Fighting the forward lean during my back squat

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julie_broadhead
julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have a slight forward lean at the bottom of my back squat. What are some things I can do to correct this?

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  • ataylorgardner
    ataylorgardner Posts: 203 Member
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    slightly lift your toes so your weight shifts to your heels
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    Ok, I'm trying to post a video but am having issues.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,981 Member
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    Concentrate on keeping your chest UP and hips/shoulders BACK which will keep your weight and the bar centered over mid foot during the movement down and back up.

    You should NOT lift your toes to do this; you need to keep your feet flat and planted to the floor in order to avoid losing your balance backwards. Excess pressure to the rear will make you tilt backwards which is no better than leaning forward.

    Here's a link to an instructional video of Mark Rippetoe (Starting Strength) giving an introductory lesson in squatting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhVC_AnZYYM

    This is an excellent video on squatting; ignore the title, you don't have to be "manly" to follow the instructions. Rip has produced a lot of other videos on squatting. If interested, just Google "Rippetoe" and "squat."
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Concentrate on keeping your chest UP and hips/shoulders BACK which will keep your weight and the bar centered over mid foot during the movement down and back up.

    You should NOT lift your toes to do this; you need to keep your feet flat and planted to the floor in order to avoid losing your balance backwards. Excess pressure to the rear will make you tilt backwards which is no better than leaning forward.

    Here's a link to an instructional video of Mark Rippetoe (Starting Strength) giving an introductory lesson in squatting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhVC_AnZYYM

    This is an excellent video on squatting; ignore the title, you don't have to be "manly" to follow the instructions. Rip has produced a lot of other videos on squatting. If interested, just Google "Rippetoe" and "squat."

    Thank you for this:-) I'm on my second cycle of Starting Strength. I did my first one before I had my son and saw some awesome gains.

    I wish I could figure out how to post the video from my phone on to the discussion board! I'm losing the squat at the bottom. Everything looks good going down. Once I hit depth my chest pitches forward:-/
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    Video attempt #2
  • socalrunner59
    socalrunner59 Posts: 149 Member
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    Is it a lean or is your lower back rounding? Rounding back at the bottom of a squat is very common and caused by lack of hip mobility, that cause the pelvic to tilt.
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    socalrunner59 wrote: »
    Is it a lean or is your lower back rounding? Rounding back at the bottom of a squat is very common and caused by lack of hip mobility, that cause the pelvic to tilt.
    It's a lean. At the bottom of my squat, My rib cage pitches forward while my low back is flat.
  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
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    https://youtu.be/ZeqEWLvtZJw

    This is a really good video about squat issues, and the various reasons you might be losing balance forward.
  • baciodolce18
    baciodolce18 Posts: 113 Member
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    Are you doing high bar or low bar? There's naturally more of a lean doing low bar. But I'm guessing you also feel off balance since you're asking for advice?

    The video posted above is a great video. I just started watching his stuff. Very informative. Also really enjoy 2 buff dudes (I think) for more tutorials.
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    Erik8484 wrote: »
    https://youtu.be/ZeqEWLvtZJw

    This is a really good video about squat issues, and the various reasons you might be losing balance forward.

    Thank you:-)
  • mreichard
    mreichard Posts: 235 Member
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    I'm a total squat n00b, but one thing that really has helped me is pulling down on the bar with my hands while squatting. It sounds weird, but apparently this activates your chest and helps you keep it strong as you come up out of the hole. It has made a big difference for me in how deep I can comfortably go and in the quality of my last set. Previously, as I fatigued my butt would come up and I'd lean forward. When I pull down, my chest tends to come up as my butt comes up and everything stays more connected and solid.
  • jgubdlach
    jgubdlach Posts: 19 Member
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    julie_broadhead wrote: »
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Concentrate on keeping your chest UP and hips/shoulders BACK which will keep your weight and the bar centered over mid foot during the movement down and back up.

    You should NOT lift your toes to do this; you need to keep your feet flat and planted to the floor in order to avoid losing your balance backwards. Excess pressure to the rear will make you tilt backwards which is no better than leaning forward.

    Here's a link to an instructional video of Mark Rippetoe (Starting Strength) giving an introductory lesson in squatting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhVC_AnZYYM

    This is an excellent video on squatting; ignore the title, you don't have to be "manly" to follow the instructions. Rip has produced a lot of other videos on squatting. If interested, just Google "Rippetoe" and "squat."

    Thank you for this:-) I'm on my second cycle of Starting Strength. I did my first one before I had my son and saw some awesome gains.

    I wish I could figure out how to post the video from my phone on to the discussion board! I'm losing the squat at the bottom. Everything looks good going down. Once I hit depth my chest pitches forward:-/

    Are you going past 90? Other possibilty is the weight is too much? Also there is a forward lean in the squat although not a huge lean but there is. I would take a look and make sure your flexibility and range of motion at all joints and are no muscle imbalances, then start to look at technique and form.
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
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    leaning forward can be because the weight is too much and you are trying to shift into your quads to help the lift. you can try maybe lowering the weight, widen your feet , squeeze your glutes hard to power the lift back up. You have to really focus on using your glutes to squeeze the bar back up. Google Box squats, they might help you.
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
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    Thank you all for your feedback:-)

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