Overhead squat related problem

[supermonkey23]

I am having a hard time remaining stable in the deep squat position outside of back and front squats. I can do those two fairly well.

When I try over head squatting with no weight/broomstick and no shoes, it's hard for me to keep my upper body from leaning far forward. My arms don't stay up, they fall forward. To keep my heels from lifting off the ground, I widen my stance. I am still not stable, and fall on my butt in few seconds unless I hold onto something. I just can't get my torso to stay upright without losing stability and falling backwards.

In the gym, I wear healed shoes and try overhead squatting, but i have to go down really slowly or else I'll drop the weight forward. The weight is really light (45lbs to 95 lbs) but it's still hard to keep my torso upright. I have to fight it and it's just really poor.

I do stretch my ankles, hip flexors, and hamstring, but I don't know if I'm stretching enough or if the problem lies elsewhere.

Any ideas? Thanks, your help is what I seek.

[matjusm]

Taking a stab in the dark here but perhaps you need to work on shoulder flexibility to be able to hold the weight further back. Try some shoulder dislocates for that.

[ThundaHorz]

Taking a stab in the dark here but perhaps you need to work on shoulder flexibility to be able to hold the weight further back. Try some shoulder dislocates for that.

^^^this!

chances are you are holding the weight over head (as in directly overhead) but too far forward for correct decent and assent out of the hole...

your prob doing this->

you might need to be here->

this too may help:

Do you see the different alignments of the barbell? The first picture is the desired position. The line should cross over the shoulder blades, mid-thigh, and mid-foot. This demonstrates complete control of the barbell with it located in the center of mass. The second picture is less desirable. This shows strong shoulder flexibility, but this movement is on a path to failure. The third picture is extremely undesirable. The athlete should dump the barbell immediately if in this position. The shoulders are in a unsafe position, as you can see they are forward and we are not able to see his ears. In this undesired position impingement of the shoulder is possible.





no broscience, I would never think to teach someone with online forums but it may help.

[supermonkey23]

^^^this!

chances are you are holding the weight over head (as in directly overhead) but too far forward for correct decent and assent out of the hole...

your prob doing this->

you might need to be here->

this too may help:

Do you see the different alignments of the barbell? The first picture is the desired position. The line should cross over the shoulder blades, mid-thigh, and mid-foot. This demonstrates complete control of the barbell with it located in the center of mass. The second picture is less desirable. This shows strong shoulder flexibility, but this movement is on a path to failure. The third picture is extremely undesirable. The athlete should dump the barbell immediately if in this position. The shoulders are in a unsafe position, as you can see they are forward and we are not able to see his ears. In this undesired position impingement of the shoulder is possible.





no broscience, I would never think to teach someone with online forums but it may help.

I think that's part of the problem. I haven't gone to the gym yet, but just used a broomstick to squat down. I lose balance when I go to the bottom and fall backwards. Is it because the broomstick is too light to provide any counterweight, or can it really be done with a broomstick?

[SquatsAndOats]

It's a flexibility issue. Try shoulder dislocates and general hip and hamstring stretches until you can squat all the way down without lifting shoes.

[eyeoftheworld]

It's likely just a flexibility thing but remember to shrug up your trapezius muscles hard and try to 'bend' the bar forward. It helps with stability.

[ThundaHorz]

I think that's part of the problem. I haven't gone to the gym yet, but just used a broomstick to squat down. I lose balance when I go to the bottom and fall backwards. Is it because the broomstick is too light to provide any counterweight, or can it really be done with a broomstick?

Absolutely not your form, balance, and flexibility need fixing before ANY weight is introduced...

[laxshack]

i wont bull**** you, iv seen a 308 pound kid - can barely touch his toes do this, ill assume you have the flexibility and coordination to do this, as this 'overhead squat' is quite simple.
all you need to do is get your body use to it, much like people have a hard time with wrist flexibility and racking the weight with ease and comfort the first time they try. you probably need to get your body use to it, proper warm up and continuos training are the only remedies to your ailment. that said, 'heeled' shoes ..... like 'nike shox' do not count as a weightlifting shoe, nor feel the same or give you the same support or posture of that a 'weightlifting shoe' does, i assure you if you can pull a couple or more bucks together you can buy a sweet pair of shoes that will make your workouts all the more while, and if this still isnt convincing enough than think ..... maybe there is a reason why weightlifters wear 'weightlifting shoes' and not just 'heeled shoes'. btw what kinda shoes do you wear?

[laxshack]

also when you mentioned something about your heels going up when you squat, thats normal, in order for your body to remain straight when you squat deep, you need to go on your toes a bit, this is why weightlifting shoes have heels, to give you proper posture when you squat deep, also they are made of wood for the obvious reason - durability and stability...... i think there is a youtube vid shoeing the stability of weightlifting shoes vs crosstrainers. next time you decise to experiment with the 'overhead squat' form at home try throwing a book or something under your heels (i know this sounds sooooo unorthodox) and you will see improved form. home this helps

[nova6868]

Your issue is not uncommon for a beginner. Just keep working at it, and realize it may take several weeks or even months before you have the flexibility and stability to sit into a deep overhead squat. You need to do two things:

1. Buy some weightlifting shoes.

2. Keep working on shoulder, ankle, and hip flexibility. In fact, you may have to do daily flexibility work for a while.

[Faparama]

Taking a stab in the dark here but perhaps you need to work on shoulder flexibility to be able to hold the weight further back. Try some shoulder dislocates for that.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say he's probably leading the squat by sticking his ass back.

Lead the squat with your knees and push them forward PAST YOUR TOES. This will allow your butt to come straight down and leave your torso more upright.

[pfffft]

i can't OHS with a broomstick without leaving the broomstick in front either. until i'm completely warmed up

[eyeoftheworld]

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say he's probably leading the squat by sticking his ass back.

Lead the squat with your knees and push them forward PAST YOUR TOES. This will allow your butt to come straight down and leave your torso more upright.

I am going to take a stab here and say that he probably needs to shrug the bar up with his traps a bit .

[olyw8lifter]

i can't OHS with a broomstick without leaving the broomstick in front either. until i'm completely warmed up

Same here!!!

[supermonkey23]

Same here!!!

So what do you guys do for the warmup?

[olyw8lifter]

So what do you guys do for the warmup?

Keep in mind that I'm 37 yrs old. I usually do some leg swings to warm up the hip flexors and legs. Then I use a PVC or stick to do some shoulder dislocates, about 8-10. Then I grab a bar and do some back squats to warm up the hips and knees, about 10 reps, then some snatch grip presses, hang snatch and OHS, all with just the bar, for about 5-8 reps each. This gets me pretty well warmed up and ready to snatch.

[pfffft]

i do shoulder dislocates, but i progressively get narrower and narrower on the grip until i can't go all the way back down behind me. then i get someone to manually forcefully slowly pull the bar down past the range, and that stretches me out

be very careful with that

then, i really warm up my hip flexors and hamstrings by walking around and talking **** to everyone else in the gym that isnt doing olympic lifts, and kicking my legs up and stretching them in the process

i wait until everyone is irritated and leaves, and by that time im pretty warm to start throwing weight around