The Ready State: Mobility Training with Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Squat technique and all the ques

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    • 05/26/2013 at 2:19 pm #70222
      AvatarRANDy CARTWRIGHT
      Participant

      Hi!

      First post here. I´ve been using Mwod for about 6 months and I´m slowly making progress. Pretty much too tight in all areas;)
      I have a couple of questions regarding the squat.
      First off, my main issue is that I always loose my lower back to overextension when I´m getting up from the bottom position (my natural “pose” has a bit of the anterior pelvic tilt-syndrome). I think it might be related to that I´m having a really hard time keeping my belly tight when I sink into the bottom position. Does anyone have any good suggestions on this? I´m trying to use the technique that Kelly always talk about: Big breath in the belly, exhale and get tight, but It´s not working all that well.

      I´m also having big trouble with keeping all the different cues in my head when trying to perform the squat by the book. Is there any good technique you use when trying to learn all the different stages in the movement? Like doing one at a time, first do the “screw feet into the ground”-cue a million times then move on to the “knees out”-cue and so on? Any tips?
    • 05/27/2013 at 7:38 pm #72021
      AvatarArtem Mishchenko
      Member

      I personally would start with breathing, bracing, and then breathing into that. For me that’s the hardest part.

      Whenever I go to squat I do it like this.

      1)Walk up to the bar.
      2)Squeeze butt. Take a breath and get tight.
      3)Pop under the bar while staying tight and getting into position. Breathe into the tightness to brace.

      4)Now comes the second hardest part.At this point. The only thing in my mind is to get my knees out.

      I do this by “screwing my feet into the ground”. What I learned before seeing k-starr explain this was to get my knees out. Before the lift and during the lift. The only way to do that is to externally rotate my thighs. It literally feels like i’m twisting my femurs.

      It’s hard to describe. But if you plant your feet and screw your feet into the ground. Take note of what you are feeling in your hips. Now, plant your feet and replicate the feeling in your hips. What happens to me is my feet naturally screw into the ground.

      I do this right before I unrack the bar, and then throughout the movement. I’m thinking of opening my hips/knees.

      5) From there adjust everything else.

      As far as going into overextenstion. I literally cannot overextend if I get myself to a neutral and then braced position.

      So to recap. I personally would just practice bracing and breathing. Banded GM’s helped me a ton on keeping that tightness while moving.

      P.s. Film yourself. This has been one of the most beneficial things I’ve done for myself. I literally watch every set after I do them on my cell phone. If I keep faulting to crappy form, I’ll drop the weight and try to find the weakness.

    • 05/27/2013 at 10:46 pm #72027
      AvatarAnonymous
      Guest

      Mike–
      The first thing is to identify the cause of “I always loose my lower back to over extension”
      Have you addressed the “      anterior pelvic tilt”?
      This is the place to start.
      It can take time to get your breathing in order. Repetition so it becomes the way you breathe with the skill.
      There is a good series with Jill Miller on fixing your breathing
      Jill Miller Fixes Your T-Spine and Crappy Breathing Mechanics
      Jill Miller Smashes Your Guts! (and psoas, and tacked down viscera, and matted down abdominals…) Part 2
      Jill Miller Diaphragm Evolution Part 3: Eccentric Loading
      There may be something here that is restricting your ability to breathe the way you are looking to.
      Focus on one aspect at a time.
      Identify which correction will have the biggest impact and hit that first.
      That way you have one thing to focus on correcting and you will see a lasting change.

    • 05/31/2013 at 2:21 pm #72064
      AvatarRANDy CARTWRIGHT
      Participant

      Thank you so much for your in-depth answers!

      Christopher, I will try the banded GM´s. And also, I know what you mean with the feeling in the hips when I screw my feet into the ground, but I´m having a hard time keeping that feeling through out the movement. I guess it will come with practice.
      Katilin, I´m looking through the Jill-videos and will try the different mobility wod´s there.
      I also noticed that I don´t have the strength/endurance to keep the belly tight for more than 1-2 reps in the squat or the deadlift. When I come up from the bottom positions I completely loose the tightness and I have to start all over with the bracing. So I´m certainly doing something wrong with the breathing/bracing I reckon.
    • 05/31/2013 at 10:21 pm #72068
      AvatarAnonymous
      Guest

      Reset before each rep.

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