Unload to a weight at which you can maintain the movement in a correct pattern.
Load from there.
Have yourself checked for a leg length discrepancy. Absent a LLD, the fault is that of the person operating the barbell. Book some time with a coach.
Member
Squat - Bat Drifting on Left Side
I have a nasty issue with my squat, for some reason, I always let the bar drift/rotate on my left side.
This makes me lose balance and forces me to come on my toes instead of keeping the bar over the midfoot.
Because of this issue, I was sub-200 lbs (at ~185 lbs) for a long time. Eventually, my gym got a new barbell and my rotation/drift reduced (but it was still there) and I was able to increase weights.
However, now at ~240 lbs, I am again facing the same issue. While I am able to increase weights but I am sure to hit my limit very soon unless I can fix it for good.
I am putting my most recent squat video here (from the left side) but I have others from different angles and weights so feel free to ask for more videos if required.
What I have tried:
- Tried different grips (thumbless/thumbs around) with different width and elbow position.
- Tried changing my squat stance
- Tried pushing from the bar from the right side (this works well when going down but hard to maintain when coming up from the hole)
I am bit desperate to put this issue behind me but not sure what to do next. If you have any suggestion or an idea (or have seen anything like this) please reach out.
Last edited by who828; 03-22-2017 at 03:56 AM.
Starting Strength Coach
Unload to a weight at which you can maintain the movement in a correct pattern.
Load from there.
Have yourself checked for a leg length discrepancy. Absent a LLD, the fault is that of the person operating the barbell. Book some time with a coach.
Member
Hey Steve,
Originally Posted by Steve Hill
Just last week I tried doing few sets at 190 lbs, here is a video from a different angle.
I think while my form is much better here. Let me know if you see anything weird/wrong which I should focus on correcting right away.
I will get the LLD checked this week, though it will be hard to get my weightlifting shoes shimmed over here in case of an discrepancy.
Unforutnately, getting a SS coach (in person) is not possible as the nearest one is in another country.
Member
Not sure how you are not simply falling over forward at this point honestly, the bar is so far in front of your feet. As Steve said, deload for sure. You're not hitting depth on any of the squats. Get shoes with a hard sole (actual lifting shoes, or chucks/one stars/whatever, or just go barefoot until you can procure real shoes). Finish your squat before walking back to rack it. Have your spotter punch the dude that couldn't wait another 20 seconds to put that bar away.
Member
So I went to a physiotherapist and she thinks I have functional scoliosis (structurally it's unlikely according to her), so my left side of the scapula is down and my right side is up which is causing the rotation I am seeing here.
Her advice was to stop training for a while and get these imbalances short it out.
I personally never have faced any back issues ever since I started lifting (in fact my back pain went away the most part) so I never had a reason to go see a doctor.
What should I do now? Get a shim and still squat?
Starting Strength Coach
I agree with almost all of your comments except the one on weightlifting shoes, since the lifter is quite obviously wearing a pair of Nike Romaleo 2 shoes.
Starting Strength Coach
No, you don't shim for a "functional" discrepancy. You make yourself stop performing the erroneous function. There is much to fix about your squat. BEND OVER. Get your knees out better. Get them all the way forward much sooner. Fix them in place about halfway (or a little more) down during the descent, and the sit back/bend over even more. Focus on driving your hips up like in rep 4, which was the only correct (on the way up anyway) rep in the set. DO NOT start walking the bar back to the rack until you finish the rep. Lock the rep out, pause, breathe, hold your breath again, and then re-rack the bar. Quit being in such a hurry to put the bar away.
All of this WHILE MOVING THE BAR IN A STRAIGHT, VERTICAL LINE OVER THE MIDFOOT. Do NOT allow yourself to rotate like you were. This will fix itself if you pay ABSOLUTE STRICT ATTENTION to this while you squat. You cannot allow this error to creep back into your reps PERIOD.
Now, back up to 135# and re-start a LP from there, WITH PERFECT FORM.
Also: "Thinks" you have a "functional scoliosis". L O FUCKING L.
Member
My bad, I'm a flats guy and those looked like running shoes tend to.
Member
Hey Steve,
This quote from you got me thinking (I already had doubts) about the physio, so I met another one. As soon as she examined me she told that I had LLD. (and not the apperant variety)
However, I didn't expect it to be this much. It turns out my left leg is ~20 mm (3/4") shorter.
I guess what surprises me is that apart from the form issue above, I didn't experience any other adverse effect. (perhaps I would have if I had continued to increase weights).
I also tried few squats by putting a plate under my left foot (though the plate was about 10-12 mm thick) and I found that it helped me with my form. I guess now I need to get my shoes shimmed if I want to continue lifting (is it possible to shim Romaleos 2?). In the meanwhile, I am going to put a block of wood (with correct thickness) and deload my weights I can get used to it.
Starting Strength Coach
This is a different story, and much more explanatory WRT your issues. Was the length discrepancy in the shank, or the femur, or both?
In any regard, no idea if anyone will shim those shoes. No experience whatsoever; however, there's a topic in Rip's forum in which I posted a link to a company that shims shoes. You can always ask....
Your plan (using block of wood) is the correct idea, but I'd get a piece of 3/4" plywood, 2' wide, 4' long, that way you can unrack and walk out on it.
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