Overhead Squat advice... Pleeeeeassee

[CaliSun]

So, I've recently started crossfit (which I've been really enjoying), and we've been doing a lot of lifts that my body isn't used to. Today we were working on overhead squats, which I've never attempted in my entire life, and I have found this particular movement not only very uncomfortable but very difficult for me to do. My question is there something I can do to help practice with the movement and improve my muscle memory so I can dominate this lift? Any extra advice would be very helpful.

[Kemo1990]

So, I've recently started crossfit (which I've been really enjoying), and we've been doing a lot of lifts that my body isn't used to. Today we were working on overhead squats, which I've never attempted in my entire life, and I have found this particular movement not only very uncomfortable but very difficult for me to do. My question is what particular muscles does the overhead squat work? Is there something I can do to help practice with the movement and improve my muscle memory so I can dominate this lift? Any extra advice would be very helpful.

overhead squats shouldnt be comfortable, its an awkward ass position and uses alot of stabilization muscles...so in short your stabilization muscles suck

[CaliSun]

overhead squats shouldnt be comfortable, its an awkward ass position and uses alot of stabilization muscles...so in short your stabilization muscles suck

Not sure if that was helpful kemo.

[Kemo1990]

Mobilitywod.com
/thread

[kimm4]

So, I've recently started crossfit (which I've been really enjoying), and we've been doing a lot of lifts that my body isn't used to. Today we were working on overhead squats, which I've never attempted in my entire life, and I have found this particular movement not only very uncomfortable but very difficult for me to do. My question is there something I can do to help practice with the movement and improve my muscle memory so I can dominate this lift? Any extra advice would be very helpful.

If someone told me I could only do one exercise in the gym, it would be the overhead squat. It's my all time favorite and probably one of the most difficult lifts to do. I did post something a while back in my journal, but I sifted through a crap load of pages and couldn't find it.

The first link posted should be very helpful to you.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...oure_not_doing

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/...headSquat.html

The more you practice, the easier it will get...so keep at it!

[kimm4]

Here's another one.

http://laurensfitness.com/2008/01/21...mate-exercise/

[sonti]

OH squats are freakin hard, but IMO (like Kim) probably one of the most efficient ones out there.

I would start practicing with a wood bar/PVC pipe and go from there.

Also recommend this book:
http://www.amazon.ca/Olympic-Weightl...0990625&sr=8-1

It is incredible, you will love it if you are going to start using oly lifts and IMO better instruction than at CF (which is fine, but you should be reading the technical stuff too as CF instruction varies in quality depending on the box)

[rdferguson]

Easiest way to learn overhead squats, assuming you have the mobility for it, is from the ground up.

1. Get a broomstick/PVC pipe.
2. Figure out how to space your hands on it by spreading them until the stick/pipe is in the crease of your hips. Take note of that hand position, and how wide you have to spread your arms to get to that position. Put the stick/pipe down on the ground.
3. Sit down into your best bodyweight ATG squat. In that position, grab the stick/pipe with the desired grip position and put the stick/pipe directly overhead with your shoulders externally rotated and shrugged up, and your elbows locked out.
4. Stand up, using normal chest up/glute drive/heel drive of a regular squat.

The reason this works is that you have a lot more control in the concentric than the eccentric. If you start from a standing position and try to squat down, it will usually feel too unco to get through the movement properly. Biggest issue is trusting that you can actually do it. Starting in the bottom position gets you set up quite easily in the position that you're likely to fear the most, and driving up out of the hole to a standing position teaches you how to get between the two points, so you'll be more comfortable in both the concentric and eccentric afterwards.

If getting the stick/pipe overhead is an issue, then you probably have some shoulder ROM issues to deal with. Most important muscle to release and/or stretch is likely to be pec minor, although there's always other possible causes.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Lets start with the fact than a well executed OHS is a profoundly difficult movement for most of the planet.

Why? Flexibility. Chest, shoulders, hip girdle, calves...the OHS will find your tight muscles and they will compromise the lift.



I am working on severe tightness in the chest and shoulders, and have made significant progress downstream (hips/legs/calves).


I like rd's learning method of learning from the bottom.


Mobility/flexibility exercises and stretches can be found at mobilitywod dot com and several other places throughout the net

[sonti]

Lets start with the fact than a well executed OHS is a profoundly difficult movement for most of the planet.

Agreed.

Anyone who comes away from day 1, week 1 (or hell sometimes even month 1) of OHS without a feeling of utter failure is probably not doing it right.

[j1akey]

Probably not exactly related to this discussion but one of my coaches, Nick Horton, wrote a couple articles on the OHS and how it relates to snatching since you're doing Crossfit and will at some point be exposed to Olympic Lifting. Anyway I thought they were good reads so I thought I'd post them here.

http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-we...d-squat-part-1

http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-we...d-squat-part-2

[geek23ka]

thanks for all of these great answers.

[rdferguson]

Probably not exactly related to this discussion but one of my coaches, Nick Horton, wrote a couple articles on the OHS and how it relates to snatching since you're doing Crossfit and will at some point be exposed to Olympic Lifting. Anyway I thought they were good reads so I thought I'd post them here.

http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-we...d-squat-part-1

http://breakingmuscle.com/olympic-we...d-squat-part-2

Good articles (I was reading them just the other week, actually). I rate Nick Horton for anyone interested in learning the Olympic lifts.

[j1akey]

Good articles (I was reading them just the other week, actually). I rate Nick Horton for anyone interested in learning the Olympic lifts.

Yeah he's a pretty awesome coach. This last weekend he got me to go from looking like a drunk monkey to actually snatching with good form in about 3 hours. I'm starting a 6 week Olympic lifting program with him here on November 5th and I can't wait.

[SoccerMuscle5]

So, I've recently started crossfit (which I've been really enjoying), and we've been doing a lot of lifts that my body isn't used to. Today we were working on overhead squats, which I've never attempted in my entire life, and I have found this particular movement not only very uncomfortable but very difficult for me to do. My question is there something I can do to help practice with the movement and improve my muscle memory so I can dominate this lift? Any extra advice would be very helpful.

Overhead squats are a difficult and challenging exercise, but proper form and a comfortable beginning weight will be key for you to combat your difficulties starting off! Ive seen This exercise done incorrectly too many times and what I instruct and try to educate my cluents with is to start off with a light weight to conduct the exercise with. A weight that is not sp heavy that your back dips and stomach pouches forward, but that your are challenged enough. Be sure to not buckle in your knees and always keep them direct above your toes. Keep your arms straight locked out and your belly button to your spine and core tight as your bend into a squat.

[melodyjayne]

disappointed in my trainers opinion on them when I asked him this morning...he didn't rate them at all : ( I tried them out last night just with a medicine ball and felt they were worthwhile

[rdferguson]

disappointed in my trainers opinion on them when I asked him this morning...he didn't rate them at all : ( I tried them out last night just with a medicine ball and felt they were worthwhile

The real question, IMO, is: why do them? For normal lifting purposes, I feel the overhead squat really only serves as a stepping stone towards learning the snatch balance and the squat snatch. You will get a tough workout with OHS at any training level, but I can't think of a single thing that they do that isn't better achieved by something else. Want to get better at snatches? Snatch balances are more useful for that than OHS. Want to build stronger legs, hips and back? Front squats, back squats and SLDLs (together and even independently) are all more useful for that than OHS. Want to build up the shoulders? Presses and shrugs are more useful for that than OHS. OHS is a very difficult exercise, and if a challenge is all you're after, then great. But for practical purposes, other exercises are better. So I can see why your trainer might not rate them.

[tovlakas]

The fact that the OP has to ask this question to a forum rather than her "trainers" identifying her issues and properly coaching her on the lift is disgusting, and why I hate CrossFit. What a joke.

CaliSun, you should watch a youtube video by Mike Burgener teaching the overhead squat/snatch. And then, you should join a gym that has safe, effective programs and actually includes some quality coaching so you don't have to figure this stuff out on your own... what are you even paying these people for???

[melodyjayne]

The real question, IMO, is: why do them? For normal lifting purposes, I feel the overhead squat really only serves as a stepping stone towards learning the snatch balance and the squat snatch. You will get a tough workout with OHS at any training level, but I can't think of a single thing that they do that isn't better achieved by something else. Want to get better at snatches? Snatch balances are more useful for that than OHS. Want to build stronger legs, hips and back? Front squats, back squats and SLDLs (together and even independently) are all more useful for that than OHS. Want to build up the shoulders? Presses and shrugs are more useful for that than OHS. OHS is a very difficult exercise, and if a challenge is all you're after, then great. But for practical purposes, other exercises are better. So I can see why your trainer might not rate them.

thanks for the great explanation on this!

[CaliSun]

The fact that the OP has to ask this question to a forum rather than her "trainers" identifying her issues and properly coaching her on the lift is disgusting, and why I hate CrossFit. What a joke.

CaliSun, you should watch a youtube video by Mike Burgener teaching the overhead squat/snatch. And then, you should join a gym that has safe, effective programs and actually includes some quality coaching so you don't have to figure this stuff out on your own... what are you even paying these people for???

he's a great coach, it's my fault for not asking him. thought I would ask you guys.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

he's a great coach, it's my fault for not asking him. thought I would ask you guys.

Nothing wrong with getting more information before going back and visiting with the coach/trainer. You learned what you needed.

Be aggressive in the Box: ask questions, be clear before you move forward, learn the proper techniques, go light until you have mastered the movements, and learn the proper substitutes / scaled back lifts / activites to keep you from getting hurt.


According to tov's logic, we should all hate working out because most trainers suck.