Thanks!

Ditto what Krista says. Despite the dire warning of many underqualified gym trainers, forward lean in the back squat is NOT wrong and is, in fact, both natural and necessary.

Physics dictates that the barbell must remain above the center of the foot for an efficient and safe squat, particularly as the bar gets heavier. If your hips are moving back as you descend (as they should), the upper body will lean forward at the hips to balance the bar properly. The higher you hold the bar, the less you will lean forward, but this is not an argument for or against any particular bar position (bar placement in the back squat is a debate that will probably rage among ironheads forever).

If you are doing a back squat with no forward lean, you are either a freak of nature or you are forcing your body into a very unnatural position and placing dangerous stress on some other part of your body. You’re also probably lifting far less than you could be optimally.

If you make sure your back stays in good alignment throughout, and you don’t let your ego get ahead of your capabilities, a certain degree of forward lean is good form. Your sense of balance will tell you when the lean is too much or not enough.

Thank you for this inspiring and informative site. I really enjoy it.

I am able to do a full squat with no weight, but I have to have my arms out in front of me. As soon as I try putting my arms up where they would be if I had a barbell on my back, I start to fall over backwards.

Is this inability to balance common for beginners–especially beginners with very little strength and flexibility to start with? Or is it a sign that I’m using poor form?

Thanks,
Evelyn

I’ve been doing squat with free weight barbell, with perfect form and technique and was getting proper results in terms of muscle strengthening and weight lifting capabilities.
But recently I joined a new Gym where there is no Safety Squat cage as such, rather they have got smith machine for squat.
As there is no balancing issue with squat on Smith machine, I felt it easier than free weight barbell squat, but now when I do squat on Smith Machine, I feel pain in my left knees.
This probably is because of lack of proper form I guess. actually the line of motion for Smith Machine cant be drived by the person.
Could you please let me know the perfect way to do squat with Smith Machine?

Thanks,
Raj

That was a huge help. I’ve used a roller for tight hams before but didn’t even think of them for knees but what you said makes sense. Thank you!

Here’s the deal with joints. Connective tissues — ligaments, tendons, cartilaginous structures, etc. — are what hold our joints together but not too together: they also keep the bones from grinding against one another. These connective tissues, for the most part, have a poor blood supply. Our muscles are full of blood vessels. They’re a blood vessel rainforest: constantly damp and moist with all the good stuff. The connective tissues are more like a blood vessel desert.

Also, connective tissues are made from structural proteins, which ain’t cheap to manufacture. It takes time to lay down all the collagen etc.

Thus, due to both poor blood supply and the nature of connective tissues, they adapt much more slowly than muscles. This is one reason you can get stronger but then hurt yourself. Your muscles are temporarily too strong for your connective tissues (particularly a problem for folks on anabolic steroids). You can move X weight with your muscles but your connective tissues might only be able to comfortably manage X minus 10.

Anyway, the point is that with joint healing, you’re probably looking at the scale of months rather than days or weeks. But don’t be discouraged. Research shows that regular moderate loading stimulates the release and manufacture of proteins that help build up the tissues. The signals for “build” are getting through, it’s just that connective tissues are late bloomers. :)

One thing that helps a lot is freeing the schmutz (scientific term) that accumulates at the musculotendinous junction. This is the place where muscle becomes connective tissue and attaches to the bone. It’s not a clear demarcation. It’s more like a continuum. Quite often the pain you feel is not actually from inflammation of the CTs (although it certainly can be) but rather from tight/spasming/restricted muscles yanking on the joint. If you free up the crap that’s around the joint in the soft tissues, that can make joint pain magickally go away.

A great way to do this is with a foam roller (basically a thicker, more solid pool noodle) or rolling pin (for the knees). Roll the rolling pin all over your quads, using strokes going upwards if possible. Also roll out the area where the shin muscles meet the knee, below the kneecap. You can also dig your thumbs in there for smaller areas, or even use a tennis ball. Kneel on the ball and grind it into the muscles, anywhere there’s soft tissue. You’ll very likely find some trigger points that you can release with repeated iterations of this.

Also stretch IT band, which is typically tight on most folks. I’m told that the knee is the “outlet pipe” for hip tightness, so stretch front and back of hips well too.

I do have a quick question and would really appreciate your insite. My knees are not injured at all but after a really heavy workout they do hurt for a few days. I notice it is worse during my cycle but the week before they are strong as nails. I know it’s my joints and ligaments adjusting and getting stronger but I wonder how long will it take for my knees to go from weaklings to oly knees;)