I had basketball shoes but for a few weeks already I am barefoot.
Does the same thing happen if you take 20 pounds off the bar? Maybe you’re just using a weight that you can’t handle with proper form.
Yes, it is the same. It is better with some weight on the bar because it keeps me more balanced so I do not fall backwards, if bar is empty then my form is still off. Interestingly I can keep my back completely straight during goblet or front squat but lead too much forward on back squat at around parallel. I will keep working on mobility and just experiment with various techniques, what else can I do…
It sounds like you’re trying to do a high bar squat with a flat sole. I feel like you would have better success if you changed one of those parts of your approach. Either employ a low bar squat, or get some shoes with a raised heel.
Are you focusing on sitting back too much while doing the back squat? Don’t sit back so much that you lose the ability to open your hips by forcing your knees open, unless you can do both together.
Like I mentioned several times, elevate your heels and see if it helps.
It helps but I should probably not rely on it all the time but instead work on ankle mobility as well. My ankles are okay but not great, the trainer in the gym said I could make use of them a lot more if I put in work to mobilize them.
You can do both. Squat shoes can just plain improve overall stability and allow you to keep the weight on your heels, even if you don’t have mobility problems.
It’s fine to have both a temporary and long term solution. In the long run it would be a good idea to have improved mobility regardless of whether or not you need squat shoes.
If you are mobile enough to be able to do what it takes to reach your goals, is there really any benefit in getting more mobile?
I’ll echo DD. Squat with the right shoes. If you want to work on mobility as well, that’s super cool, but there is no point in delaying getting bigger and stronger if you have a viable solution available.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
If you are mobile enough to be able to do what it takes to reach your goals, is there really any benefit in getting more mobile?
I’ll echo DD. Squat with the right shoes. If you want to work on mobility as well, that’s super cool, but there is no point in delaying getting bigger and stronger if you have a viable solution available.[/quote]
I see your point and it is a good one. I’m just saying that it provides more flexibility for variety in the future if he chooses to change his squat stance, shoes or whatever so that his mobility can accommodate the changes. I’m definitely not telling him to have extreme mobility just for the sake of it.
It’s the same thing with the elevated heels. Eventually he might be curious whether squatting with an elevated heel or without will help him achieve his goals faster so he needs to be mobile enough to do both to give a fair assessment of what works better.
As someone that has never trained mobility, I find that one is not hurting for variety due to the millions of ways to perform an exercise, but I understand your point about creating opportunities. I also find one can create a similar effect by engaging in a little training blasphemy by doing things like squatting ABOVE depth or not locking out reps, haha.
Hey do whatever it takes to reach your goals, haha. I won’t discriminate against different methods that work for people.
Your spine tends to follow your elbows (keep them back, and you will likely lean forward, keep them down and you will likely stay straight). Think of doing a lat pull-down as a cue.