Costas

I have also dealt/ dealing with lower back issues.First and for most pin point the issue first then give this some thought….

 When you tweak your lower back (L1-L5) your bodies innate response is to protect the spinal cord and limit ROM. Your psoas(starts at L1) will tighten up right away to protect your spine from deviations. Once that happens your extension/ flexion will suffer. The psoas is also your biggest hip flexor. It being tight can in turn start to affect your other hip flexors, sartorius,from functioning properly like iron tiger explained. Getting that muscle to relax will do wonders for your low back and hips. Try some of the psoas smashing mwods.

Hope that helps

Harrison

So you want to work on the muscles opposite of your calf and gastroc, your anterior tibialis. A “tib raise” is just the opposite of a calf raise. Instead of raising your heels, stand on the edge of a stair or something similar. Let your toes drop down and then raise them back up. You should get some good contractions on the anterior part of your shin. You should be able to do 3 sets of 20.

You could also do something similar with bands. Hook a band to a grounded structure then hook around your foot. Sit on the floor, back up to gain tension and dorsiflex (flex towards you) your foot. The band givesd good tension in both ranges of flexions as well. Relax at plantarflexion and let the band stretch your ankle out as well.

Hope that helps

Alpha919 and Lance,

I used to deal with the same thing. Anytime I would squat or lunge/ any leg movement my quad tendon was ON FIRE. It was so bad that it felt like it was going to rip right off at some points. The things that helped me were what you are doing, but what helped the most was getting my hip flexors loose. The couch stretch was numero uno for me but also taking that LAX ball from your patella all the way up your quad to your flexors, tack and stretch all the way. The last thing was dialing legwork back for a week or so and doing the mobility work for 30 min a day for that time. It worked for me,maybe it will work for you!

Hope it helps

Peter,

When you say yo can’t hold the bar in place when you set your shoulder, what exactly do you mean?
Where does the bar go when you try to squat?
How are you holding it? Fingers or with arms crossed?

Jim

Even with perfect squat form your knees will track forward slightly. If you are getting your knees outside your ankles on your squat your knees will track forward some but that is fine, no failing there.I agree with Thor and Kaitlin that your hips are a big issue for most squatters check these mwods (taking it back)
Episode 72:Square Dancing and Grenade Throwing
Super Squat Hip Sequence pre-workout (this one changed my hips and my squat forever)

Happy Squatting

In conjunction with everything else maybe try this….

I have dealt with this issue in the past and one of the best things I have found that help me is using a ball on the hip itself. Whether it be a tennis ball, LAX, or something else dig it in and around your hip musculature. A favorite position is to lay on the ground with legs in a bent,90 degree angle. Put the ball under the hip facing the ground.You are looking for the soft spot directly above the head of the femur( should be what you feel as the side of your hip when laying down) Once you get the ball in the right spot chill out for 10-20sec depending on tightness. You can move very acutely if you don’t feel that it is working. Be cautious because you are putting alot of force directly on a joint. I know this isn’t an mwod but I got the idea from watching one.

Hope it helps