Rash on back from squatting (open sore)

[Zero]

I used to squat once a week until i started doing back squats 2x a week as per SS.
I watched the video by Mark several times about holding the bar on the back, well i got it down well but i have soft skin, i work with my hands constantly and they never toughen up. Normally id get a rash and it would heal but the 2x a week has made it start to bleed now
I am at 290 lbs for my working sets.
Is there anything i can do so i can keep squatting? I was thinking about wearing 2 shirts or just putting a medical cloth bandage over the offending wound.

Thanks in advance.

[8odin8]

you're supposed to squat 3x a week. I don't think you are positioning the bar on your back correctly. Most likely the bar is lying on your spine which in return is irritating the skin. I think this is the source of your problem and fixing this will fix the wound. In the meantime, cover it with a medical bandage. Don't use the pussy pad.

[BarbellJunkie]

Most lifters I know (myself included) have tough patches of skin where the bar sits.

It gets worse for me when I'm chalking my back, using a rough bar and the bar doesn't quite sit right on the 'shelf' (slipping down). Focus on finding that 'sweet spot' where the bar will stay put.

As for toughening up your skin... I have no idea.

[veryhrm]

Where is this sore ? Also do you have the bar slide up and down on your back when you squat ?

In the short term, definitely give it a workout off to start healing and put a bandage on it for next time, but you'll have to figure out a longer term fix.

[Zero]

Sorry should have mentioned its over the shoulder blades, the bar is pinned into my back but i think the action of it digging in when i set it up sorta pinches the skin. The bar sorta fits right in the groove on my rear delts in the low bar position and doesnt move around.
i never had this problem when i was at a normal bodyfat either, i get easily bruised now (i am bulking though). Here is a pic, better than a description.

[veryhrm]

idk what to say other than to bandage that thing up. Ongoing open wounds is not a good way to go through life. I also have a rough spot in that area and also only on one side though i SWEAR i'm loading everything symmetrically. The only time mine actually gets scratched up is when i feel the bar slip down. Maybe keep your back tighter so that it rests on muscles and doesn't make so much contact w/ your scapula ?

[jackthestrat]

Sorry should have mentioned its over the shoulder blades, the bar is pinned into my back but i think the action of it digging in when i set it up sorta pinches the skin. The bar sorta fits right in the groove on my rear delts in the low bar position and doesnt move around.
i never had this problem when i was at a normal bodyfat either, i get easily bruised now (i am bulking though). Here is a pic, better than a description.

This problem will disappear when you put on some weight.

[Charlie Davies]

This problem will disappear when you put on some weight.

I was thinking that too, when I saw how lean the OP is.
But I don't have direct experience of this -- I haven't been that lean since long before I took up barbells.

jackthestrat, are you guessing or do you have experience with very-lean people having skin problems?

[DJC416]

All my lean training partners complain about this.. I personally never understood it but hey. I'm thinking they should do some more upper back work to get some muscle for it to sit on.. and gain some weight

[t0rment]

I'm far from lean and I've had sores like this. I just squatted through them and they eventually went away as the area toughened up.