Squat imbalance, elbow/biceps pain

[karthik]

Hi Coaches,

In the last two weeks I've developed severe elbow/bicep pain in the left arm from squatting. On the inside, the "headache-like soreness" described in the book, and up the bicep to the anterior deltoid. Pain's about a 3-5 out of 10, lingers for a day after squats. I'm not using a thumbs-around, low elbows grip, but I still assumed I must be carrying some of the weight in my hands. This being an exceedingly common condition on the forums, I found and implemented several suggestions:

- Significantly tighter back and shoulders, squeeze the scapulae together. Hold the bar tight and don't let it wiggle
- Narrow the grip for a better shelf, or widen it to place the arms in a more comfortable position. (Went narrower, it helped)
- Raise the bar half an inch, it might be too low
- If the bar rolls even a little after unracking, rack it and start over
- Shoulder flexibility exercises, dislocates
- Arm work, curls

All of these have helped to small extents, but the problem persists. Today I discovered what might be the cause, or at least a related problem:

(Please skip to 30 seconds.) Weight is 111 kg.


The bar tilts towards the left when I squat at work set weights. Quite egregiously by the last rep, as you can tell by the bar's position against the holes in the left and right guides of the rack. The shaky knees don't help, I suppose. It felt perfectly balanced during the set, even when an observer shouted that it was slanted after each rep.

I have two questions:
1. How do I fix this imbalance? I can't feel it at all.
2. Additionally, am I doing something with my hands during the setup or the reps likely to cause the elbow pain?

Previous form check here, and I have a video from the standard 45 degree rear angle if required.

[Tom Campitelli]

I have bad news. You aren't really asymmetrical. The small deviations you see there are not significant. Widen your grip. See if that helps. Don't push so hard on the bar with your hands as you ascend. Narrow your stance about 2 cm. Keep your knees out, even as you fatigue.

[karthik]

Including the previous form checks I posted in Nov 15, this is three months of free coaching and tips you've provided. Thanks Tom, I appreciate it.

I think I developed the elbow/bicep pain by not tightening my back when picking up the bar. It was with a wider grip (about 2-3 inches wider on either side), and I've found that the narrower grip (from the video above) helps with the pain. Secures the bar much better too.

Two questions on technique:

1. Does "not significant" mean I shouldn't bother trying to fix this deviation and just get on with squatting? Focus is at a premium during the work sets, and if I'm not thinking of this I can think of other things, like the bar path cue and descending at a steady pace. (I have a tendency to dive-bomb.)

2. I didn't realize I was pushing hard on the bar on the way up. How tightly should I be holding the bar? In threads on elbow/bicep pain, some posts recommend just resting the hands on the bar, pushing forward lightly to keep from developing this problem. Others suggest white-knuckling the thing to keep it from moving around or rolling.

And two on programming:

1. The pain is somewhat better now. I can squat and press with some discomfort and DL just fine, but I can't bench. For now, is it a good idea to press every session going up 2-3 lbs each time? (I'm only pressing 42 kg / 92 lbs, and I weigh around 197 lbs. 6'0" tall.)

2. What is the protocol for when I discover a few of my reps were an inch or two high today? Like this: http://i.imgur.com/3vjB739.jpg
"A few" = 2 reps in the first set, 1 in the second and 1 in the third, say. Should I repeat the weight next session, or just raise the weight and focus on going deeper?

[Tom Campitelli]

Fuck. I just typed up a really detailed reply and the website fucking ate it. I am pissed now. Not your fault, OP, but I will reply again later.

[karthik]

Ack, that always drives me crazy. These days I compose anything over three lines in a text editor and copy into the browser.

You were 100% on the mark about me pressing the bar hard at the bottom. I paid careful attention, and I am pushing the bar forward and down really hard with my left hand right as I get out of the "hole". (In fact, I wasn't getting as much pain when I was two inches high on my reps.)

I tried hard not to do this, and it worked! I got very little pain last session. Unfortunately, focussing on not pressing the bar at the bottom is taking attention away from the other issues I need to fix (like mid-foot balance and the shaky knees):


(The wrist flexion makes it harder for me to push the bar forward.)

Also, I don't think I'm dropping my elbows or relaxing my chest, but the bar does not feel stable at the bottom any more. More often than not, it rolls a bit forward, towards the neck.

[Tom Campitelli]

Your video looks like it was filmed at about 5 or 8 frames per second, so it is very difficult to say a lot about it. Your knees are coming in a bit, but aside from that, your squats looked okay. If the bar is rolling up on you, think of keeping your shoulder blades pinched back and down. That may help with keeping your upper back tight. I am glad the pushing on the bar thing was of use, too.

[idlehands]

How are the sleeves on the bar ? Frozen sleeves can make the bar do odd things.