Daily Mobility Exercises by Dr. Kelly Starrett › Forums › General › Very complex problem with squat pattern…..this will put a lot of people to the test!!!

Viewing 9 reply threads
  • Author
    Posts
    • 07/19/2013 at 12:57 pm #70357
      AvatarJacob Phillips
      Participant

      Alright, so I have been squatting for about 10 years now.  Past couple haven’t been so good (used to squat 420…now like 350).  I used to have a moderate to wide squat stance because of what Dr. Stuart McGill said how you should perform a test to find optimal squat width, and according to the test my optimal stance to take to prevent butt winking was about the width of the rings on a barbell.  Then came along Kelley’s videos and I started to squat more like an Olympic squatter with the bar high on the traps and with a narrow stance and really trying to get the knees way out.  I have run into a lot of butt winking and has caused a lot of right SI joint problems (have had them before but now are worse), the pain wraps around my right hip and into the anterior hip and then back down the side of my leg.  Yesterday I went back to a wider stance and lower barbell position and the butt winking was almost gone but is this optimal movement????

      NOTES:
      -rolled ankle bad in high school about 6 years ago and mobility is not quite as good as left foot but my knee can track well over toe and to outside corners
      -IR of right leg is not as good in hip flexion but better in hip extension??????
      -Tight hips which every way possible, I have videos I want to post of the two different squats to show you, I have anterior pelvic tilt, can’t even sit indian style, etc.  Also have long torso!
      -Ever since I can remember how I walked (like 8 years old) I always noticed my right leg would turn out and the hip flexion would follow through opened up.
      With all that said though, I can squat with a pretty wide stance (I do not go wide like the geared power lifters though) and not butt wink, but I love OLY lifting and that is one reason I started to squat narrow and high bar but it has been tearing me up.  Please help with any suggestions.  What should I do to be able to lift pain free until the day I die!!!!!!!!!!! (Also want to lift some heavy weight with the OLY Lifts)
    • 07/19/2013 at 12:58 pm #72467
      AvatarJacob Phillips
      Participant

      I also have a pinch in the front of my right hip with squatting!!!  Pretty uncomfortable! 

    • 07/19/2013 at 1:01 pm #72468
      AvatarJacob Phillips
      Participant

      I have been doing a lot of the hip distraction work for sometimes up to like 20-30 minutes before I squat, which helps but does not stop the butt wink.

      Sorry I keep adding extra thoughts
    • 07/19/2013 at 5:09 pm #72469
      John CarriereJohn Carriere
      Participant

      You sound identical to me. If I go wider I eliminate the Butt wink but narrower it comes back. Same type of pain associated with the tilt too. That being said… Butt wink is NEVER good (not obvious?). It’s always a tell of some problem. For me its tight hips and hamstrings coupled with god aweful ankle mobility.

      A note on Ankle mobility…do you squat with Oly shoes? I do to pick up the slack of my bad ankles until my mobility improves. I’ve noticed while using the shoes I can eliminate my butt wink to a far greater depth than if I don’t. It’s not 100% but I can get my hips below knees.
      As for the hips, if you know that’s your problem hammer it daily…maybe even twice a day if it’s that bad. Also don’t discount your adductors; I did for a long time and it turns out its my worst goat, not even my hips.
      also, Do you butt wink while air squatting ?
    • 07/19/2013 at 5:24 pm #72471
      AvatarJacob Phillips
      Participant

      Thanks!!  I do now squat with Oly shoes, and like you it has helped, although I still wink with a narrower stance, I do have terrible adductor flexibility.  I believe I can squat pretty well just doing air, and really good doing goblet or light front squats.

    • 07/19/2013 at 8:55 pm #72475
      John CarriereJohn Carriere
      Participant

      I find it hard to believe you were squatting wider with “terrible adductor flexibility”.  How certain are you that you were tracking your knees over your feet? you sure you weren’t just thinking you were, meanwhile you’re caved in? video in this case would help

    • 07/19/2013 at 11:07 pm #72476
      AvatarThomas Seay
      Participant

      Chris,

      Dr. McGill has also talked about hip architecture as it relates to the squat. In short, the structure and orientation of the acetabulum (hip socket) has been shown to vary among individuals and this means that no one squatting style is optimal for everyone. Continue to work on your mobility issues, but realize that some individuals simply need a wider stance than others. As for the pinching in your hip, this can be a symptoms of femoral acetabular impingement. I was about to write a summary of this condition, but then I remembered that Dan Pope has already done a good job of this on his blog. The link is below.
    • 07/20/2013 at 12:34 am #72477
      AvatarJacob Phillips
      Participant

      Thanks Brian!! I am starting to think that is the case, that a wider squatting style is better for my hip structure, as far as the hip pinch, even wrapping a band to do distractions like i was just doing causes a sharp pinch in the front of the hip, I will check this article out you posted and try to get that cleared up.  Mike, when I am doing a wider squat I am able to keep my shins almost straight up and down (I cannot when doing closer stance squats), although with Oly shoes I do let them track a little over my feet, as far as tight adductors go, no they are not the worse I have ever seen but they do need work, I did some of the adductor bar smash like kelly did in his video post today and it about made me pass out!! When laying on the floor on my back and legs as straight up as possible I can drop my legs to about 45 degrees above the floor, kind of mimicking what kelly did in one of his videos but he did the adductor stretch up against the wall. (hope that wasn’t too jumbled).  My left side is noticeably better in adductor flexibility than the right, so im sure they are all linked together, the right side is where all the problems are, IR in hip flexion, adductor, hip flexor, and even harder time with glute activation and control.

    • 11/26/2013 at 6:58 am #73295
      AvatarJeff Brodnik
      Participant

      I’ve got quite the same problem as all of you here. While squatting my knees just keep pushing out by themselves and I constantly feel pressure in hip extensors, butt wink is never good, etc. So, I started doing a lot of mobility exercises for hips, hams and glutes, also strengthen my core with bunch of various planks. Not much improvement has been seen, so i went to my physio. He performed a few tests on me, as internal and external hip rotation tests, hip adduction, etc. He doubted on thing called “femoroacetabular impingement”. I went to doctor to check this our, took MR and it was positive. So, my problem was hip degeneration, and as doctor said, about 10% of young athletes have got the same problem without even knowing. I’ll be going on both hip arthroscopy very soon, doctor expects it all to be fixed and corrected. I don’t say it’s the same case as written up here in those posts, but I was just so frustrated about not being able to find the reason of my bad squatt, so i went to doctor. I hope this is not the case you have, but it will be worth checking out with doctor.

      P.S. sorry for my bad grammar,
    • 11/26/2013 at 7:02 am #73296
      AvatarJeff Brodnik
      Participant

      Oh, I forgot to say, I also can’t put both of my knees together to my chest. Same goes for squatting. Wider squat stance eased things a lot for me, but I was still unable to have a good butt wink.

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 9 reply threads
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.