Already failed squats after two weeks and might have injured myself

[Tuna]

Hello and thank you for reading.

38 year 5'10 male.

(Cue weird numbers because converted from kilos.)

Bodyweight: 164 lbs -> 170 lbs
Deadlift: 1x5 132 lbs -> 154 lbs
Bench: 3x5 100 lbs -> 121 lbs
Press: 3x5 44 lbs -> 66 lbs
Squat: 3x5 121 lbs -> 143 lbs (read on)
Chins: 3x10 +0 lbs -> 3x5 +22 lbs

Perception: Progressing on squats feels much harder than on the other exercises.

Sleep: I cannot function with less than 8 hours, so I get 9.

Eating: I'm living on a surplus of chicken, rice, beans, eggs, milk, yoghurt, and broccoli. Gained 6 lbs so far.

Failure event: I managed squatting 3x5 at 143 lbs in the penultimate workout. My training log has "fuck" written in it because of how hard I struggled on the last set. I also felt some mild irritation in my lower left belly. Today I tried for 3x5 at 148 lbs. I failed on the first set (4 reps). Fifth rep I got down but couldn't get up, dived out from under the bar and had the safety rails of my rack catch it. Second set 3 reps, third set 2 reps. I waited 8 minutes between sets. During the last two reps I felt a sharp, burning, intense pain in my lower left belly region. The area still feels warm and irritated three hours later but does not hurt. I didn't have any pain issues in the following exercises.

Image with location of pain: https://i.imgur.com/MKSnziR.jpeg

Questions:

- Why do I fail miserably on squats while the other lifts are progressing?
- What to do about the belly pain? See a doctor before squatting again? Form check video with warmup weight? Form check video with working weight?


Thank you!

[Mark Rippetoe]

You are about 50 pounds underweight. You may have an inguinal hernia, and this should be checked. Were you wearing a belt?

[Tuna]

Thank you for your time, Mark.

You are about 50 pounds underweight.

I agree. But you aren't implying that I have to gain 50 pounds upfront before being able to progress on my baby weights, no?
As far as I understood weight gain and linear progression should go hand in hand, and I gained 3 lbs per week so far.

You may have an inguinal hernia, and this should be checked.

will do

Were you wearing a belt?

no

[Tuna]

The doctor ruled out a hernia - nothing to feel, no protrusions, and nothing to see in the ultrasound. He also noted
that the location of the pain would be unusually high for a hernia. I left without a diagnosis.

I could get a second opinion from a doctor specialized in sports injuries but getting an appointment takes months.

I also found a nine year old post on reddit where a user claims to have fixed the issue with planks (link to post).

I did some test squats and the area flares up during the upwards movement of the lift when I go near the weight I failed at the last time.
Aside from all that I've gained another 4 lbs of bodyweight and added 5-10 lbs to all other lifts each workout. What's the intelligent next move, Coach?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Train through it, like we all do.

[Tuna]

Train through it, like we all do.

Appreciated. As a beginner it's hard to know when sucking it up is the way to go and when it would be fundamentally stupid.

Hopefully in a few weeks I can check in with all my lifts being on track.

[HailMary]

Appreciated. As a beginner it's hard to know when sucking it up is the way to go and when it would be fundamentally stupid.

Hopefully in a few weeks I can check in with all my lifts being on track.

Consider hiring a coach. Less wheel spinning and more progress.

[Tuna]

Hello Coach

I've gained another 4 lbs of bodyweight and increased all my lifts. Squats remain a frustrating problem. The burning pain starts when going above 140 lbs (the weight feels easy now, though). The pain gets worse and worse as I try to go up in weight. I don't know how to progress.

Here is a video with 145 lbs. (If here is the wrong location to post it I'll go to the Technique forum.)

https://youtube.com/shorts/jH1t4VVj2pM

I felt a mild burning sensation on rep 1, 2, 4, 5 and a sharp burning sensation on rep 3 (hence the pause at the top). Am I "good morning squatting"? Hopefully it's a form issue because then I could work on it. Again, thank you for your time.

[Mark Rippetoe]

May be time for an MRI on that area.

[Tuna]

Damn. I'll get an appointment ASAP but this will set me back weeks at least. My bench is already higher than my squat. How do I train in the meantime? Try microjumps? I have 0.5 kg (1.1 lbs) plates.

I forgot to mention: the precise moment where the pain sets in is during the upwards movement when the upper body begins to stand up. Can you draw any conclusions from that?