Olympic Squat help

[mcr]

I have been workout out on Westside for a while now and squatting with a wide stance, sitting back instead of down, and going to parallel.

However, I would also like to incorporate Olympic style squats into my routine. But going that deep, and with stance narrower, I find myself leaning forward for balance, and also my knees come slightly past my toes. I know this is bad. If I try to lean back more, I will just topple over.

Any advice? Does anyone else find this happens to them? In fact, even on powerlifting style squats I find myself having to lean forward to keep balance.

 

[mekannik]

Nature of the lift. Do some google searches on squatting and Ian King. He discusses the rationale behind hip break (power lifting) and knee break (olympic) squats. You might also hae issues with flexibility that are preventing you from squatting properly.

Stretching, understanding the differing mechanics of the lift, and adjustment of load (both in placement and overall weight) need to considered.

 

[Tagio]

getting pulled forward is bad, may be an ankle flexibility issue. you need to sit down on your feet in the olympic squat, and this requires ankle flexibility. knees going forward of toes is not really avoidable in the olympic squat. if this bothers your knees you could try full-depth front squats.

 

[Dial_tone]

I have the same problem which I solved by getting some Olympic lifting shoes. They have a wooden wedge that raises your heel up.

 

[mcr]

Thank you for your help guys.

Out of interest, is there a lot of carryover from Oly to PL squats and vice-versa?

In other words, if I spent 3 months only doing Oly squats and no PL squats, would my PL squat benefit or suffer when I came back to doing PL style again? Or would I need to include both in my routine if I wish to get stronger at both styles?

 

[Brett44444444]

Thank you for your help guys.

Out of interest, is there a lot of carryover from Oly to PL squats and vice-versa?

In other words, if I spent 3 months only doing Oly squats and no PL squats, would my PL squat benefit or suffer when I came back to doing PL style again? Or would I need to include both in my routine if I wish to get stronger at both styles?

Olympic squats would definitely carry over to PL squats, but not as much as doing PL squats by themselves. PL squats wont have that much carryover to oly squats, as you dont hit the bottom portion of the lift as much.

Do you compete in PL competitions? If not, I see no reason to squat to parallel, it puts a lot of stress on your knee joing when you pre-maturely halt the movement at parallel. Once you settle in to oly squatting, any knee pain you initially had should subside.

 

[bignate73]

keep in mind, some people dont halt the knee joint at parallel its their bottom with that wide of a stance. also the nature of a PL style squat doesnt allow the knee to hinge forward as much as an OLY squat, if an OLY lifter were to stop midway, there would be some rough shear forces, but there is a distinct difference in weight distribution in the joints on a PL style squat. Most of it is in the hips.