101 on squats

[muscledog95]

After i squat my lower back as been getting tight. Everyone is telling me its cuz i dont use a belt? Whats the deal here? Also, does it really matter if your knees go past your feet?

Thanks in advance

 

[skaman607]

A belt is for people with weak lower backs or back injuries, I would just say do some GM's or some SLDL.

 

[louden_swain]

The squat is probably the most difficult exercise to master.

You might want to re-evaluate your form.

First of all, find a comfortable stance (most people prefer a shoulder width and powerlifters like the wide stance).

Start the motion by first sinking your hips into the full squat position (keep your ass popped out).

Be sure to keep your back arched, this means keep your chest up and out and keep your head up.

when you start to return to the top, do not let your hips rise too fast. If this happens, you run the risk of using most of your lower back. Keep the movement at a reasonable pace, and keep your torso erect.

If your lower back is sore, you might be rounding your back to a small degree. When I say rounding, this means squatting out of the hole with your back slightly hunched over. Prevent this as much as possible.

For extra lower back strengthening I personally recommend:

Reverse Hyperextensions
Regular Hyperextensions
Good Mornings
Top Deadlifts


Practice, practice, practice your technique. Once this is mastered, be prepared to experience gains in size and strength in the hips and upper legs. Good luck!

 

[SeekerOfKnowledge]

What's the benefit's of when doing squat's on the rail machine to step way far out so that you almost sit parrallel when lowering yourself.

 

[jeremys]

what's a rail machine? PLEASE tell me you dont mean a smith machine

 

[GinNJuice]

What's the benefit's of when doing squat's on the rail machine to step way far out so that you almost sit parrallel when lowering yourself.

I'm interested in the answer here..

.... I never do them on the smith machine (w/feet farther out) because it seems to put more stress on my already bad knee.

 

[needsize]

Louden pretty much has it there, the more you lean forward during a squat, the more your lower back comes into play, this is especially true at the bottom of a deep squat. If you concentrate on keeping your back straight throughout the lift you should be fine. Either way, I do end up with a pump in my lower back when squatting, no big deal.
And belts are worse than useless

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

Keep that butt sticking out, widen the stance up a bit and "sit" into the squat without your upper body leaning forward at all. At least thats the goal. Your lower back will get strong real quick. Keep at em and work the form. If you don't have big legs than you don't know SQUAT!

 

[endpoint]

ummm you all seem to be missing the point....do you stretch your hamstrings quads and lower back?

 

[machman]

Nothing wrong with using a belt in MHO. I've squatted 6 plates a side to parallel and I doubt I could have done it without a power lifting belt and knee wraps. Mind you anything below 4 plates a side and I don't and never did use a belt or wraps, same with anything under 1000lbs on leg press. I think they're a good idea with very heavy weights though. There's no question that your body can use a bit of extra help balancing that kind of weight or whatever typifies "heavy" for you.