Ok I think i’m tracking down more of why my squat poundage sucks. I seem to have an imbalance in a leg.
Situation: Doing box squats today I noticed at the start of the way up that my right foot wants to turn inward. Normally I have my feet pointed out a little bit, and my left one seems to have no problem with it. But my right really really wants to pull itself inward.
So, in an attempt to figure this out I did some single leg extensions and curls on both legs alternately.
My left seems to lift fairly equally no matter which direction I aim my toes, either outward, straight or inward. My right leg though has an obvious issue of being weaker on the outward toe point, especially on the extension. Leg curl it was slightly weaker facing outward, but not much.
So is that meaning my right quad has some issues on one side? If so, what is a good method to fix it?
Very interesting… My right foot tends to rotate outwards when I do my box squats.
I was wondering if it had anything to do with a previous injury when I tore all the ligaments on the lateral side of the ankle.
Or if it’s because of years of golfing and my hips rotate easier to the left than to the right. So, to keep my hips straight, my right foot needs to rotate out.
This could be a number of things.
if your foot points inward or outward most likey it’s do to tight glutes,
hip flexor,IT band and maybe even hams.
The other major possiblity is maybe you have muscles imbalances. Try training/squatting in many different postions. Medium, wide and ultra wide
stances.
Try ultra wide deadlifts or deads with feet pointed inward or outward. do
6-8x1-3 reps for speed.
Make sure you train your hams at many different angles. Close and wide stances on something like pullthroughs would work well.
Work your granny hips- sit on a low bench or chair [a 8-16" box would do], wrap a band around both knees and then pull the bands apart forcefully, keep your low back straight. Your feet should be out wide and keep the toes stright ahead. The band should be tight enough to pull your knees in. Be careful not crush your nuts!
Yes the foot will stay in place with a wider stance, I just noticed it doesn’t want to when I have a shoulder width or less stance.
Jackass, I thought sitting at the computer reading stuff was just as good as sweating my balls off during a workout. You telling me that’s not the case?!?!?!
Crap and all this time I thought this typing was my HIIT and getting in/out of my chair to refill my ice cream bowl was just like squatting…
Anyway, thanks to all who suggested doing box squats. I can see they are yet another good piece to add to the workout puzzle. Even though they don’t “feel” like they are working the muscles as much as rear squats, they sure seem to do something since i’m still tired after and in the later sets it’s quite hard to initiate the upward push off the box.