A few weeks ago I wrote up an article at Breaking Muscle entitled the 7 Dumbest Things Athletes Can Get Away With That You Can’t. One of those was my point that not everyone should make Back Squats a staple of their workout routine.
Ooops!
That sparked some controversy!
And then I made it worse by saying that for some people Back Squats can be dangerous even if you do them correctly. Man, sometimes I really know how to put my foot in my mouth!
So, I created this video (it’s about 20 minutes, so grab a cup of coffee) explaining myself fully, including:
- What I mean by the word “Dangerous”: Think Probabilities, not Absolutes
- I love coffee …
- Why some people are simply built better than others for back squats
- Why Olympic lifting shoes kick ass, and why YOU should own a pair if you’re serious about Oly squats
- Why not being dogmatic is always good … that’s a no-brainer!
- And, again, I love coffee …
It’s not always easy on the internet to explain subtle points in small sound bites. It’s why I like to write such long articles here. Anything worth knowing about is going to have some deeper areas of subtly that will require more time and energy to communicate, to learn about, and to digest.
That’s a good thing, not a bad thing. I like learning, and I know you do to. That’s why we kick butt, LOL.
OK, here’s the squatty stuff:
Hi!
I started doing crossfit and squatting after being a distance runner for over 25 years. I have pretty short femurs and always used to hate that feature about myself when I was a runner. In spite of my short femurs, I have had difficulty squatting with good form. I have improved alot and gained so much flexibility in my back, shoulders, and hip flexors through things like overhead squats (which I could not even do 2 years ago) and mobility work. However, my torso is still not as upright as I would like it to be when I do any kind of squat, back squat or oherwise. I have tried face the wall squats and squat to stands, but gave those up. Maybe I just didn’t have enough patience with those exercises. Are there any exercises that you recommend to help develop a better squat?
Mary,
I know what you are going through. My best advice is to work more on your mobility (try watching MobilityWOD.com; it’s full of good info), and like Coach Nick said: it just might not be structurally possible for you. I know you say you have short femurs, but I think Nick means short relative to your torso and/or lower leg, and it’s the proportion that matters more than actual length.
Additionally, there might be soft tissue or joint restrictions that you may have/developed and this is where mobility work comes in. Remember you were a distance runner for 25 years, that’s 25 years of minimal movement (ie not going close to or past 90 degrees) in most of your lower body joints. Being in a modern environment that propagates this problem doesn’t help either. It takes time to undo and correct all these issues – just be persistent, patient and consistent
Lastly, it might just be form issue. This can only be seen on a video. So video yourself and have a look at it, or better yet let someone more experience look at it. Lots can be achieved by a good eye, good coaching and good cueing.
Sorry for hijacking this Coach Nick, thought I should give me 2c. Fantastic article by the way. Keep up the great work
Thanks Jin! Great answers!
Mary, it’s very likely that continued work on what Jin said above will work. It just takes a LOT of time and consistent effort (read: daily).
Jin’s response points to another way to look at this. You can indeed get hurt squatting. Same with situps or pushups. But squats are also both a good diagnostic tool and a good therapeutic intervention for movement issues. Watch someone (or yourself) squat. Do the ankles collapse? Do the knees move right? Is there good torque? Issues here also show up as issues in other lifts, in sport-specific activities and even in ADLs. And basic movements like squats and deadlifts provide a way to work on those issues. Ask not what you can do for your squat, ask what your squat can do for you.
Yes, I have seen mobilityWOD and it is excellent. As for my femurs, they are short in proportion to my long torso. I think my problem is more related to My mobility and form. As you say, it takes patience to undo the damage from 25 years of running and I have made alot of progress. When I first started, I couldn’t squat below parallel period, regardless of my torso position.
Mary, it sounds like you are doing the right things. It takes time, as you know, to work out the problems that all those years of running built in. But, don’t worry. You’ll get there!
It would help if you were able to video yourself squatting so I could get a handle on the specific issues facing you. If you CAN do that, then you can send it to me via email me at:
Coach {at} pdxweightlifting.com
But, even a picture of yourself in the bottom position would do.
Dear Nick,
You are a genius man. What about the deadlift? Also the clean? Gotta lean over, right?
Cheers,
Steve
Dear Nick,
This is test. tech probs my end. Just need to see if this gets thru!
Steves
Yep. It did. Something wrong with my windows explorer. Apologies.
Steves
This clears up so much. Incorporating the whiteboard, I learn a lot. Thanks for this.
Thank you Jin and Nick for your great advice. Nick, I will send you a picture or video later this week. Walt, I love what you say about squatting because while there is a risk of injury when squatting, in general it is good for you. Also, I wouldn’t be so motivated to do all this mobility work if I didn’t want a great squat.