?

    Yes, they aren't long enough to put on the squat rack.
  • Mayor_West
    Mayor_West Posts: 246 Member
    JTick wrote: »
    Where do you grip the bar? Taking a wider grip might help stabilize the bar a bit more on your back.

    Actually, taking a wide grip can make the bar more unstable, since it'll be resting more on your traps. Try squeezing your shoulder blades together to create a "shelf" on which you can rest the bar. This will also have the advantage of putting your spine in a neutral position, which will allow you to use maximum leverage at the bottom of the lift.
  • aaroessler
    aaroessler Posts: 32 Member
    Longer bar actually helps stability. It will improve as you strengthen your stabilizing muscles also. If you're uncomfortable lower the weight while your muscles adjust. Front squats or smith machine squats are other alternative.
  • Jambalady
    Jambalady Posts: 155 Member
    aaroessler wrote: »
    Longer bar actually helps stability. It will improve as you strengthen your stabilizing muscles also. If you're uncomfortable lower the weight while your muscles adjust. Front squats or smith machine squats are other alternative.

    Wouldn't having the weight be more centered to your body be easier than across a wingspan that is longer than the length of your body?

    I actually used a pad on the bar last night and felt much more stable.

  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    hollyhom wrote: »
    aaroessler wrote: »
    Longer bar actually helps stability. It will improve as you strengthen your stabilizing muscles also. If you're uncomfortable lower the weight while your muscles adjust. Front squats or smith machine squats are other alternative.

    Wouldn't having the weight be more centered to your body be easier than across a wingspan that is longer than the length of your body?

    I actually used a pad on the bar last night and felt much more stable.

    I'd be willing to bet that you aren't engaging your lats properly, setting your ribcage, inflating your obliques/lower back and creating the necessary hip torque to support the load. One of those things will be lacking (or you will have variation rep to rep). Again, as per my previous post, learn how Duffin or CWS do it, they have worked out consciously how to run a checklist that will give you maximum bracing and stability to handle the load (assuming it is the correct % of your RM for you to be handling for X reps). They both have content out there explicitly showing you how to do it. I would recommend Duffin showing Silent Mike bracing techniques (youtube it) or CWS giving a seminar somewhere (it's 5 top tips for squatting or something on Youtube - it's quite hard to discern what he says because Brandon Lilly's working with another group in the background off camera and it's noisy).

    Anyway, you need to learn and run through an activation/bracing checklist every time you unrack the bar. Learn it/nail it/then do it the same way every time irregardless of load. Remember: you should attempt to make every rep the same - this means you must approach the bar the same, unrack the bar the same, brace/activate the same and descend/ascend the same every time.

    Film your sets and see where technical breakdown occurs and correlate it with how you set up and executed and adjust based on what you discern.
  • icemaiden37
    icemaiden37 Posts: 238 Member
    Mayor_West wrote: »
    JTick wrote: »
    Where do you grip the bar? Taking a wider grip might help stabilize the bar a bit more on your back.

    Actually, taking a wide grip can make the bar more unstable, since it'll be resting more on your traps. Try squeezing your shoulder blades together to create a "shelf" on which you can rest the bar. This will also have the advantage of putting your spine in a neutral position, which will allow you to use maximum leverage at the bottom of the lift.

    Good advice. My squat form has improved immensely since keeping a closer grip and not wrapping my thumbs round the bar, as per Starting Strength.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    hollyhom wrote: »
    aaroessler wrote: »
    Longer bar actually helps stability. It will improve as you strengthen your stabilizing muscles also. If you're uncomfortable lower the weight while your muscles adjust. Front squats or smith machine squats are other alternative.

    Wouldn't having the weight be more centered to your body be easier than across a wingspan that is longer than the length of your body?

    I actually used a pad on the bar last night and felt much more stable.

    Actually, no. Think of a high wire act, how they hold that super-long pole to help with stability.

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