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Thread: Trying to Fix Leg Strength Imbalance: Incorporating Belt Squats in Texas Method?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
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    Default Trying to Fix Leg Strength Imbalance: Incorporating Belt Squats in Texas Method?

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    Hi, I've been running into some issues with form breakdown in my squats and deadlifts at high intensity, where my lower back tends to take over a disproportionate amount of the load relative to my legs. This leads to challenging squat reps starting to look more like a good morning, and challenging deadlift reps starting to look more like a romanian deadlift. Found this video which I thought did a good job of explaining why this is happening (linked to 7:10 where they start discussing this issue): Assessing Leg vs Back Strength in the Squat | JTSstrength.com - YouTube

    After doing some research it seems like this is probably due to a strength imbalance, where my lower back is stronger than my legs. This shows in my lifts, I recently deadlifted a 1RM at 500 which felt pretty solid, whereas my tested 1RM for squat is only 375. You can also see examples of this in how my form breaks down in both cases:

    Squat Breakdown (Later Reps): https://www.reddit.com/r/formcheck/c...eb2x&context=3

    Deadlift Breakdown (Max Attempt): https://www.reddit.com/r/formcheck/c...eb2x&context=3

    I'm wondering what I can do to best correct this imbalance. In the video linked above they recommend belt squats, which seem to me like they'd be a great option for getting my legs up to speed with my lower back. Where should I incorporate this into the Texas Method program, or is there an alternative option y'all would recommend trying? I'm currently running the standard Texas Method, only mod is that I'm replacing power cleans with 5x5 beltless deadlifts, since I've never done any olympic style lifting. The two thoughts I had would be to do a 5x10 belt squat on Wednesday, and/or to replace some of the beltless deadlifts with belt squats. What do you think?

  2. #2
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    Dec 2014
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    These are not strength imbalances. You just aren't lifting with proper form. Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, 3rd edition (Current Revision, Paperback) – The Aasgaard Company. If you already read the book, might be time to get a coach for some coaching/form checks.
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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2020
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hayden-William Courtland View Post
    These are not strength imbalances. You just aren't lifting with proper form. Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training, 3rd edition (Current Revision, Paperback) – The Aasgaard Company. If you already read the book, might be time to get a coach for some coaching/form checks.
    Okay, can you see anything in particular that might be causing the form breakdown in the video in the squat video I linked?

    I feel like my depth looks alright, I'm also bracing hard and doing my best to drive my hips upward out of the hole. The reason I thought this might be a strength imbalance is that this only happens at challenging intensities, and is the way my form breaks down literally 100% of the time. I don't know if deloading would be particularly helpful, since this doesn't happen with lighter weights.

    If there's a particular cue you could point out that might be causing the issue that would be extremely helpful.

  4. #4
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    We can't see anything in this video because it is shot from the wrong position. See the sticky in the technique forum.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2020
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    On the deadlift, a 500lb single is great. In the video, you set up with the hips too low, and then when you started to pull, your hips came up and your back rounded. If you don't set up with your back in rigid extension, and keep it that way, your legs don't contribute as much to the lift. Lots of deadlift set-up videos on the site--here's a classic:

    The Deadlift in 5 Steps | Mark Rippetoe

    On the squat, it looks like you aren't bending over enough. If you put up a new video, the coaches on the board will give you feedback. Here are the video guidelines (the "sticky") that they referred you to:

    Required reading before posting

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