nikegurl

first a few confessions. i HATE leg day. for a time i tried to tell myself that i loved it but i never did believe that crap.

next - i frequently skip leg day.

then finally (no surprise here) my legs are really really weak and badly in need of more muscle. (and less fat but that's a whole other issue)

i'm turly determined to fix this. i'm tired of my legs sucking but i'm having a real problem with squatting. i'm not sure why or how to fix it.

last night i started with 65 lbs (stop laughing...) i did 10 perfect form reps below parallel. mental focus was there and legs felt good. so far so good.

next set i went to 85 lbs. i immediately found i was starting to lean forward at the waist. not rounding my back or looking down with my head but leaning at the waist. i know that's bad form. it was a real struggle to correct it and i'm not sure that i did for the whole set.

i still got 9 reps but they just felt crappy if that makes sense. i'm not complaining about them being hard but about not feeling it the same in my legs and having a real hard time with not leaning forward with my torso.

why was this happening? too heavy?
more importantly - what is my best way to correct it?

should i stay with lighter weight for a bit and not do 85 again 'til i can do it without leaning or still do 85 since i got 9 reps and try my best not to lean?

Tomorrow may be the best day of your life.

Or not.

Calmdwn

You could always try doing front squats. I prefer them over a regular squat myself.

gwcaton

i agree , i switched for the very reasons you list NG

Gary

P-funk

Don't try front squats. The problem doesn't sound like it is your legs as much as it is your ab and lower back (core) strength. Front squats will only be more difficult since the weight is infornt of you and the challenge to your equlillibrium will be magnified. Work with the lighter weight and keep trying to sit as uprigth as possible. Also, work your abs (especially static contraction crunches and sit ups) and lower back (especially planks). Also, we need to adress bar placment. Were on you back are you setting the bar? The high up the more you overload the quads becuase the less hip flexion you will have and the bar will be moving more directly over top of them. The problem with that is to do these you need to have a strong back becasue the weight is gurthest form the axis of rototation (being your lower back) which means when you start to fatigue you will start to roll forward a bit (it happens to me after numerous sets and reps as well...at that point I then change my bar placement to the following). If you let the bar go lower on your back (lower on the traps right above the scapula, "the shelf") you will then get more hip flexion and your back will lean forward a little bit, however this is okay so long as you back is flat. The reason this is okay is because the weight is closer to the axis of rotation (you lower back) and you are placing yourself in greater hip flexion which will result in more strength coming from the hip extensors (butt and hammies....thsi is how powerlifters squat).

So to sum up.....look at your bar placement....back flat.....work on core musculature.

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nikegurl

thanks so much. you're right on the core strength issue.

as for bar placement i keep the bar pretty high and when i do start to lean my back is still flat. i don't tuck.

i'm gonna stick with it and work on the core strength as well.

are planks where you lie flat and lift your upper body and legs off the ground (stretched out) so pretty much only your abs stay on the floor? not sure about those....help?

thanks again.

Tomorrow may be the best day of your life.

Or not.

gr81

I agree with mr funk over here NG. Also its simple but very helpfull. When squatting, there is a chain readtion that happens with teh body. for instance, when at the bottom of the movement, alot of people try to come up with their hips when teh first thing you should move is the head. Once you bring your head up, everything else will follow. See what I am saying? Keep eth bar in the middle of the traps and consciously try to focus on keeping the head up. hope that helps

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Triple Threat

I want to jump on P-funk's bandwagon, too. Work the core, and the squats will improve.

sYkboY

This is merely an opinion but I think doing deadlifts has really helped my core. Something about the posture or ? Maybe it is just me but it may help you as well. My squats are acceptable, I just started lifting again but got 385 for 10 the other day, not a lot for some but a best so far for me. I still need to work on the same points as above-> just really out of shape.

Keep the good Q's and A's coming people!

Still losing fat and gaining muscle. Man, feels like it takes for ever to get lean again and the strength doesn't come back over night.

nikegurl

i agree. i'm adding rack deadlifts to back day.

thank you all for the good advice and for not laughing.....

Tomorrow may be the best day of your life.

Or not.

gr81

nothing to laugh about NG,. no need to be ashamed. Squatting is a hard movement to master no doubt. YOU have to learn to love the legs though so hit it hard and don't qworry bout nothin else. you will get it down....

Testosterone Site/Elite Fitness-Dave Tate/West Side Barbell/Berardi Nutrition & Sports Performance/Steroid Laws- Rick Collins/John Defendis Intensity or Insanity articles/Save the Supersonics

derekisdman

I can't get the front squat down, regular squat isn't a problem.

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blood stream.

Evil ANT

Whoa! That sounds exactly like me. I dread leg day.

Nice to know I'm not the only one.

cpa55

Don't know if this will help or not, but I squat with a 10 lb plate under each heel. I don't have very good flexibility in my hamstrings or calves, so this helps with my alignment and balance at the bottom of the movement. I have heard some people say use them and others say not to, but they help me.

Premo55

Yup, lower the weight and work on your core. I think that if you're not doing any good hamstring work that might also be a problem. Personally I lean forward on the last rep of every set when going to failure, I've always wondered if this is a terrible thing when I'm trying to bang out that one last rep. I do full, ass-to-the-grass squats, and seeing as how I have extraordinarily long legs I hit a sticking point pretty much halfway through the movement. And Nikegurl, I hate leg day too. Absolutely detest it, yet there's nothing like the feeling of achievement after a leg day. I do leg days twice a week, one dedicated exclusively to the quads (and I take quad days seriously, 10 sets of 10 reps German Volume style for back squats, 5 sets of 8 hack squats supersetted with leg presses, step-ups, and leg extensions with static holds at the top (I hold the top position for as long as humanly possible for the last rep of every set)) and one day for the hamstrings and calves (stiff-legs and good mornings up the wazoo).

I dunno, for me squats are all an issue of feeling and mind-muscle connection, too many cats in the gym pile on the weight, put the safety pins up way too high, and perform quarter squats to fuel their ego when they are really experiencing no strength or hypertrophic gains to speak of. I go with lighter weight, higher reps and supersets for legs, because that's what I respond to best. To throw a spanner in the works I do have very heavy, low rep days, though, every once in a while. And about missing leg day, nikegurl, I was guilty of the same thing last month, where I didn't train legs for two and a half weeks...the good thing about that was when I finally got in the gym and forced myself to do leg day, my quads exploded!

Peace.

T DOT O.