Revamping My Squat

Last year I started Nate Green’s Built For Show program and had made considerable gains in many areas of lifting. My squat went from just below body weight (165 at the time) to 230 within a 3 month period (give or take a week or two in any direction), as well as my deadlift making leaps and bounds, etc.

Well back in November I ran the Tri-State Tough Mudder in NJ and around mile 10 of 12 I had a sharp pain in my right hip. I finished and all that good stuff, but afterwords it got worse. My guess is that my sciatic nerve swelled up and it only got worse once I stopped moving around. I had to make the 10 hour ride home in the back seat of my team’s vehicle with my leg propped up facing the windows. After a few days the pain went away. I didn’t notice it again until the next time I worked my legs with squats. It didn’t really hurt so much as feel unhealthily tight.

Along with feeling tight, I’ve noticed that my form has gone to complete shit as well. I can squat half way decent with just the bar, but as soon as I add weight my knees cave in and I get a ton of pelvic tilt. My abductors and practically every other muscle in the glute/hip region feel like they’re tight enough to cause an injury if I don’t get things fixed.

What are some thoughts and opinions on this matter? What I’ve been doing (per the advice of the former BB’er that runs the gym I go to) is ditching the bar squats and doing sumo squats with a kettlebell between my legs. It’s helping with the knee caving issue but my nether regions still feel tight as hell.

Come on guys, I’ve had this post up since Sunday and no one has so much as said boo to it. I’d appreciate some feedback and possible solutions.

try posting it in injuries n rehab

Foam rolling. After I injured my hammy lasy year, my hip/glute region was super tight, and it was a problem trying to work legs. Foam rolling worked wonders.

Don’t lift if there’s still pain. The tightness likely indicates the injury is still not completely healed, so go easy.

[quote]Hodge_Podge18 wrote:
…It didn’t really hurt so much as feel unhealthily tight…

…Along with feeling tight…

…My abductors and practically every other muscle in the glute/hip region feel like they’re tight enough to cause an injury…

…It’s helping with the knee caving issue but my nether regions still feel tight as hell…
[/quote]

Do you see a reoccurring theme here? You said everything is tight many times and your solution was to try goblet squats?

What about doing A LOT of stretching? What about going and getting a massage? What about foam rolling?

Check out the main article on the front page from today. That might help you out.

I would foam roll the shit out of that entire area, quad, hammy, glute, abductors and all, it band, and stretch the hell out of it immediately after foam rolling. Also, my sciatic gets tighter than all hell when I get lazy and forget to roll and stretch my lower back so maybe give that go as well.