l can't squat . should l first strenghten my glutes for 3 months?

[loebakprob]

l cant squat my lower back hurts and lm leaning too much forward. l have an idea. should l first strengten my glutes. hip thrusting 3-4 times a week and then after 3 or 4 months, l try squating? will this help to squat like a normal BB? what do you think? by the way when l squat my back is doing a buttwink. are buttwinks a sign of a weak glutes? will buttwinks disapear with a strong glutes?

[AlexSays]

With squat form is everything. Get it wrong and you may well hurt yourself. It sounds like you 'can' squat you are just doing it wrong.

I would recommend that you definitely strengthen your glutes, hams and quads through other exercises but do not stop squatting. Read the sticky in this forum on the 'fundamentals of back squat' and start either with an empty bar or bodyweight so you can really train yourself in the movement. Once you are confident in your form after several sessions (you can also post a video on this forum to get any pointers/corrections) you can add the bar/small weights to the bar and work your way up from there.

[WolfRose7]

God no, squats are very quad dominant for one and spending 3 months on Glute isos is 3 months you've not spent on squat technique. Especially when you could just do both things.

It's unlikely you are leaning to far forward, what is likely is you watched someone else squat and are trying to duplicate their style when it does fit your proportions.

A video of you squatting would be very helpful, empty bar would be fine.

From what you post without a video I can suggest you lower the bar on your back, widen your stance and allow as much forward lean as you are naturally inclined too.
^this is educated guess work based on what you have posted and is not applicable to everyone.

Buttwink can be caused by several factors, most of them technical.

You would also do well to look up breathing and Bracing in relation to lifting and learning how to fully brace your core while squatting.


Don't get put off by the length of this posted, barbell exercise can be quite technical and like anything technical require effort and practice over time to improve.

"poor" technique does not correlate that much with injury (much less than people make out) so don't be to afraid of the movement either. It's mostly a process of learning how to be efficient

[Garage Rat]

From what I've read you've already discovered your issue.
You lean forward and your low back hurts.
Strengthen your low back and abs.
Probably any posterior chain work will benefit you like good mornings and back raises.
Weak glutes will not be the cause of leaning forward.
make sure your squat technique is sound,get a qualified coach or trainer to access your technique.
In the mean time maybe take the bar and do perfect squats for reps.

[Hoxton12]

I used to struggle with normal squats due to lower back issues as well, but I never found an issue when performing split squats since they feel much more natural so I'd say give them a try?

[TheShadowMan]

The hip thrust is actually a pretty useful exercise, and has great muscle activation levels in not just the glutes, but the hamstrings and quadriceps too, interestingly enough. If your goal is activating any of those muscles effectively, it's a great inclusion in the routine. However, if your goal is to learn and become more proficient at the back squat, this won't do you much good as you aren't getting any practice in the movement. If you want to get better at something, do the something.

[TolerantLactose]

l cant squat my lower back hurts and lm leaning too much forward. l have an idea. should l first strengten my glutes. hip thrusting 3-4 times a week and then after 3 or 4 months, l try squating? will this help to squat like a normal BB? what do you think? by the way when l squat my back is doing a buttwink. are buttwinks a sign of a weak glutes? will buttwinks disapear with a strong glutes?

One would think you'd find a workaround or an actual solution by now.

l have a bad lower back and cant squat or leg press. how can l train legs? any good exercises? how should l train legs

8x Bulgarian split squats 10-25
4x smith machine lunges 12
4x leg extension 20

l cant squat and leg press
can l build good quads with this plan???

are they good for mass in quad area

l know they are for glutes but do they involve a vit the quads?

my gym has a vertical leg press is it better for quad development then a regular leg press?

is it possible? l habe lower back problems

what is better a nebula leg press or squats with an ironmind super squat hip belt

[DCSpartan]

Goblet squat till you get technique down.

[PCRulesPSDrools]

I fixed my form and focused seriously on stability and keeping my back and upright as possible and my lower back arched ( but in the right direction ). Try wide legged stance, keeping your knees as far apart as you reasonably can helped me stay more vertical. That seemed to work for me.

[WolfRose7]

I fixed my form and focused seriously on stability and keeping my back and upright as possible and my lower back arched ( but in the right direction ). Try wide legged stance, keeping your knees as far apart as you reasonably can helped me stay more vertical. That seemed to work for me.

Arching is no better than flexion in a Squat.

[SuffolkPunch]

I had a lot of trouble with hip position control during squats. I would start with too much extension and it would move under load near the bottom, causing a spasm in the upper glutes / lower back - which then made my hip flexors clench as a protective measure. This effectively crippled me for a couple of days and made it hard to progress with squats.

Wearing a belt and using Valsalver helps. But I had to relearn control over my hips - it felt very unnatural to have my hips in a neutral position (it felt like I was rounding when I wasn't) but I had to work through this.

Also, doing full ROM upper glute exercises with a hip abductor machine definitely helped prevent the spasm issue.

[PCRulesPSDrools]

Arching is no better than flexion in a Squat.

I guess. Shows what I know. My lower back pain went away though and I was able to continue squatting. I faced another issue, shoulder impingement. Fixed that by sewing a couple of seat belt straps to help hold the bar. Turns into a shoulder workout though.

[jademonkey]

You SHOULD lean forward. If you think about it it's physically impossible to squat with the weight on your back without forward lean. But you may be trying to good morning the squat. Things that may help:

Keep working squats but lower the weight and focus on form and driving up with your hips. Practice just sitting in the squat position for a minute or two every day you squat (or more). You can try turning your feet/knees out slightly, which should let you go a bit deeper without buttwink. Grab a ball or anything else you can set to the proper height (I used a ball sitting on a weight plate), set it up so it is just high enough that you don't buttwink and set your butt down on it every time you squat. That helped me a ton.

It could be a neurological issue, where you don't yet know how to activate glutes and drive with the hips during the squat motion, so you push with your quads and then straighten your back up. So keep the weight low enough that you can keep driving through your hips. Another idea is do one day with lower weight, pause in the hole, then explode up HARD, pushing your back into the bar the whole way up and squeezing the hell outa your glutes. Hip thrusts are good as an accessory, but I found they didn't really help teach proper glute function DURING THE SQUAT. They can surely help if you actually do have weak glutes.

Also adding back extensions helped me strengthen my lower back through it's range of motion. That way I'm better prepared to hold it in place during a compound lift.