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When I squat, it feels like my left leg is doing 40% of the work; also, what's a good shoulder...

post #1 of 17
10/18/11 at 8:06pm
Thread Starter 
Two questions:

1. When I'm squatting, I can feel that my left leg isn't exerting as much effort and I can see my descent doesn't go down straight; it's sort of like my back starts to cave into one side more than the other. I'm definitely sure that my back isn't perfectly aligned because I've been sitting on a wallet in my backpocket for years. Either way, my right leg is probably doing 60% of the lifting and my left leg 40%. They both get pretty sore afterwards, but even in terms of soreness, they feel different. Also, my right butt cheek gets more sore (no homo) than my left one after squatting. I have to make a conscious effort to use more of my left leg while squatting, and when I do that, it's not natural and probably not good. I just don't know how to correct my form because when I make my descent, you can see how my tailbone starts to sag towards the right somehow.

2. What's a good shoulder exercise? I've always hated doing shoulders and have neglected them for a bit and now I can tell that I need to start doing more shoulder exercises. As of now, I just do the whole lateral arm raises with dumbbells but my shoulders NEVER get sore. They also get tired very fast and it feels like I can never exercise them till exhaustion. My left shoulder is also noticeably weaker than my right and can't keep up in terms of endurance. Should I stick to machines?
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post #2 of 17
10/18/11 at 9:17pm
1. take video, post here: http://forum.lylemcdonald.com. you should get some good feedback. no one can really tell you what your problem is based on the info you gave. in the meantime, if you must keep squatting, use a lot less weight. focus very, very hard on maintaining proper form, including a level bar. don't be pushing yourself if the imbalance is that bad. back off, fix the problem, and try again.

unilateral exercises like split squats, rear-foot elevated (bulgarian) split squats, etc. are also there to be done. or leg pressing if your gym has the equipment.

2. try overhead presses and shrugs.
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post #3 of 17
10/18/11 at 9:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lukelukeluke View Post

1. take video, post here: http://forum.lylemcdonald.com. you should get some good feedback. no one can really tell you what your problem is based on the info you gave. in the meantime, if you must keep squatting, use a lot less weight. focus very, very hard on maintaining proper form, including a level bar. don't be pushing yourself if the imbalance is that bad. back off, fix the problem, and try again.
unilateral exercises like split squats, rear-foot elevated (bulgarian) split squats, etc. are also there to be done. or leg pressing if your gym has the equipment.
2. try overhead presses and shrugs.

Thanks. Will look into that.

As for shrugs, don't those target your trapezius muscles?
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post #4 of 17
10/18/11 at 10:48pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F_m_h-HWEwk#t=183s
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post #5 of 17
10/19/11 at 1:26am
1. lol no homo
2. don't do that p90x shit, just overhead press.
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post #6 of 17
10/19/11 at 1:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenFrog View Post

Thanks. Will look into that.
As for shrugs, don't those target your trapezius muscles?

confused. your traps are part of your shoulders. you mean you want bigger deltoids? overhead presses are a good place to start. lateral raises, too, maybe try more weight than you've been using. for what it's worth, soreness is not a great indicator of whether something is working or not in the weight room. also make sure you balance out any pushing movement with a pulling movement like dumb bell rows or chin ups.
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post #7 of 17
10/19/11 at 3:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lukelukeluke View Post

confused. your traps are part of your shoulders. you mean you want bigger deltoids? overhead presses are a good place to start. lateral raises, too, maybe try more weight than you've been using. for what it's worth, soreness is not a great indicator of whether something is working or not in the weight room. also make sure you balance out any pushing movement with a pulling movement like dumb bell rows or chin ups.

Yeah, I meant deltoids specifically. Sorry for the confusion.

It's just that any deltoid-specific exercises I do feel very unnatural and don't feel like I'm actually exercising that muscle properly.
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post #8 of 17
10/19/11 at 5:45pm
1. Check this for cleaning up your form: http://www.dieselcrew.com/articles-pdf/cleaningupthesquat.pdf

A few other things that may help:
-Use shoes with flat soles (e.g. Chuck Taylors), minimalist shoes (e.g. Vibram Five Fingers), or no shoes.
-Ensure that the weight is evenly balanced while lifting and that your feet are parallel.
-Bend at the hips first as though you were about to sit down (do not bend the knees first).
-Put the weight on your heels, not the balls of the feet.
-Keep your abs and lower back tight throughout the movement.

2. Overhead press. Do not use machines for anything.
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post #9 of 17
10/19/11 at 6:36pm
For the first one all I can say is clean up your form, post a video or something. I've always considered the traps part of the back personally. Just overhead press, you can do it standing, seated, dumbbells, barbell. Doesn't really matter in terms of shoulder size.
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post #10 of 17
10/19/11 at 6:51pm
Upright rows are a good deltoid lift as well, assuming you don't have any shoulder problems.

Also, soreness is basically meaningless. As long as you're getting stronger, it doesn't matter if you're sore or not. Some muscles get more sore than others, if you're lifting hard and getting stronger, don't worry about it.


One other consideration with the squats, make sure your feet are spaced evenly. You might want to put some tape on the floor so you don't have to eyeball it. Make sure they're at the same angle too.
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post #11 of 17
10/19/11 at 8:06pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks folks. A lot of good information here.. will definitely keep these nuggets in mind when I do squats again.

Anyone do romanian deadlifts to target the hamstrings? I want to get my thighs to look wider from a side profile point of view. My quads are definitely getting bigger thanks to squats, but my hamstrings are still sorely lacking. I'm also really afraid of messing my back up with the RDLs, as my back is already kind of weak.
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post #12 of 17
10/19/11 at 9:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenFrog View Post

Thanks folks. A lot of good information here.. will definitely keep these nuggets in mind when I do squats again.
Anyone do romanian deadlifts to target the hamstrings? I want to get my thighs to look wider from a side profile point of view. My quads are definitely getting bigger thanks to squats, but my hamstrings are still sorely lacking. I'm also really afraid of messing my back up with the RDLs, as my back is already kind of weak.

Romanian deadlifts are more for your hips than hamstrings, although they will work the hamstrings too. Straight legged deadlifts hit the hammies really well, just make sure you start light to get your back up to speed.

If you know your back is weak, might be something to focus on before really getting too concerned about periphery things like your deltoids or leg profile. You need a solid back to do damn near everything, especially to prevent injury.
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post #13 of 17
10/19/11 at 10:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenFrog View Post

Thanks folks. A lot of good information here.. will definitely keep these nuggets in mind when I do squats again.
Anyone do romanian deadlifts to target the hamstrings? I want to get my thighs to look wider from a side profile point of view. My quads are definitely getting bigger thanks to squats, but my hamstrings are still sorely lacking. I'm also really afraid of messing my back up with the RDLs, as my back is already kind of weak.

Go lower on your squats and do regular dead lifts.

Much more efficient and beneficial.
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post #14 of 17
10/19/11 at 10:36pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by the_drizzle View Post

Go lower on your squats and do regular dead lifts.
Much more efficient and beneficial.

I have long legs so regular deadlifts are insanely difficult for me, posture-wise. I always do sumo deadlifts; otherwise, the barbell ALWAYS has to hit my knee when going down.
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post #15 of 17
10/19/11 at 10:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GreenFrog View Post

I have long legs so regular deadlifts are insanely difficult for me, posture-wise. I always do sumo deadlifts; otherwise, the barbell ALWAYS has to hit my knee when going down.

That's fine too.

How low do you go on squats? If you get at least a bit below parallel then your hamstrings will get a good workout. You can also do a couple of lunges while you're at the squat rack, but otherwise I'm not an advocate of doing any isolation exercises. Squats and dead lifts alone should be enough for your quads/hamstring and if you aren't seeing results it may mean your form is bad.

If you have back problems then you definitely need to focus on form to prevent any injury.
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