Getting down in the hole, when squatting

[Emil Nielsen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90pHm-OtGVc

1. This position no pain at all in the hip joint. But its a way to narrow stance.

2. Second position, a little pain especially when tracking my knees to the side.

3. Third postion im stopping long before parallel my hips just hurt like shit.

I have personally considered tight internal rotation, but i have stretched for some time and there is no real progress.

Hope this gives a better picture.

[Grissim Connery]

i think you could stand to turn your feet outward more. if your hips hurt, this should make the bottom position easier to hit.

if i wake up and first thing in the morning try to hit a third world squat, my toes point way outward. if i wake up more and get looser throughout the day or just stretch/do joint mobility for a while, then i can drop down and point my toes more forward. i tend to find it harder to point the toes straighter when i'm not holding a weight though.

generally i feel like the goal is to find the spot where it's not uncomfortable and doesn't hurt. if your feet need to turn out at this point to feel comfortable then go for it. after a little while, all the little muscle groups will relax and loosen a bit. you will probably be able to bring the toes in more at that point. it's all just practicing. crawl before you walk, and crawl a lot to get it down.

[Greg Everett]

Odd. That second position is about where I would set you up in terms of width, but like Grissam said, I would turn your feet out a bit more. It may be something to take to a physical therapist who is familiar with lifting.

[Chris H Laing]

Originally Posted by Greg Everett

Odd. That second position is about where I would set you up in terms of width, but like Grissam said, I would turn your feet out a bit more. It may be something to take to a physical therapist who is familiar with lifting.

Is that really how narrow a landing position needs to be? Would it be better have a narrower stance with really pointed out toes, or a not so narrow stance with not so turned out toes?

Also Emil, I had that same problem for a while, with the hip pain and stuff when trying to get lower into a squat (i also had knee pain) but what I found that really helped alleviate the pain, and I'm pain free now, is foam rolling every morning and every night.

I did it for a month or so, and the pain completely went away, and now I only roll a couple times a week, it that, and sometimes I forget. I actually haven't rolled in a couple weeks, maybe even a month, and my knee pain is starting to come back, so I'm rolling tonight, and I bet its gone by morning.

[Greg Everett]

Originally Posted by Chris H Laing

Is that really how narrow a landing position needs to be? Would it be better have a narrower stance with really pointed out toes, or a not so narrow stance with not so turned out toes?

Not "a" landing position, his landing position... Approximately. Kind of hard to see in the dark. But remember that 2 things dictate the width of the feet - hip width, and the relative lengths of the upper and lower leg. Long lower leg = narrower stance, because that's where the feet will be if the knees are aligned.

[Chris H Laing]

Thanks greg. Thats reassuring. I thought I might have been landing too wide but I have pretty long upper legs.

And I was right. No knee pain this morning. The foam roller is magic!

[Patrick Yeung]

Looks like this is old, I was just interested in the read.

Can you do Pistol squats? Ive known people who can leg press and squat pretty heavy, or at least more than their own body weight, and can not pistol squat. The reason is not strength or flexibility, but balance.

Didnt get a chance to see the video, but here are somethings I did to help me.

Of course, just do it with no weights, or much less to practice form. As far as stance goes, I heard that if you jump in the air a few times then land, that is about where youll want your feet for your squat.

As far as back rounding problems, asian squats are good, but I also did dumbell squats, but holding plates. I would grab two 45s, not sure what to call the hold, but similar to what youd do at the top of a thruster before the pull, and squat all the way down. This made it real easy to squat real deep and because they were plates, it helped me develop balance while keeping good form.

Foam rollers are the best. I had a lot of IT band problems, which was also limiting my depth, and it got em all out.