OMG! I've recently started NROL4W, and my squat form was horrible. I could not get my thighs down parallel to the floor no matter what I did, my heels want to come up and leave me on tiptoe. This is just bodyweight, trying not to hurt myself until I got the form down pat.
Well, searching the net brought up goblet squats, holding a medium to heavy dumb-bell under your chin, seems to help glue the heels to the floor.
I tried it last night with a 20 lb. weight, and it worked! It worked so well that my rear end tried to drill into the floor and my thighs were actually touching my calves. Methinks this form is no more beneficial than my 45 degree angle squats from last week.
LOL! I love your descriptions! I've never heard of a goblet squat, but I can see what you're saying even without trying it.
I'm no expert here but I didn't worry about form other than making sure I was squatting as if about to sit on a chair that simply isn't there. I made sure to listen to my knees and my back. I started out with some pretty shallow squats. Over time my squats have deepened and my knees are in great shape.
I'm no expert either, but I love goblet squats... I do them with a 25 lb. kettlebell... I get a deeper, more in-control squat... I think it's more in control partly because I concentrate more on not losing my balance forward & that way I keep my knees from going out past my toes... at least, that's my take on it...
I have been using a stretchy band - it helps me to balance and provides a bit of resistance. I don't get my thighs anywhere near to parallel - LOL - not yet anyway, but my form is good even though it's shallow for now.
My problem with keeping the shallow squats is I feel all the work is being done by my quads (front thighs) and not feeling anything in the hams/glutes (where I need the most work) and also, that if I try to do squats with a barbell on my shoulders, my toes will come up off the floor, I'll lose my balance and fall spectactularly!
I read that there is some benefit to getting just under parallel to the floor, but I wonder if there's any benefit to getting a$$ to the grass! I'll keep on keeping on, hoping not to hurt myself and trying to follow the program as written without too many modifications.
I think, unless you're very flexible, going "a** to grass" is something that needs to be worked towards. It also depends on your femur length--the longer the femur the more difficult it is to get low.
I couldn't do a proper squat to save my life. For some reason, I always thought my torso had to be perpendicular to the floor and I was afraid of falling so I kept my weight in my toes. Plus, I wasn't very flexible. Needless to say, I couldn't do them at all..my knees would always track too far forward, I would lose my balance, you name it.
Now my squats are pretty good. I can get just past parallel with my thighs (yay!). The trick for me was a couple of things:
Being informed that my back just needed to be flat, not perpendicular to the floor. That REALLY helped with my balance.
Keeping my weight in my heels and pushing through my heels as I stand up. Very light pressure on the toes (I even lift mine a bit as a reminder sometimes). Even if you're not getting to parallel, you should feel it in your hams and glutes more than your quads if you keep your weight in your heels. If you keep your weight more in your toes, you're working mostly your quads. This is true even if you do get to parallel and beyond. I broke my ankle last summer and my first time doing squats (not just bodyweight) after it healed I thought I was doing ok...nope...next day, I felt sore in my left quad (I broke my left ankle), but not my right. I was still getting to parallel. But...I had lost some range of motion in that ankle and my body was compensating by putting more of my weight forward (toward the toes) on that side. I'm now having to re-teach myself.
Last edited by BluCypressLily; 02-08-2011 at 03:53 PM.
Many beginning lifters lack the flexibility in their ankles to go to parallel or below without lifting their heels. The flexibility will come with practice and time.
If you're having trouble getting to parallel, another tip is to move your feet slightly further apart, point the toes out just a touch, and think about keeping your knees spread so that your knees track over your toes as you go through the range of motion. (there's a natural tendency for the knees to come in, almost buckling, especially as the weight gets heavier. This is very hard on the knees.)
A few years ago, I discovered that if I had to squat down for something, I was always going up on my toes &, at my then-weight, that was exceedingly uncomfortable... so, I learned to do the Asian Squat (or Chinese Squat)... squatting flat-footed as I had seen people in Asia doing... for a while, I couldn't stay down there for more than a few seconds, but gradually worked up to a couple of minutes... so, when I started doing goblet squats, I just incorporated what I knew about Asian Squats into that... keeps my back straight, helps me go lower, & keeps me off my toes... as kaw suggested, the feet are a little wider apart to allow for getting your butt down between them... I'm not suggesting going as low as the guy in the photo, -- I don't -- but the general idea is the same...
^^That's exactly how I ended up squatting while holding the weight. Is it what I intended? NO. But, it was like gravity took over for me and there I ended up. May I say I have never been able to do that in all my 37 years?
Now, as far as flexibility, I can see that these might be helpful. As far as building strength I thought the act of holding the thighs just below parallel to the floor (essentially stopping yourself from sitting all the way down) was the way to go.
Apparently I shouldn't be thinking so much, and just doing them.
Lily, you're exactly right, all my weight was in my toes even before my heels came up off the floor. I'm going to try to practice standing with my toes lifted off the floor to remind myself to put my weight in my heels.
Kaw, thanks so much for telling me to spread my feet wider! Duh, never occured to me, and I just tried it out and it helped a ton!
I love this site, you guys rock! (By the way, tomorrow night is lunges, that didn't go so well last week either. I will try not to bore you with the details! )
Now, as far as flexibility, I can see that these might be helpful. As far as building strength I thought the act of holding the thighs just below parallel to the floor (essentially stopping yourself from sitting all the way down) was the way to go.
Sherrie, you are exactly right... gaining flexibility was my original reason for doing the Asian Squat... that & learning to squat flat-footed... when doing goblet squats, I only go just past parallel...
Sherrie, you are exactly right... gaining flexibility was my original reason for doing the Asian Squat... that & learning to squat flat-footed... when doing goblet squats, I only go just past parallel...
hugs
Thanks, I'm going to do them the right way next time!
Goblet squats
and my thighs were actually touching my calves. Methinks this form is no more beneficial than my 45 degree angle squats from last week.
I'll keep on keeping on, hoping not to hurt myself and trying to follow the program as written without too many modifications.
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