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Should I Deload my squats ?
blopmiyers
Posts: 195 Member
Firstly I apologize for so many questions on here. I squat with just a 45 lb bar and find myself losing balance or only feeling it in one leg. I figured it's muscle imbalance. Should I Deload to a 30 lb bar or just start from scratch at bodyweight squats. Id hate to have to restart but this is really bothering me. I feel pain in my right leg when squatting, I only squat with my heel a bit out of shoulder width as that is the most comfortable position for me.
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Replies
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I think perhaps you need to have someone do a form check on you or record yourself and review what it is that your doing during a squat.5
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lsutton484 wrote: »I think perhaps you need to have someone do a form check on you or record yourself and review what it is that your doing during a squat.
Bingo. Take some video at the very least. Likely just a technique problem not a strength problem.0 -
you could have imbalance or restriction anywhere in the kinetic chain, on the side that's giving you trouble. basically, proper form shouldn't be a lifelong struggle, so if you keep finding it difficult once you've gotten that check, i'd maybe talk to a physio or kinesiologist.
also, deload and backing off is absolutely the right thing to do if it's giving you actual pain or problems. it's much harder to undo the effects of persistently doing it 'wrong' than it is to nip problems like that in the bud. there are times when you can correct something painful in the process of carrying on. but i usually give it a short window, like a week at the most. if it goes anywhere other than in the direction of 'away' during that time, i re-think. little niggles easily turn into much bigger ones with lifting.2 -
I'll try recording myself. What would be a good angle to record?0
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I disagree. Unless your form is horrific your problem is you probably need to add a little weight to the bar. I know for me it's hard to get just the barbell centered over my mid-feet. It's much easier to find that center of balance with some weight on the bar.
As others have suggested it would be good to see a video of your squat. Video the side profile.0 -
A 45# back squat is a manageable wt for virtually everyone, even the smallest woman.
The problem isn't the wt, it's your form or lack of it. A video may help spot the problem but won't fix it. For that you need to find or pay for a trainer who can analyze the problem and teach you how to squat properly.
One thing that comes to mind is the recent thread posted here about doing an unweighted "Third World Squat." The lesson was that many people who had a problem doing a back squat also could not do a Third World Squat but, after they learned how to do it, they were better able to do a back squat.
So, you might want to give that a try. I'd post a link to the thread but I can't do that from my phone. If someone else doesn't post the link, I'll do it later from my desktop.2 -
Here's a side angle view. Unfortunately I can't go any higher with the camera
https://youtu.be/4VaElyW2VkY 0 -
you're dropping incredibly fast. i'm trying to un-learn that habit because dive-bombing into the bottom put a huge strain on . . . basically everything once i hit that bottom. i'm not a trainer or coach but i definitely think you should get comfortable with a more controlled descent before you add even more weight. when you're flexible, i think it can be hard to realise there's a difference between 'stopping because i'm deciding it's time to stop' and just dropping down and trusting the limitations of your own flexibility to do the stopping for you. hope that makes sense.
you're not having much trouble getting back up, so doesn't look to me like you really need to deload after all. see if you can control things on the way down and if that helps any with the trouble you're having, first.
you didn't mention where you're feeling the pain exactly, and 'my right leg' is a lot of real estate
also curious if you notice it more at a particular point in the range of motion. 2 -
canadianlbs wrote: »you're dropping incredibly fast. i'm trying to un-learn that habit because dive-bombing into the bottom put a huge strain on . . . basically everything once i hit that bottom. i'm not a trainer or coach but i definitely think you should get comfortable with a more controlled descent before you add even more weight. when you're flexible, i think it can be hard to realise there's a difference between 'stopping because i'm deciding it's time to stop' and just dropping down and trusting the limitations of your own flexibility to do the stopping for you. hope that makes sense.
you didn't mention where you're feeling the pain exactly, and 'my right leg' is a lot of real estate also curious if you notice it more at a particular point in the range of motion.
The pain is mostly felt near the abductor when my hips are pretty much as low as they can go, it's probably something to do with why I don't really feel my right leg being worked as much as my left. And I agree, I do drop down too fast, that is possibly one reason why I lose balance when going back up.
Other than that, do you think my form is okay? I'd like to be able to squat properly before adding weight.
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I agree with the speed - maybe try counting to yourself for the following seconds:
On the way down 1,2,3,4
At the bottom 1, 2
Way up 1
The pause will ensure you aren't using the momentum to drive yourself back up i.e. not "bouncing"
It also appears that you are locking your knees at the top. Try focusing on squeezing your glutes at the top as hard as you can rather than locking your knees - that could be problematic if you want to look to increase the weight.
However - looks like you have great range of motion which many beginner lifters struggle with so that's great. Remember to stretch and foam roll once you start adding that weight on to prevent stiffness, advice I should have listened to myself, trigger point therapy is painful!!!
Also when progress to heavier weight you want to make your set up really simple. I try to take only 3 steps from the rack - not so important for you at the moment but something that takes getting used to.
Keep it up!4 -
Bump this a few more times. To see if it will pull in a few more people in the know. @SideSteel would be a good one, if he's around.2
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blopmiyers wrote: »The pain is mostly felt near the abductor when my hips are pretty much as low as they can go,
you might be going too low and physically pinching something between your pelvis and femur on that side. alternatively/also, if your glutes aren't engaged then reversing direction in the hole might be getting much too offloaded onto everything else. i know that one of the side-effects i experienced from that was all kinds of hell in my tfl and glute medius muscles. my hip flexors weren't happy either especially right in the pinch zone. you really need your glutes to be doign all that.
i really support the use of theraband exercises to get the feeling of glute activation and even just to make it happen in the first place. just squatting with a band around my legs just above the knees did things to force them into engagement and keep them that way. i had the mobility already, but the activation was a separate thing.Other than that, do you think my form is okay? I'd like to be able to squat properly before adding weight.
i'm really not the right person to ask i think i've discovered just about every way there is of doing it wrong and invented a couple new ones that nobody's come across yet. but doing it right is something other people are probably way more qualified to help with than me.
i'll add one thing though: have you ever read or heard about 'bracing'? and/ or the valsalva manoeuvre? i'm not sure if you're giving yourself time to take that big breath and get properly braced through your core before you get moving.
this is a thing that i've watched more than a couple of times. i think there are two other parts but i'm lazy and don't want to go looking for them.
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canadianlbs wrote: »blopmiyers wrote: »The pain is mostly felt near the abductor when my hips are pretty much as low as they can go,
you might be going too low and physically pinching something between your pelvis and femur on that side. alternatively/also, if your glutes aren't engaged then reversing direction in the hole might be getting much too offloaded onto everything else. i know that one of the side-effects i experienced from that was all kinds of hell in my tfl, hip flexors and glute medius muscles. my hip flexors weren't happy either especially right in the pinch zone. you really need your glutes to be doign all that.
i really support the use of theraband exercises to get the feeling of glute activation and even just to make it happen in the first place. just squatting with a band around my legs just above the knees did things to force them into engagement and keep them that way. i had the mobility already, but the activation was a separate thing.Other than that, do you think my form is okay? I'd like to be able to squat properly before adding weight.
i'm really not the right person to ask i think i've discovered just about every way there is of doing it wrong and invented a couple new ones that nobody's come across yet. but doing it right is something other people are probably way more qualified to help with than me.
I'm not entirely sure how low to go, I've always heard that you have to go "As To Grass" The lowest I can go without feeling that pinch is when my hips are parallel with my knees.
Also, I found this website http://breakingmuscle.co.uk/uk/learn/3-reasons-you-don-t-squat-more-and-what-to-do-about-it
I will definitely incorporate those 3 stretches into my pre workout stretching.0 -
i have been doing hip circles and the whole agile 8 sequence for the past little while. they've been great rehab for the stuff that's been bothering me.
i also got down on the floor with one of those styrofoam balls you buy from craft stores, and dug out some trigger points in my iliopsoas muscles (right on the inside surface of your pelvic bones) as well as the tfl/glute medius. but you might want to be pretty cautious with that. it helped me a lot but it was crazy painful. i put it off until i was pissed off enough to take it out on myself.0 -
blopmiyers wrote: »Firstly I apologize for so many questions on here. I squat with just a 45 lb bar and find myself losing balance or only feeling it in one leg. I figured it's muscle imbalance. Should I Deload to a 30 lb bar or just start from scratch at bodyweight squats. Id hate to have to restart but this is really bothering me. I feel pain in my right leg when squatting, I only squat with my heel a bit out of shoulder width as that is the most comfortable position for me.
I'd be ditching the bar and going for box squats and Goblet squats and working on form for a few weeks1 -
I'm a novice but ,speaking as someone who has knee problems,it looks to me like you are "locking "your knees when you straighten up ?0
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I consider myself a novice squater as I avoided it for years so I won't offer form critiques but the weight may be a problem relative to your current strength level. I'm doing stronglifts 5x5 and generally don't feel like my body conforms to good squat form until I pass the 135lbs mark. I'm working on my flexibility to get full depth at warmup weights but it is slow going.0
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blopmiyers wrote: »Firstly I apologize for so many questions on here. I squat with just a 45 lb bar and find myself losing balance or only feeling it in one leg. I figured it's muscle imbalance. Should I Deload to a 30 lb bar or just start from scratch at bodyweight squats. Id hate to have to restart but this is really bothering me. I feel pain in my right leg when squatting, I only squat with my heel a bit out of shoulder width as that is the most comfortable position for me.
I'd be ditching the bar and going for box squats and Goblet squats and working on form for a few weeks
^This
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Packerjohn wrote: »blopmiyers wrote: »Firstly I apologize for so many questions on here. I squat with just a 45 lb bar and find myself losing balance or only feeling it in one leg. I figured it's muscle imbalance. Should I Deload to a 30 lb bar or just start from scratch at bodyweight squats. Id hate to have to restart but this is really bothering me. I feel pain in my right leg when squatting, I only squat with my heel a bit out of shoulder width as that is the most comfortable position for me.
I'd be ditching the bar and going for box squats and Goblet squats and working on form for a few weeks
^This
Agreed0 -
Lowering the weight is not technically a deload since a deload is a working rest using a much lower weight than you normally work with to give yourself a rest for a week or two. I think goblet squats or DB squats are going to be the way to go until you can adapt to the movement pattern.
A few questions though, as an 18 year old male your squats, even starting, should be far higher than the empty bar so is there some medical issue? How long have you been trying to squat? Have you been seeking help? When I was 16 I was a 100 pounds and started squatting at around 95 pounds the first week so something seems way off here.
Also, are you really 18? If you are under age then I suggest you find another site as this is not a sight for minors.0 -
blopmiyers wrote: »Here's a side angle view. Unfortunately I can't go any higher with the camerahttps://youtu.be/4VaElyW2VkY
This is an interesting one to me.
At first glance I think there's a couple of things I'd attempt here.
I'd like to see you try contracting your glutes at the top of the squat prior to descending. For some people this tends to slow down the eccentric and maintain a bit more tightness.
I'd like to see you squat a bit shallower. When you get to the very bottom of the squat, which is quite deep, you're getting some lumbar rounding and additionally you also mention pain at the bottom of the squat. It's possible that simply cutting it short will alleviate that.
I'm not suggesting you start squatting above parallel -- my opinion is that you can cut a few inches of depth and still break parallel and possibly improve your overall positioning.
Your squat is decent until you bottom out and that's where it seems to get wonky.
You could also stand to improve upper back tightness but I'd go with the above stuff first IMO.4 -
Slow down as already said.
What is your warmup?
Do you do any unilateral work? Incorporating some into your routine can help to fix and avoid imbalances.
Also, check out squat university for great information as well as the recent piece that barbell shrugged did with them that had all kinds of great squatting information.0 -
blopmiyers wrote: »Here's a side angle view. Unfortunately I can't go any higher with the camerahttps://youtu.be/4VaElyW2VkY
This is an interesting one to me.
At first glance I think there's a couple of things I'd attempt here.
I'd like to see you try contracting your glutes at the top of the squat prior to descending. For some people this tends to slow down the eccentric and maintain a bit more tightness.
I'd like to see you squat a bit shallower. When you get to the very bottom of the squat, which is quite deep, you're getting some lumbar rounding and additionally you also mention pain at the bottom of the squat. It's possible that simply cutting it short will alleviate that.
I'm not suggesting you start squatting above parallel -- my opinion is that you can cut a few inches of depth and still break parallel and possibly improve your overall positioning.
Your squat is decent until you bottom out and that's where it seems to get wonky.
You could also stand to improve upper back tightness but I'd go with the above stuff first IMO.
Never thought I'd see a trainer say that.
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blopmiyers wrote: »canadianlbs wrote: »you're dropping incredibly fast. i'm trying to un-learn that habit because dive-bombing into the bottom put a huge strain on . . . basically everything once i hit that bottom. i'm not a trainer or coach but i definitely think you should get comfortable with a more controlled descent before you add even more weight. when you're flexible, i think it can be hard to realise there's a difference between 'stopping because i'm deciding it's time to stop' and just dropping down and trusting the limitations of your own flexibility to do the stopping for you. hope that makes sense.
you didn't mention where you're feeling the pain exactly, and 'my right leg' is a lot of real estate also curious if you notice it more at a particular point in the range of motion.
The pain is mostly felt near the abductor when my hips are pretty much as low as they can go, it's probably something to do with why I don't really feel my right leg being worked as much as my left. And I agree, I do drop down too fast, that is possibly one reason why I lose balance when going back up.
Other than that, do you think my form is okay? I'd like to be able to squat properly before adding weight.
If it hurts at the very bottom like you say, there's nothing wrong with raising that squat up an inch (maybe more). You're dropping extremely low and there is not much added benefit to squatting that low.
This probably won't be a popular opinion, but I'd be interested in seeing form with MORE weight. I only say so because my body weight squat and warm up squats look much different than squats at a higher weight.
If it hurts to squat, then you need to get to the bottom of that first and I'm not a doctor or any kind of specialist in sports medicine, muscular or skeletal system, or the body in general. Good luck and I hope the pain goes away.
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_incogNEATo_ wrote: »blopmiyers wrote: »canadianlbs wrote: »you're dropping incredibly fast. i'm trying to un-learn that habit because dive-bombing into the bottom put a huge strain on . . . basically everything once i hit that bottom. i'm not a trainer or coach but i definitely think you should get comfortable with a more controlled descent before you add even more weight. when you're flexible, i think it can be hard to realise there's a difference between 'stopping because i'm deciding it's time to stop' and just dropping down and trusting the limitations of your own flexibility to do the stopping for you. hope that makes sense.
you didn't mention where you're feeling the pain exactly, and 'my right leg' is a lot of real estate also curious if you notice it more at a particular point in the range of motion.
The pain is mostly felt near the abductor when my hips are pretty much as low as they can go, it's probably something to do with why I don't really feel my right leg being worked as much as my left. And I agree, I do drop down too fast, that is possibly one reason why I lose balance when going back up.
Other than that, do you think my form is okay? I'd like to be able to squat properly before adding weight.
If it hurts at the very bottom like you say, there's nothing wrong with raising that squat up an inch (maybe more). You're dropping extremely low and there is not much added benefit to squatting that low.
This probably won't be a popular opinion, but I'd be interested in seeing form with MORE weight. I only say so because my body weight squat and warm up squats look much different than squats at a higher weight.
If it hurts to squat, then you need to get to the bottom of that first and I'm not a doctor or any kind of specialist in sports medicine, muscular or skeletal system, or the body in general. Good luck and I hope the pain goes away.
I agree with the more weight idea as well. I was working with a woman in the gym a few weeks ago and she had issues squatting the bar because she had the typical posture issues that come from sitting a lot so she would lean forward and was off balance a lot. She did goblet squats and DB squats and she was fine. So when she loaded up the bar to 95 and her squats improved because it allowed her to overcome some of the structural resistances she has. She still leans forward naturally but is working on those imbalances and is improving.0 -
_incogNEATo_ wrote: »
This probably won't be a popular opinion, but I'd be interested in seeing form with MORE weight. I only say so because my body weight squat and warm up squats look much different than squats at a higher weight.
EXACTLY what I said, and now that I've seen your video OP I'm convinced that's what you should do. Your form is not bad. I think the reason you're "dive-bombing" into the hole is because you need more weight. Put some weight on the bar, GET TIGHT, control your descent, and squat to just a little below parallel-that's all the lower you need to go to be effective and protect your knees.
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Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »_incogNEATo_ wrote: »
This probably won't be a popular opinion, but I'd be interested in seeing form with MORE weight. I only say so because my body weight squat and warm up squats look much different than squats at a higher weight.
EXACTLY what I said, and now that I've seen your video OP I'm convinced that's what you should do. Your form is not bad. I think the reason you're "dive-bombing" into the hole is because you need more weight. Put some weight on the bar, GET TIGHT, control your descent, and squat to just a little below parallel-that's all the lower you need to go to be effective and protect your knees.
Low squats do not hurt your knees, this was an unjustified conclusion from bad research. Going lower can actually help build them up. If low squats actually hurt your knees then every Olympic lifter on the planet would end up with massive knee injuries and that's just not the case.
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"Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Low squats do not hurt your knees, this was an unjustified conclusion from bad research. Going lower can actually help build them up. If low squats actually hurt your knees then every Olympic lifter on the planet would end up with massive knee injuries and that's just not the case.
???
I never said low squats hurt your knees-high squats (above parallel) can due to more pull on the knees from the quads. Squatting @ parallel or below now involves the hamstrings more which stabilizes the knees (equal pull from quads + hamstrings)
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Leadfoot_Lewis wrote: »"Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Low squats do not hurt your knees, this was an unjustified conclusion from bad research. Going lower can actually help build them up. If low squats actually hurt your knees then every Olympic lifter on the planet would end up with massive knee injuries and that's just not the case.
???
I never said low squats hurt your knees-high squats (above parallel) can due to more pull on the knees from the quads. Squatting @ parallel or below now involves the hamstrings more which stabilizes the knees (equal pull from quads + hamstrings)
Ahh, ok misread that than, apologies for that. Squatting ATG is definitely harder because it's pretty much only the hamstrings that are going to bring you up. Also, I only tend to do high bar squats to ATG depth, which makes it a more quad than hip dominant movement. Low bar I tend to go just below, i.e. PL depth, but that gets more hip into it so more weight can be lifted normally.
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Wheelhouse15 wrote: »Lowering the weight is not technically a deload since a deload is a working rest using a much lower weight than you normally work with to give yourself a rest for a week or two. I think goblet squats or DB squats are going to be the way to go until you can adapt to the movement pattern.
A few questions though, as an 18 year old male your squats, even starting, should be far higher than the empty bar so is there some medical issue? How long have you been trying to squat? Have you been seeking help? When I was 16 I was a 100 pounds and started squatting at around 95 pounds the first week so something seems way off here.
Also, are you really 18? If you are under age then I suggest you find another site as this is not a sight for minors.
I'll be turning 19 in a few weeks. I've been "attempting" to squat for 3 months now making changes and trying out different stretches, I never really tried with more weight as I don't have any plates to put on the bar.0
This discussion has been closed.
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