Learning squats and frustrated...

[Zephex]

Ive always had trouble doing squats, even in high school. Im 33 now and I have only been back in the gym about 7 months. Ill try to explain the problem I am having and attempt any suggestion given.


When I squat, a two problems that occur, even with light weight or just the bar alone.

My knees try to come together even though my feet are just a bit wider than shoulder and toes slightly pointed out. Going down isn't too bad but when I press to come up, I catch them coming together which I know is dangerous. The other problem I have is that I dont feel the "push" through my heels, its always with the toes, or front part of my foot. Its almost feels like I am doing this without my heels ever touching the ground until I am nearly fully extended. When I am done, my lower back is burning almost like I did a set of deadlifts. My quads are burning too but I think its odd to feel it in my extreme lower back? Maybe I am leaning forward too much when I go down?

Im sure its bad form problems but I am not sure if I should keep trying, or switch to a different type of squat


I have been doing hack squats on a machine which gives me more burn than a leg press, but I am sure the squats on a machine (like the picture I attached) are still not as good as a real squat. I have tried squats on the smith machine as well. I can do them but I have to put my feet forward and almost lean back onto the bar to be able to press with my heels otherwise I press with the front part of my foot.

Ive had problems with squats for as long as I remember but know they are one of the best exercises you can do for legs and I really like how squats can be used as a benchmark to track gains. Maybe I can get my wife to film me doing a few so I can see what I am doing wrong or let someone here point out my mistake.

[InsanelyFit]

We will definitely need to see a vid.

Knees caving in, work the adductors to strengthen the insides of your legs to prevent knees caving in.
Maybe you are not sitting back enough to be pushing through the heels. Too much of a forward lean etc.
Don't squat in a smith. Prevents natural movement, removes stability muscles, balance etc.

[tidnab]

We will definitely need to see a vid.

Knees caving in, work the adductors to strengthen the insides of your legs to prevent knees caving in.
Maybe you are not sitting back enough to be pushing through the heels. Too much of a forward lean etc.
Don't squat in a smith. Prevents natural movement, removes stability muscles, balance etc.

It's not the adductors, but the abductors which need to be strengthened. These are the muscles on the outside of your leg and they work to spread your legs apart.

[tidnab]

As for not feeling it through your heels, chances are you are leaning forward too far (not keeping the weight over your midfoot, not keeping your chest up, etc) or you have very inflexible calves preventing you from keeping your heel firmly on the floor. Since you say your back hurts as well I'm guessing it's the former. I'd have to see a video to give you anything more precise than that.

[5F5]

try pigeon toes (pointing toes outward more) That should help with your knees coming together.

[pumita92]

Try doing the ol' african squat. Get down low, use your elbows to shove your knees until they're aligned with your feet. Repeat until you become comfortable in that position. Then start at a low squat weight and make a conscious effort to not let your knees cave in. increase weight.. etc

try pigeon toes (pointing toes outward more) That should help with your knees coming together.

wat?

[davisj3537]

Need a video to be sure. If you are squatting in tennis shoes you shouldn't. They push you forward onto your toes. It took me awhile but after focusing a great deal of effort on pushing your knees outward while squatting you will break the knee cave issue. It is an abductor issue as discussed above. I'm with tidnab that you are probably leaning too far forward. Sitting back instead of down should help with the heel issue you spoke of.

Again, video for more help.

[wesleysh21]

Need a video to be sure. If you are squatting in tennis shoes you shouldn't.

Again, video for more help.

This was my first thought.

[rasmusDoh]

First, as said, you need proper footwear. It sounds like you're very serious about your training, so if you don't already have some, you gotta go invest in some squat shoes.
I have the Adidas Power Perfect II, and they are awesome (and not insanely expensive).

Also, Pause Squats did a lot for me regarding the heel thing (had the problem even with squat shoes). Really sit back and count to 3 in the hole.

As for knees caving, i had that problem to such an extent that i started having knee pain everyday.
What i did was to deload a bit and then focus really hard on keeping my knees out on every rep - to strengthen the abductors.
I used the two cues 'Show me your dick' and 'Push out on the side of the shoes' to keep my knees out.

My knees still come in a bit on top set squats, but since i keep my knees out very far on the way down,
it looks like when they come in, it's really so they are aligned with my feet. My knees are just very far apart on the way down, from the 'show me your dick' cue.

Hope this helps :-)

[chazzy1864]

I didn't read the other replies, so this might have already been covered.

If your knees are caving, focus on pushing them out throughout the entire squat.

If you only feel the front fo your foot press, then that is also your own form issue. Probably due to you having sh*tty shoes for the lift anyways, but try lifting up your big toe. it will help keep your weight over mid-foot.


The hack squat machine is a great exercise, but is not a squat replacement. It is a quad dominant exercise that, IMO, should be used as a 2nd or 3rd exercise (i.e., an accessory exercise).