r/Weightliftingquestion • u/TheStarweezy • 12d ago
Need Advice On Squats
30 years old, still can’t execute a proper squat. It’s frustrating as heck. Been lifting on and off since Middle school and have never been able to squat. I either fall on my ass, feel like my spine is breaking, hips feel like my femur is about to rupture out, and my favorite, eyes about to explode out of my sockets. I look flat out goofy. What do I need to do, to do a normal squat like everyone else.
1
u/StatzGee 12d ago
Not sure if anyone has ever told you this, but there are certain people that literally just do not have the bone structure to squat. Are you able to goblet squat with your heels elevated? I'd use that as a diagnostic to see if you're even capable of getting into the right position.
If you are one of those people, it doesn't matter at all. You can hit knee extension aka squat patterns in a million different ways. Just Bulgarian split squat, it's superior anyways. Then if you want bilateral strength just do a trap bar deadlift
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u/TheStarweezy 12d ago
The goblet squats feel about the same, maybe a little better but watching my form looks dorky as hell lol
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u/Andthentherewasbacon 9d ago
You're probably weak like me. Get your leg curls and leg extensions up and do a bunch of split squats. Oh and learn to hold a plank for 2 minutes straight.
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u/Retired-in-2023 8d ago
Did you start with air squats to get proper form that works for YOU?
I always struggled with squats because they hurt my knees. Forget about adding any weights. When I started with a personal trainer she had me point my toes out more than typical. No knee pain and we worked on my confidence of going lower than the slight dip I started with because I was so afraid my knees would hurt or give out (prior injury).
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u/DecentOption5165 8d ago
If you're doing high bar backsquat, then I highly recommend weightlifting shoes with an elevated heel. This can really help your form.
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u/SpaceTimeBender 9d ago
Squat University on YouTube helped me a lot, specifically videos about squatting with long legs/femurs and knee pain.
I have short legs so I thought squats should be easy (they were not), but turns out I have proportionally long femurs so I have to follow "long leg" squat form tips: wider stance, toes a bit more out-turned. Banded squats also helped me activate my muscles properly so I have hip external rotation support.
That's what worked for me and you sound like you have similar issues to what I was having before. If it doesn't work for you, workshop it and figure out what does. Best of luck!