Squat Troubles

[Sean LeFloch]

Have been working hard to get into a more vertical squat. Have been doing tons of mobility work including stretching and rolling out hips, shoulder mobility, and ankle stretching. When I start to get down in an overhead squat, at some point, I get stuck and my chest lowers. It seems I can't get my hips close enough to my heels.

Here is a video of me overhead squatting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6v36OfFMac

What do you guys think? This has been effecting my Snatch and Clean as well, since my ass is so far back and the weight is supported mostly by my shoulders and arms.

Any information that you can give would be most appreciated!

Thanks

[Derek Simonds]

Sean I watched the video and am no expert but that was far from the ugliest ohs I have seen. You seem to have a lot of arch in your lower back but that was the only glaring thing I saw.

I am hoping someone else can help better.

[Rick Deckart]

1. don't do that once you loose balance drop that barbell

2. look up ido portals squat mobilisation routine it's on his youtube count
and will do you nothing but good

3. do some overhead squats with an empty barbell and stay in the bottom
wiggle around, try to get deeper

4. those squats were ok, all things considered


5. start with an empty barbell end with 50 kg and do that routine i described in the weightlifting section, takes 5.5 weeks and will kickstart your overhead squat, like nothing else. What you think you can't do that because you'll loose something.

I did start with out with an empty barbell - next of the seven cycles I did - I started with 40 kg and ended with 90 kg for 7 sets of 7...

Thats less than three months... and all other lifts had improved, even the partial deadlift like 20 kg from 220 -> 240 kg, could do weighted situps for sets of five with two 32 kg KBs...

[Chad Cilli]

Not saying this is your problem for sure, but how's your butterfly stretch? Sitting with the bottoms of you feet touching, can you lower your knees to the floor? How about if you pull up on your feet just a little?

Based entirely on one experience, so take this with a grain of salt, a guy I was training with couldn't ohs or snatch because his body just folded in half at the bottom of his squat. One day when we were stretching, I noticed that his butterfly stretch, his knees were practically vertical. I taught him PNF stretching, he worked on his butterfly stretch everyday until his knees were almost touching the ground, and at the same time, his ohs improved drastically. Might be something worth checking.

If you're not familiar with the butterfly stretch, it's in one of the performance menu articles by Coach Rut. I think there's 8 stretches actually.

[Joe Hart]

Find some of Dan John's stuff on goblet squats. It looked like your toes were pointed out and your knee didn't stay in line with them. I would sit in the hole and push your knees out with your elbows. I may be wrong.

My OHS suck but it is because I wiggle all over the place on the way down.

[Andrew Midmer]

Seems as if knees were not staying out over toes. Have you done the wall squat test? Ido's stuff is really good. As well as MWod

[Troy Kerr]

Your bending your knees to early. This is throwing off the whole movement. You need to start by pressing your hips back, this will cause a slight inclination of your chest, at the same time you will need to pull the barbell back to counter the inclination. From here continue pressing your hips back, weight on the hells, and pressing your knees out over your toes. Flexibility work will def. help, but this looks like a mechanical issue primarily.

[Sean LeFloch]

I have seen an doc, about my ankles. It appears I have bone spurs on both ankles that are causing anterior ankle impingement and subsequent decrease in ROM of the ankle. Mobilizing and stretching doesn't seem to work since its a bone and scar tissue that is preventing the dorsiflexion of the ankle.

My question is, does anyone know of any olympic lifters who have the same problem and who are proficient in the lifts. Is there a way to get in a vertical squat without have good dorsiflexion? Greg has spoken multiple times about the need for ankle flexibility, but what if this is not possible?

[Steven Low]

Oly shoes will help... otherwise you may be stuck with split snatching and split cleaning

That is unless you wanna get surgery for debridement... although can't guarantee it won't come back (it does like half the time I think isn't exactly a good success rate..)

It's unfortunate but some of us do have this... I have more limited ankle ROM in left because of a devastating sprain I had back a few years ago + not really proper rehab

[Peter Möller]

Originally Posted by Chad Cilli

If you're not familiar with the butterfly stretch, it's in one of the performance menu articles by Coach Rut. I think there's 8 stretches actually.

Been searching like crazy but can´t seem to find it.
You remember what issue it was?