Quadracep pain during warm up and after squats

[mechtonia]

I've been doing SS for 3 months now and have pain in my quadriceps where they attach to the pelvis. If you strike the pose where your thumbs are stuck in your front belt loops and your hands frame your groin, the area under the hands is almost exactly where the pain is.

It is the worst during warmup. The first few reps with just the bar are pretty bad. The more weight (or perhaps the more reps), the less pain and they pretty much don't hurt at all when I'm lifting the working set.

Then they usually start hurting a little a few hours after the workout.

I've posted elsewhere and been told that it must be my form. I have de-loaded, posted some form check videos and am pretty sure that my form is decent.

This is really taking a lot of the fun out of squats. Any advice that could help fix this would be much appreciated.


Per posting guidelines:
Age: 35
Sex: M
Weight: 205lbs
height: 6'5"
Squat: 205 x 5
Bench press 145 x 5
Deadlift 265 x 5
Press 100 x 5
Power clean 115 x 5
Chinups 8

I began SS on February 2014, previously untrained with no serious lifting experience and no real athletic experience.

No special diet, I am aiming to gain weight.

My major goal is to engage in a sustainable activity that keeps my body fit for the next 20 years or longer.

[iKon]

I think you should wait for someone who is better informed than I, as I'm currently having issues as well. Are you experiencing tightness as well? Pain while performing basically means an injury of some sort. You messed up a tendon, ligament, or maybe even tore a muscle belly. It's likely a strain or sprain, and the treatment is no squats for a week minimum. I'm going through this exact thing after my back failed to get locked into position my last workout. I have soreness, tightness, and it seems some sort of strain. 1 week off, assess with a a light set, then either ramp back up, else take another week off... repeat.

Wait for someone else to give you a better reply. All I can give is a general outline of what's going on. Someone else will probably point towards specifics better than I can.

Oh, forgot to add, the fact that it decreases with more reps, and comes back after a few hours means you're pushing through the pain, not that the reason for the pain is going away. Your body is releasing endorphins to get through what it needs to for the time being. Not wise to do.

[mechtonia]

Yeah there is some tightness. It makes me want to stoop over a little when I walk. And when I sit, it feels like my feet are glued to the ground.

[iKon]

Week off minimum. There may be some mobility exercises you can do to specifically help the issue in the future, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to point you in the correct direction.

My apologies.

[grumble]

Sounds like your hip flexors, or possibly some bursitis in the hips. Also some chance of a hernia, though that's less likely. Do you get a 'slipped' feeling in the area at any time? Then think about getting checked out for a hernia.

If you're having an issue with your hip flexors, then take a week off and down some ibuprofen then carefully work on your squat technique. It's quite possible that your knees are sliding forward in the hole, which tends to cause that issue. Start light, avoid anything that causes an increase in pain over time and make sure to warm up thoroughly before you squat. My warmup is five minutes on the rowing machine, then twenty leg swings each side and twenty bodyweight squats (along with twenty arm windmills as I find squatting can be tough on the shoulders). Keep us posted.

[mechtonia]

Sounds like your hip flexors, or possibly some bursitis in the hips. Also some chance of a hernia, though that's less likely. Do you get a 'slipped' feeling in the area at any time? Then think about getting checked out for a hernia.

If you're having an issue with your hip flexors, then take a week off and down some ibuprofen then carefully work on your squat technique. It's quite possible that your knees are sliding forward in the hole, which tends to cause that issue. Start light, avoid anything that causes an increase in pain over time and make sure to warm up thoroughly before you squat. My warmup is five minutes on the rowing machine, then twenty leg swings each side and twenty bodyweight squats (along with twenty arm windmills as I find squatting can be tough on the shoulders). Keep us posted.

I don't experience any slipped feeling at all. I think I will take a week off. I usually warm up by squatting just the bar the adding plates in ~20lb increments. But now that I think about it, the most painless session I've had recently was when I had to wait on the rack. I used an elliptical for 5 minutes while I waited which I typically don't do.

[Viola]

This is exactly what I had last spring. The pain takes a while to go away even when you have fixed your form. Make sure you push your knees out right away and keep them out. Also get a form check.