Nice post, Eric.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DragginByU
How heavy is your squat?
I started off just using single 45lb plates on each side and in the beginning, 90lbs on each side was unfinishable in the 3rd set. The day I think I may have injured it I went fopr 215, which I had previosuly been doing 195 for about a week. I don't try to go too heavy and add weight everytime I goto the gym like the program says, I just cant do it. So I lift with a weight until it becomes comftorable (at most 3 visits to the gym) then add more and start over.
Where was the bar positioned? (on traps, lower than traps, back of your neck, etc)
I position the bar (and foam pad) on my traps, trying to keep it off the top of my spine becuase it causes me pain and when Im trying to concentrate on my form I dont want to be in pain from my neck. I do like examples say, I try to place it on a comftorable spot on the traps and pull it down onto my traps instead of just holding it there.
What were you looking at? (floor, ceiling, hot chick doing lunges, etc)
When you squat, do you push with your heels or your toes?
Sitting by my computer now and trying to recall correctly, I believe I push off pretty evenly. I pay attention to foot position so I dont lose balance. Im not on my heals, however Im not on my toes either, I am trying to keep a good foot planting. This is also the reason I don't goto the ground, becuase when I do I feel my heels coming up natrually and don't want to lose balance.
Where does your chest point? (down, up, sideways, etc)
I try to keep my chest pointed straight ahead. Also, my head is pointed straight ahead as well and I am looking in the mirror in front cand concentrating on the movement.
I hope this will help, funny you should mention the computer chair thing. I am a network engineer so I spend about 12 hours a day inside a chair, that may be the root of the problem, with the improper lifting worsening the issue. I only military press 35's on each side, I guess I could step it down to 30's, but the problem being, I havent seen any gains on that lift if any. I feel like I'll be stuck on 60 + bar forever.
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Weight
Its quite a jump to go from 135 (45lb each side) to 215 in 3 weeks. Unless I misunderstood something.
Bar Position
I wouldn't be actively pulling down on the bar ie something like an isometric pullup. Lets the bar stay on your traps and have a good grip on the bar, imo there is nothing to be gained by pulling down on the bar consciously. It might happen if you're really grinding out a rep, but I wouldn't be doing it purposely.
Feet!
If you're coming up on your toes as you descend deeper, then it means your centre of gravity is shifting past the middle of your foot. Thats not a good thing. You want all the weight/force to travel down through the heel and into the floor. This is why box squats are an excellent tool, they teach you to sit back and get that weight through the heels.
So how does the cog shift? I'm guessing your back is rounding because it can't handle the weight during the movement. You have the right idea by keeping the chest up, but I suspect that you're either rounding or squatting on top of your knees (not sitting back enough).
Take a look at Dan John's video and try the goblet squats. If anyone wants to workout with me, I give them the goblet squat test before I even let them touch a barbell. I usually get them to stand with feet together, take a step forward, get into squat stance and do a goblet squat. Then evaluate their ability and go from there. I would guess that you fail the test the first few times. Which is perfectly alright, and also much better than doing it with a loaded barbell, imo.
I'm not a personal trainer and I don't claim to be one, but I'm not going to train with anyone half-assed or risk preventable injuries.
I would say a video of goblet squats would be good enough, and maybe even safer with the injury, for an initial critique. People usually change under the bar for some reason.
I agree about the mirror, its not a good tool to use. You could use it from the side to check your initial position for a deadlift or the bottom position of a goblet squat, things like that but not straight on and not dynamically.