my hands go numb when i do squats

[MaGilicuti]

dbell squats? i never even heard of those. wouldn't these be a lot less effective? would i keep the dumbells next to my head as well?

 

[supersizeme]

no sir, hold one dumbell straight up over your head and then hold the other one out at a 30 degree angle from your leg and be sure to face northwest. also be sure and sing your favorite breakfast cereal jingle during the set as this assures proper form and that no one will be staring at you going "wtf is that guy doing?"

really...hold them down by your sides.

 

[DaCypher]

Dumbbell squats seem more like hack squats, or better yet, trap bar deadlifts. They don't sound like they would stress the lower back very much, whether thats good or bad depends on how you look at it.

 

[bignate73]

actually they are more like front squats and actually tax the CNS more since you actually have to hold each dbell instead of rest it across the traps. quite effective for an overall body movement, throw a press in there and you burn some calories and build stability.

 

[SteelWeaver]

anyone else get this? my hands have like no blood in them or something after squats. after my set i feel like my hands all tingly.

Which part of your hands go tingly? How about the top of your forearms? It's possible that the bar is compressing one of the nerves between your vertebrae in your neck.

This happened to me once - I was doing Smith squats, I guess with bad form and too heavy weights, and after the 2nd or 3rd set my arms and hands went all funny and numb and tingly. I ignored it and went on with my workout, but when it just didn't go away for several days I did a bit of research and found out it could be a spinal nerve. So I went to the doctor and he tried to tell me it was my carpal nerves in my wrists. So how come in both arms? (Total quack!)

So I went to a chiropractor, and he told me it was C5 or C6, (vertebrae numbers I think) I can't remember now. Anyway, after a few sessions of stretching the neck out type of treatment it went away and I've never had it since. I still go back to that chiropractor now and then for just small realignments (unrelated to above), since one's back tends to go out of alignment simply from poor posture, etc.

He also taught me to look up on squats. He told me the squats were the last straw in a chronic condition caused by sitting at a desk that is too low at work (I'm taller than average, and my desk is smaller than average), which causes stress on the neck and spine.

You should *definitely* have it checked out by a chiropractor. I wouldn't just wait and see on this one. Spinal health is crucially important.

 

[bignate73]

he actually told you to look up? wow. thats definitely not a neutral cervical spine position and is out of "character" for a chiropractor to say that. ideally you would want to look wherever your chest is pointing, with your chin slightly tucked. looking up can actually be exacerbating to the condition you described yourself as having, but if you were doing corrective stretches he may have considered it acceptable.

 

[SteelWeaver]

Well, I don't mean up as in up at the ceiling or whatever - just up enough to keep my chest high, so that my back or neck wouldn't curve the wrong way during squats. I learnt how to use my back muscles correctly to stabilise. I'm not a chiropractor, or any type of expert - I'm just saying what my experience was. He did give me a whole lot of corrective stretches, which worked wonders. I've never had a problem again.

I gave up Smith squats, dropped the weight on regular squats, and have been completely anal about form ever since. And have made better progress. Anyway, the point is, having numb arms and hands is no joke, and I wouldn't fuck around with cervical nerves.

 

[MaGilicuti]

this pain did start when i have been going ass to the ground now that i think of it...

 

[MarshallPenniford]

I consider dumbbell squats to be holding the dumbbells up by your shoulders - very similar to a front squat (they're hard). I consider dumbbells down at your sides a deadlift variation. These are really hard and certainly hit the lower back and quads like crazy.

To answer your question about the numbness - I get it sometime. It's just a circulation issue. Most likely from your shoulder being pinned back. Use a wider grip if it bothers you. I kind of like it.