Q&A: Low back position and squatting

Hey Mike, after reading your article yesterday on T-Nation I had a question. My low back always rounds when I squat deep. How can I fix this?





Thanks!





You know this is a simple question, yet the answer is quite complex. Very simply, it's always going to depend upon the specific limitatations of that person. Here are just a few of the issues that could be hindering their performance:



- Short/stiff hamstrings
- Short/stiff gluteals
- Weak back extensors
- Stiffness imbalance between hips and back extensors
- Poor muscle coordination of the "core"
- Poor technique

Those are just a few of the reasons I can come up with off the top of my head. Generally, the people Bill or I evaluate who can't squat deep have one or more of these issues going on.

So since I can't evaluate you, what can I help you with? Quite often, we see a stiffness imbalance between the hips (glutes, hams, etc.) and the spinal erectors. When we examine the properties that constitute stiffness, one of the key attributes, quite simply, is cross sectional area! A bigger muscle will be stiffer than a smaller oner. So how do we fix this? Get the appropriate area stronger!

While I'm not a big fan of back hyperextensions, I think basic back extensions should be a part of your program if you have this issue. After all, Olympic lifters have included back extensions in their programs for years and they have arguable the best squat technique. Obviously this isn't the only contributing factor to their squatting prowress, but I think it plays a role. Low back strengthening/hypertrophy work, coupled with mobility work for the hips should take you a long way.

Bill and I actually have an entire piece in the works on this topic. Our goal would be to make it a manual/DVD combo. Hopefully once I-FAST settles down a bit we can pull it together. This would include assessment techniques, training strategies, the progressions we use with clients, etc.

In the interim, get that low back stronger and get your hips as mobile as possible. Good luck!

Stay strong
MR

Old-School Article of the Week

From time to time, I'm going to re-post an old article that many of you may be unfamiliar with. Today's article, 10 Tips for Flawless Squattin', is one of my all-time favorites. Enjoy!

10 Tips for Flawless Squattin'

Stay strong
MR

Rebuilding the squat

My first squat workout consisted of 8 repetitions at 185 pounds. I can still remember it to this day, as one of the football players made some wise-ass comment and called me "Squatasaurus."

Jerk.

In my first official powerlifting meet, I squatted a whopping 336 at a bodyweight around 176. Needless to say, I didn't know squat.

Over the years, I tried tons of different programs - clusters, wave-loads, bands, chains, 5x5, Russian squat cycles, the works. I also tried tons of different squatting styles; I started out narrow, then moved ultra wide (ala Westside), and then settled on something in between. All I knew was the squat was the most difficult lift for me, but I wanted it to be my best.

Over the years, I slowly built my squat. I think the numbers went something like this:

Meet #1 - 336
Meet #2 - 380
Meet #3 - 407
Meet #4 - 385 (yeah, this one sucked - that's another story!)
Meet #5 - 385 (this REALLY sucked - welcome to a National meet!)
Meet #6 - 424?
Meet #7 - 446
Meet #8 - 473
Meet #9 - 490 (couldn't eke out the big 5 bills)
Meet #10 - 515
Meet #11 - 530 (I think I could've gone 545-550 this day, but a miscue on the opener wrecked that notion)

I'm not 100% on all the numbers, but that looks pretty darn close. First meet was in December of 2000, last meet in May of '05. I did approximately two meets per year, except for '01-'02 where I did at least three.

Let's be honest: I was never a pretty squatter. I have a short torso and long limbs, so it's more of a squat/good morning hybrid. While I'm nowhere near their level, my squat looked a lot like a Brad Gillingham or Nick Tylutki. Being an athlete growing up, I inherently knew the best way for me to squat big was to squat fast. The slow, controlled thing just didn't work for me.

I think the thing that consistently drove my numbers up were hard work, a laser-like focus on my goals and always refining technique. I had a video clip up here last year where I was squatting again and the "stroke" has never felt quite the same after the surgery. The knee feels fine, but training has been inconsistent at best and without coaching getting dialed in is very hard to do.

My goal right now is to get the technical aspects back, and then to start driving the poundages back up. If you want to grow your squat, I think I've written some decent articles on the topic - be sure to check these out:

10 Tips for Flawless Squattin'

6 Tricks for a Sexy Squat

The Modified 5x5 Program (this is the routine I used to go from 420ish to 530)

Olympic vs. Powerlifting Squats

While it's not a quick and easy process, take the time and dedicate yourself to growing your squat. Whether your goal is jakt legs, aesthetics or just a big squat, your hard work will be rewarded over time.

Stay strong
MR

PS I'll do my best to find a video clip of a competition squat; I know I have one somewhere!

Body Weight, Leverage, and Lifting for Strength

When we’re discussing leverage, the two main components that we’re looking at are the mass of the different parts of the body and their various lengths. Unless you’re still growing, you can’t really change the length of your levers too much! This is the reason for the focus on increasing girth.

There’s generally a natural increase in strength and performance as you get heavier. Your absolute strength goes up. However, for most of us, we hit a point where we start to lose increases in absolute strength at the expense of relative strength. So while your total squat may go up, your squat in relation to your body weight may actually go down.

In the individual lifts, the squat and bench press are affected the most by increases in body mass. Whether it’s a bigger belly to bounce off of or shortening your stroke in the bench, increases in body mass tend to improve your squat and bench press much more than your deadlift.

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Mike Robertson