I’m having some problems with tightness when i’m squatting. I would like some advice on how to fix this if possible. I’m posting a vid of a non max single. I also have some tightness in the muscles at the front of my thigh at the ‘hip crease’, it isn’t holding me back or hurting, but it is a bit worrying and it’s in a difficult spot to foam roll. Any advice on dealing with this?
[quote]lunchead wrote:
I’m having some problems with tightness when i’m squatting. I would like some advice on how to fix this if possible. I’m posting a vid of a non max single. I also have some tightness in the muscles at the front of my thigh at the ‘hip crease’, it isn’t holding me back or hurting, but it is a bit worrying and it’s in a difficult spot to foam roll. Any advice on dealing with this?
From that angle I couldn’t see anything glaringly wrong. Your belt seems pretty high to me, but I know where the belt sits is very individual. What exactly is the issue with tightness you have?
With the hip area, a lacrosse or hockey ball or ever the barbell on j hooks will probably get at it better than a roller.
My abs, I keep reading that I should keep my core tight but I realize i’m arching my back and losing ‘tightness’ there. Maybe i’m overthinking it.
When I wear the belt lower it gets in the way of my legs.
Do you have a video with more of a side angle? Nothing stands out for me either. How much you arch your back is also very individual. It’s a balance between engaging your erectors, mid/lower traps, serratus anterior, lats and abs. Ideally you want a position with all muscle groups maximally contracting.
It appears you’re breathing into your chest and not into your belly to brace your abs.
Try not wrapping your thumb around the bar take a false grip. Pull the bar down like in a lat pulldown ( you may need to go a smidge wider ) it looks like your upper back isn’t set tight.
As for the quad/hip crease pain - really work on your IT bands with a trigger stick or something of the like.
Lastly you might be initiating the movement through your knees and not through your hips. Make sure you’re actively rotating out to open your hips from the moment you start the lift to the end.
I suggest not looking down after the unrack. When you look down you have to relax your upper back and regaining that tightness requires wasted effort by your nervous system. Your foot position is fine so get out of the habit of checking it.
Also, try wearing shoes. I’ve done barefoot squatting and it feels unstable. Tightly laced shoes will help you hold a stable foot position and you can direct your mental effort towards driving your knees out. On that note, I notice more knee drift than upper body collapse. I regard knee drift as a more serious problem to fix. A loose upper body could ultimately express itself as an over the head dump–which will be scary but you’ll walk away from. Too much knee drift could lead to a blown ACL.
OP, you need to go to a doctor. I had the same problem and I found out I was squatting with Impinged hips. Not fun. Now I need a cam lesion removed, several bone spurs removed, and the hip scoped.
[quote]corstijeir wrote:
Try not wrapping your thumb around the bar take a false grip. Pull the bar down like in a lat pulldown ( you may need to go a smidge wider ) it looks like your upper back isn’t set tight. [/quote]
[quote]david s wrote:
I suggest not looking down after the unrack. When you look down you have to relax your upper back and regaining that tightness requires wasted effort by your nervous system. Your foot position is fine so get out of the habit of checking it.
[/quote]
I fixed my grip (no thumbs and went a bit wider) and also stopped looking down and it made a world of difference. I squatted a 5 rep PR
- YouTube
I also solved the problem with the hip tightness by massaging and resting as well as going lighter on squats for a while. Thank You for the assistance all.
Wow, big time improvement not that the first video was god awful.
I think that hip crease irritation was from the way you were squatting. You weren’t opening up your hips enough and when that happens, you’re going to end up running into your hip flexors and mashing through them.
But it looks like you fixed that.
It also seems like you have the right idea for fixing the hip flexor issues developed from your old form.
All of this in a relatively short amount of time.
FWIW, props to ya.
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hey man, nice squat.
I think you just need to stretch your hips. A rear foot elevated hip stretch really seems to work, I do it everyday, and should make it easier to get depth. Have fun.
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I fixed my grip (no thumbs and went a bit wider) and also stopped looking down and it made a world of difference. I squatted a 5 rep PR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s21fIHxw6kY
I also solved the problem with the hip tightness by massaging and resting as well as going lighter on squats for a while. Thank You for the assistance all.
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Heck yeah dude, that’s great improvement. Before you start your squatt breathe into your belly pushing your abs out like filling a balloon, THEN slightly push those hips back, open the hips and squat down.
Also make sure you’re driving those knees out by rotating through the hip - imagine your legs like a screw driver, and then from the foot up to the hip screw each leg outward.
Great improvements.