Squat form check, injury issues

[goblinpunter]

Hey guys, first time poster here.

I've been having issues with my hips - pain in both hip joints. Started noticing issues doing the novice program at about 250 pounds, but I kept going, trying to fix any form issues on the fly. Once I hit around 310 lbs (and about to start the intermediate programming) I stopped squatting due to the pain. It wasn't bad pain, but the fact that it was so persistent had me worried. Around this time I also noticed a huge decrease in flexibility, and it was more difficult to get depth. Tried for a few weeks to deload, but the problem persisted. Took about a month and a half off, but after starting fresh a couple weeks ago, I'm having the same issues as before.

Been doing some research, trying to figure out the issue. I remember Rippetoe in SS taking about hip flexor tendonitis due to knees sliding out over the toes, so I started trying to correct for this (using a TUBOW). Didn't help. Stretching hasn't helped much either. After doing some online research, my symptoms seem to be pointing to Femoral Anterior Glide Syndrome (unfortunately also known as FAGS).

Anyways, here's a form check video. The syndrome is supposedly caused by a lack of glute activation - I notice I have some butt wink at the bottom. Help me get rid of my FAGS!

http://youtu.be/1TufhQ6b-Ic

[Nicholas Racculia]

Do you sit a lot during the day?

What's the angle of your toes with respect to your heels? They look like they are pointed almost perfectly straight ahead. Is that where they should be?

How aren't your glutes activated at the bottom of squat with 310 lbs on your back?

[boot29342342]

Even in a profile video, I can see that your knees are not out like they should be. But a back angle video would confirm this. This is what your knees should be doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVKEl4Wxoqc

p.s. you might want to read this, too:

http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...e/active_hip_2

[goblinpunter]

Do you sit a lot during the day?

What's the angle of your toes with respect to your heels? They look like they are pointed almost perfectly straight ahead. Is that where they should be?

How aren't your glutes activated at the bottom of squat with 310 lbs on your back?

I definitely do sit a lot, and I notice the pain returns after I've been sitting for an hour or so.

My toes aren't straight, but they aren't at the angle Rip teaches. After this all started, I seem to have difficulty getting depth with my heels out that wide, so I narrowed my stance up just a bit. I can see now that I'm just sacrificing my straight back to get depth on this position.

I don't know how to answer this question. I'm assuming you've implying that they would have to be activated under that weight. I always thought I was using my glutes as I always focus on keeping them tight during the squats and always have DOMS there after coming back to squatting from an extended break. I have shit for kinesthetic sense, so I thought maybe I was sensing this wrong.

[goblinpunter]

Even in a profile video, I can see that your knees are not out like they should be. But a back angle video would confirm this. This is what your knees should be doing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVKEl4Wxoqc

p.s. you might want to read this, too:

http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...e/active_hip_2

I'll try to get a better angle up soon. I'm confident my knees are over my toes, but my toes' angle isn't properly wide (though they are pointed outwards). I have been trying (probably incorrectly) to fix my pain at depth issues by narrowing my stance a bit.

I have read that before, and I need to read it again apparently. Narrowing my stance seems to be the wrong solution from what the article is proposing, but this issue started with the wider stance taught by Rip. With the flexibility issues I described, it's difficult to reach full depth with the wide, proper stance. But according to the video I'm only hitting depth with butt wink, something I didn't realize I was doing.

[goblinpunter]

Thank you both for taking the time to help me out. I've been trying to problem solve this on my own for quite a while, but I've managed to get nowhere.

[goblinpunter]

Here's some more videos from what's hopefully a better angle:

First set: http://youtu.be/MHinlSNQ2ow
Second: http://youtu.be/DT5ltPnzSOQ
Third: http://youtu.be/GgtteGZXeto

Also, I'm not sure why I forgot to mention it, but the pain is only present for the first few warm-up sets. I've been doing 2-3 bodyweight sets before the warm-up sets proper, and this is where I experience the most pain and inflexibility. After the empty bar sets, I'm mostly pain free and once I get to my work sets I only notice a slight tightness in my hips at the bottom of the squat. The rest of my workout is fine. It's only about an hour or so after my workout that the soreness returns.

[Nicholas Racculia]

My toes aren't straight, but they aren't at the angle Rip teaches.

I looked at the first set and it seems your stance is too wide. Get your toes out to the angle Rip teaches and then we who are taught by Rip can be useful in addressing that hip pain. Why does the SS method want those toes out?

I don't know how to answer this question. I'm assuming you've implying that they would have to be activated under that weight. I always thought I was using my glutes as I always focus on keeping them tight during the squats and always have DOMS there after coming back to squatting from an extended break. I have shit for kinesthetic sense, so I thought maybe I was sensing this wrong.

I would worry less about glute activation and more about simultaneously keeping your chest up and driving your hips towards the ceiling. The set I took a look at definitely did not have that strong "chest up" position.

[goblinpunter]

I looked at the first set and it seems your stance is too wide. Get your toes out to the angle Rip teaches and then we who are taught by Rip can be useful in addressing that hip pain.

http://youtu.be/5zp1C7nxDP4

Here's another video of my final set today. I tried narrowing my heel width and pointing my feet out at a greater angle. It didn't seem very natural (seemed like the angle was too much), but it felt much better at the bottom. I wasn't able to film my set from Monday's workout, but that was the day I tried this new stance. I had less pain and inflexibility during my warm-ups today, so hopefully I'm on the right track.

Why does the SS method want those toes out?

Rip wants the toes out to activate the hip adductors and protect the knee.

I would worry less about glute activation and more about simultaneously keeping your chest up and driving your hips towards the ceiling. The set I took a look at definitely did not have that strong "chest up" position.

You mean the tight upper back, "chest up" cue? I really focused on keeping it up this workout. It felt better, but on viewing the video it didn't seem like much changed from a visual standpoint. I'll keep focusing on getting that down.

[Nicholas Racculia]

Those look like solid squats to me...thought it is 4:44 in the freaking morning so what do I know at this hour...why the hell am I up?

The Chest-up cue sets the entire back really (especially for the deadlift, right?)