Tuesday, June 9, 2009

rehab squat

my knees seem to be doing better...i've been making sure to ice them every day and i've been massaging the tendons. i'm pretty sure it's just tendinitis flaring up a bit.

however, my right hip area has been weird...it feels like it is super tight or jammed up? the psoas major/iliacus does not feel good when i am at the bottom of my squat.


taking it easy for now with squats...
135x1x6
165x1x4
185x2x4

hip area was not feeling so great so i did some light-weight overhead squats...
95x3x6
115x2x5

and then some light front squats. i'm starting to get used to holding the weight oly style.
95x3x6
115x2x5

rippetoe style press
115x5x5

finished with some captain's chair abs and LOTS of foam rolling.

i hate not being able to squat.


and jake (or whoever), please comment on this...when i was doing overhead squats and front squast, my knees were very much pointed out to the sides. this seemed to be the only way i could hit depth and stay balanced, and it felt very comfortable. for my normal squat, my knees don't point out nearly as much. should my knees be pointing out more on my normal squat? or is there some part of me that is sucks at flexibility and that is why my knees have to point out with the overhead/front squats?

also, any ideas on stretches/things to do for rehab of the psoas major/iliacus (aka the part of my hip/leg that is directly opposite my glutes)?

5 comments:

Jake Ceccarelli said...

front squats and overhead squats will keep you more upright than back squats, which means you'll need to sink between your legs more. You'll also probably get deeper. Once you get past parallel your legs run into your torse, so the only wa yto get deep is moving them out of the way.

kenji keeps going... said...

is there any advantage to staying upright and spreading my legs for a normal, at parallel powerlifting squat?

Jake Ceccarelli said...

Not really for staying upright. It's impossible if you're doing a low-bar squat anyway. You should always be spreading your legs though, that's what activated the glutes, no matter which squat you do.

I think Nathan is the better person to answer this though.

Nathan Beckmann said...

There are some very rare powerlifters who have had success going as narrow as you do. But most powerlifters use a wider stance. Raw and single ply lifters generally go just-a-little-wider-than-shoulder width. As jake said, this is to activate the glutes and the entire posterior chain (ie, also hamstrings and lower back) to move the most weight. It is not advantageous to be super upright for a powerlifting squat. Basically, "what Jake said".

Also, as a general rule, the more gear you add, the wider your stance gets.

Nathan Beckmann said...

Also for the hip, because I was dealing with the same thing last semester:

- stay tight throughout the squat, especially at the top make sure your hips and quads are flexed.

- keep your weight even on both legs; this might feel like you are 'overbalancing' on the other leg, but try to be even.

- foam rolling is a good idea.

- do hip flexor stretches all the fucking time.

- taking a break from squatting also isn't a terrible idea.