T Nation

Squats and Soreness

Bodybuilding
#1

hey everyone,

I get sore in my hamstrings/glutes when I squat, but not the quads. Anyone know the reason for this? I am going very deep & know my form is pretty good as I’ve been watched by a competitive O-lifter and a certified o-lifting coach.

I never thought to ask this question before, or always forget to ask it.
Thanks.

#2

Possible reasons you’re not feeling it in your quads:

  1. you’re pushing your knees out (tends to put stress on hips)
  2. you’re squatting wider than shoulder width
  3. you’re sitting with your ass far back
  4. You’re leaning forward too much
    It’s impossible to be sure without seeing your form, and it could just be that your quads are weak so your hamstrings an glutes overpower them on the squat.
#3

[quote]Jesse22 wrote:
hey everyone,

I get sore in my hamstrings/glutes when I squat, but not the quads. Anyone know the reason for this? I am going very deep & know my form is pretty good as I’ve been watched by a competitive O-lifter and a certified o-lifting coach.
[/quote]

I’m the same way, my quads have never gotten sore from doing squats…

if you’re squatting to get stronger don’t worry about it, but if you plan on being a well balanced bodybuilder and don’t want your hams/glute over-powering your quads then find exersizes that can work the quads more directly, like sissy squats, close stance front squats, leg extensions, etc…

good luck!

#4

[quote]Jesse22 wrote:
hey everyone,

I get sore in my hamstrings/glutes when I squat, but not the quads. Anyone know the reason for this? I am going very deep & know my form is pretty good as I’ve been watched by a competitive O-lifter and a certified o-lifting coach.

I never thought to ask this question before, or always forget to ask it.
Thanks.[/quote]

Have you added any new exercises latley?

#5

thanks. just training for sport/strength so guess I don’t have to worry about it.

#6

[quote]n3wb wrote:

Have you added any new exercises latley?

[/quote]

I just keep mixing it up. I try to do a different kind of squat every week. Back squat, front squat, squat jumps, OHS, etc. I did just add those ones where you stand w/ dumbbells in hands & bend over while standing on 1 foot & standing back up. But didn’t do them this week.

#7

i’m similar. my legs are slightly wider than shoulder (i have long legs for my torso, have to do this or it’s not pretty). It used to make my quads sore, but now I hardly do enough weight to go really deep. I assume this is because my hams/glutes are underdeveloped compared to my squat, and when they catch up and the weight goes up, the quads will be sore.

maybe that’s an incorrect assumption, but it seems to make sense.

#8

[quote]cap’nsalty wrote:
3) you’re sitting with your ass far back
4) You’re leaning forward too much[/quote]

How can you make your ass go too far back? Would that mean too much is on the heels and not on the balls of the feet? Anyway, forward-lean is needed by some people or they’ll fall backwards. Probably not so much with higher weights, wonder what he’s squatting.

#9

another good way to put more emphasis on the quad is a single leg variety such as the bulgarian split squat

#10

I’m not squating very much, just trying to get back into shape. About 110% of body weight for 8-10reps.

#11

I get the same thing. Heavy leg presses hit my quads hard though, so I tend to do squats and leg presses.

#12

[quote]tyciol wrote:
cap’nsalty wrote:
3) you’re sitting with your ass far back
4) You’re leaning forward too much

How can you make your ass go too far back? Would that mean too much is on the heels and not on the balls of the feet? Anyway, forward-lean is needed by some people or they’ll fall backwards. Probably not so much with higher weights, wonder what he’s squatting.[/quote]

No, your weight should be on your heels (if it was on your toes you’d fall over). But you can sit back or down to varying degrees. If you don’t understand this, I don’t know how to convey what I’m trying to say without a demonstration.

#13

What are you doing before your squats? For example, are you doing OL, then pulls before squats? Because if I do these, I get my soreness in the hammies and not much at all in the quads.

#14

ah maybe thats the reason. some days I do clean/snatch then squat and sometimes I DL first. but theres also days when I just squat & still get sore in the hammies.

#15

Just use a narrower stance when you squat if you want to emphasize your quads. Front squats and hack squats (espcecially with a narrow stance) will also emphasize the quads.

I like to do a couple of lights sets of 20 leg extensions before I squat too. This will get the blood flowing in the quads.