freestylewrestler
New member
@faithfulsteward7 I'll start by seconding what many people have already said: squat shoes or plates under your heels will likely help. The body mechanics of a squat mean that if you're not getting any knee over toe, you'll have to lean way forward to keep your balance. Elevating your heels (as with squat shoes or plates) as well as working on ankle mobility will mean not having to lean forward so much.
Play around with stance. You may find a wider stance more comfortable. Or a narrower one. If you're like me and squatting in parallel induces a "stuck" or "jammed" feeling in your hips, then toe out (external rotation through the legs) will be your friend. You might only need a little bit of toe out, or a lot. Or you might just be more comfortable in parallel to begin with. This part you can do with just your bodyweight in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
A game changer for me, which I haven't seen anyone else really mention yet, is bar position! Very generally, the less upright your torso is, the lower the bar needs to be on your back to maintain optimum bar path (straight up and down over the centre of your foot). Switching from high bar to low bar made a world of difference for me. I went from niggling knee pains and my back fatiguing before anything else to... not that. Another thing to look into and play around with.
Learning to brace correctly will help look after your back.
Dr Aaron Horschig of Squat University over on youtube is a treasure trove of knowledge, and his videos may answer questions you didn't even know you had.
Play around with stance. You may find a wider stance more comfortable. Or a narrower one. If you're like me and squatting in parallel induces a "stuck" or "jammed" feeling in your hips, then toe out (external rotation through the legs) will be your friend. You might only need a little bit of toe out, or a lot. Or you might just be more comfortable in parallel to begin with. This part you can do with just your bodyweight in the comfort and privacy of your own home.
A game changer for me, which I haven't seen anyone else really mention yet, is bar position! Very generally, the less upright your torso is, the lower the bar needs to be on your back to maintain optimum bar path (straight up and down over the centre of your foot). Switching from high bar to low bar made a world of difference for me. I went from niggling knee pains and my back fatiguing before anything else to... not that. Another thing to look into and play around with.
Learning to brace correctly will help look after your back.
Dr Aaron Horschig of Squat University over on youtube is a treasure trove of knowledge, and his videos may answer questions you didn't even know you had.