Squat check

[bondageboy]

Squat 131kg - YouTube

131kg.

Two issues. The first is that I've acquired a stoopid injury in my left quad; from what I can tell looking at anatomy pics it's the rectus femoris, at the top where it joins the hip. Am I doing anything that's causing this/making this worse?

Second, I'm not hitting depth. Without a bar, I can't squat down below parallel without either getting my heels off the floor or holding on to something to stop me falling over. It's only a couple of inches from where it should be but I can't see how to get it there.

[Jeff Illingworth]

Is it your intention to do high bar squat?

[bondageboy]

No. I thought it was in the right place - I could hold it higher than it is - but I take your point. I'll have a look at fixing that.

[Jeff Illingworth]

That would help. The mechanics of high and low bar squats are necessarily different. Do, if you mean to be doing low bar, we need to fix the bar position first.

[bondageboy]

OK, so had a go at it today after reviewing the DVD videos again. No vids, sorry - gym was heaving.

As well as bar position, the other thing I realised is my stance is too narrow.

I've definitely found a lower position for the bar that works - it's not comfortable, but that seems to be par for the the course. I have quite a 'forward' posture naturally so getting a narrower, tight grip is hard work.

Opening the stance and especially shoving the knees out on the way up makes a big difference to the tendon pain. I can feel it kick in every time the knee comes in a little bit.

[Dalton Clark]

The correct position for the low bar squat shouldn't be uncomfortable assuming you are accustomed to its location. If your discomfort is due to shoulder flexibility there is a stretch to do for that. Look up Paul Horn low bar stretch. If there is pain in that position (pain on the scapula), you likely have the bar on top of the spine of the scapula rather than below it. If the bar rolls up during a set, the bar is too high, if it rolls down it is too low.