Ok thanks. I always find my shoulders hurt before my legs do! Tend to prefer lunges instead but I will persevere....
Ok thanks. I always find my shoulders hurt before my legs do! Tend to prefer lunges instead but I will persevere....
You're shoulders hurt when squatting? In what way? Are you squatting in a smith machine?Originally Posted by mattp
No, its a squat rack but as a I balance the bar across my shoulders it always seems painful. The problem is that because of this I give up the sets too quickly. Not because my legs are sufficiently fatigued but because my shoulders hurt! How do you avoid this?
Sounds like you've either got the bar in the wrong place, or you're not engaging your lats and shoulder blades. How much weight are you squatting when you have to give up, and at what rep count do you have to stop?Be also useful to know how much you weigh as this can be a guide to how much you can lift.
Sorry, bit of delay in replying as hadn't got back in the gym for a few days. Decided to start off not lifting much to try and get the form right. Most I lifted was 70kg (inc bar) reps of ten. I also rolled up a towel to cushion the bar against my shoulders and it was an improvement. Guess I just need to build up slowly. I weight 73 kg so I should probably be lifting much more!
I also do more running than weights nowadays so a lack of frequency doesn't help. Is once a week enough for squats?
I squat 3 times a week. I'd ditch the towel you shouldn't need it if you're doing everything right. You're right, for your weight you should be able to lift a lot more without any pain.
Talk me through how you squat. Set up and the squat it's self. More detail the better and we'll see if we can sort you out.
Back + Bi's last night, shoulders this morning.
Ok here goes. So I use a standard squat rack and set the bar so it rests about shoulder height and in front of me. I also set the safety rests about waist height. I step forward with one foot slightly and under the bar before lifting and stepping back into a standard squat postion. I then try and perform the squat with a straight back and sticking my bum out as if sitting down. Probably don't go down far enough, to be honest. But the main reason for the towel is that the bar often seems to rest on the back of my neck which isn't comfortable. I feel a little tension in my lower back as well which tends to mean I don't lift as much as maybe I could/should.
Any advice would be appreciated but don't worry if I'm a lost cause! Strange though because I don't have any problem with other free weight excercises, just squats!
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