It's possible that you need more upper back tightness.
It's possible that you may not be quite centered on the barbell.
You may consider trying to pull the bar over your back, and what I mean by this is that you pull down on the bar as it's on your back like you're trying to bend the bar over your back. This works really well for some people and it's awful for others.
You may need to let the weight "settle" after you unrack, after you walk out, and between reps.

And I could be wrong on all of the above but these are some ideas.

I'm 5'0" and 110 lbs, and I haven't found this, unless I am not centred under the bar (or I messed up my math and the bar is heavier on one side :P ). I also suspect it is an upper back tightness issue, and you aren't getting that "shelf" for the bar.

lynseya83 wrote: »

Grand thanks- next time im there I will try to tighten up my back then! Do you mean to really push my shoulders back and keep the bar pulled in 'towards' me rather than holding it up so to speak? Hard to describe!
I do tend to lean forward when I squat, but even with no weight this happens. Feet just outside hips, and toes turned out a little,bum back like im sitting as opposed to kneeling. Was watching quite a few videos on form to see if I could change it but as I get lower my upper half does seem to lean forward! Grrr! May or may not relate to my wobbly bar worries!

Yes, squeeze your back and pull your shoulder blades together. You should not really be holding the weight with your arms, just steadying it.
And you will lean forward if you low bar squat. That is what you are supposed to do. It is the only way to keep the weight over your mid foot.

Check out this picture for bar position. You can see how it is kind is wedged in position.

http://www.fireservicewarrior.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Squat1.jpg

The low bar was more comfortable for me, and I was less wobbly today. Thanks OP for asking and thanks to all the good advice.

hmm. i'm not really a posture guru right now, got some stuff of my own that i'm fighting with. i have two or three main things i do.

1. pec stretches. you're probably sick of hearing it. but it's such a big deal when you want to put a bar on your back. pec minor is probably an even bigger factor for me than pec major, as it influences your ribs.

2. start as wide as needed and tighten up as each rep feeds you more range. i sometimes do my just-the-bar set with my hands 4 inches wider on each side than where they end up once i get to work mode.

3. pull shoulderblades TOGETHER before feeling around for the right spot to jam into the bar. in the last pic, it seemed like your upper back might be a bit rounded. see if straightening up a little - coming up under the bar at a more upright angle - makes it easier to do the tight shoulderblades. you want to think about drawing those inside borders of the shoulderblades together and squeezing your triceps against your lats (orange in armpit cue). for me this seems to make it much easier to get the grip close right away.

Definitely notice the bar is off-center here, leaning to the right. Very likely caused by the right arm seeming a lot more tight/not staying as close to the body as the left.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but until you can fix whatever tightness issue you have (could take a few workouts) you might wanna try not making your grip entirely symmetric on the bar. Slide your left hand the width of 2-3 fingers further out and see how that feels. I actually have had to do this a lot after my shoulder injury where my right side is a LOT tighter than the left so if I set up completely in the middle and then let my body do it's thing, the bar is ALWAYS off-center.

As for addressing the root cause, it could be a number of things, but other than the pec stretch I would also try foam rolling the lats and triceps, and that fun area behind your shoulder along with it.

You might also benefit from doing a few shoulder stretches and strengthening exercises (for more than the squat). It's never too early to prehab them shoulders IMO (wish I'd listened to myself this summer ha!). Do you have access to resistance bands?

Oh, one more thing: Can you actually grip the bar without the wrist bending at all? Grab the bar, get under it and when it's on your back, instead of pushing into it, try rotating the bar into a position where your elbows are underneath while keeping the wrists neutral. It may help with the position, but more than anything, it'll prevent elbow tendinitis and wrist strain in the long run.

i can't say enough about how great it is to catch stuff like this early, before it becomes a learned neural pattern and your body gets familiar with doing it 'wrong'. so yay that you find such a change with the adjustments you're making.


******disclaimer: i don't actually know nuthin'. i just have some experience of hurting myself and have had a wonky shoulder since forever, so i ended up having to look up muscles a lot *******

where on your shoulderblade do you get the cramps? around this time last year i had a hell of a time with my left shoulder, and it was like an act of will not to let that wrist curl under to take some of the stress off my rear rotator cuff. i finally took it to a physio and learned that it wasn't weakness, i had a impingement. the 'cramping' was actually from the muscles and tendons getting pinched between bones every time i brought my upper arm backwards. external rotation exercises on the cable machine helped a lot, and so do y's and t's. there was some subtle stuff i had to figure out, about shifting the positions of my collarbone and shoulderblade to make 'space' for the humerus to move in the socket. but i won't bore you unless you think that it might be useful.

another very good thign to do is band pull aparts. you can do them with a light band - it's not so much about creating monster strength right away, and more just about activating the muscles of your upper back/rear shoulder girdle and getting them used to firing. . my trainer is manic about making his people do sets of 12 pulls in between sets of just about every lift, and for me it's paid off bigtime.

broomstick 'dislocates' are good mobility boosters as well. don't force anything - place your hands as wide on the stick as you need to. part of lifting for me has been learning the difference between the feel of a tight muscle, and one that's being impeded or impinged in some way.

krokador wrote: »

I do my dislocators with a resistance band.

i'd say it's safer to start with just the broomstick and really make sure your muscles are comfortable with the range of motion, before adding strength as a further challenge to it. from the impingement perspective, it's super-critical be able to control the joint in a good position throughout the whole move or you can destabilize it even more.

just sayin'. my strength differentials at different points in the dislocate rom were pretty extreme.

canadianlbs wrote: »

krokador wrote: »

I do my dislocators with a resistance band.

i'd say it's safer to start with just the broomstick and really make sure your muscles are comfortable with the range of motion, before adding strength as a further challenge to it. from the impingement perspective, it's super-critical be able to control the joint in a good position throughout the whole move or you can destabilize it even more.

just sayin'. my strength differentials at different points in the dislocate rom were pretty extreme.

Oh, no, i'm not using it for strength at all. I'm saying using a resistance band instead of a solid broomstick is easier on the joints because it allows them to move more freely. I never get to the point where I have to stretch the band to make it (but if for some reason my grip is too narrow at least the band CAN stretch to accomodate that, y'know?)

Not everything I do has a get-stronger purpose! lol