weak squat?

neilae86

hi, ive been lifting weights on and off for the last year or so and ive always seemed to have a very weak squat. im 6"2 85kg, i generally do my excercises in 3 sets of 6-8 reps. Im currently squatting 50kg, which i find tough. My bench press is even 10kg heavier??? Now i will admit that i previously neglected my legs, but can someone give me advice on building stronger legs? cheers

tribulus

Em, keep squatting, it takes time. Work on your technique, keep tight during the lift, stretch your hips as often as possible (most people have tight to very tight hips) do some glute activation work to help with the tightness and your squat.

Do some lunges or other unilateral leg work too.

Search t-nation.com or elitefts.com or google for some good articles on squatting, there's lots of them.

BossArky

OP, concentrate on form.

I took ages to cop on the correct way to squat. Make sure you are "sitting back into it" and make sure you don't let your knees go miles ahead of your toes (these were some of my main problems).

You'll probably feel like you are going to topple over backwards, so do it without any weight for the first few session / before bed / in the morning when you wake up.

I'm still working on my squat, so not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but those two things above helped me.

Also, try video'ing yourself sideways on and compare it to videos of proper technique on youtube. You could also post it here for critique.

amazingemmet

Are your hip flexors tight? If they are they can hold back your squat. Also work your form as much as possible, just by getting your movement pattern right it can add kgs to your squat overnight

Hanley

I'm guesssing you're like most squatters I see in commercial gyms..? You do some squats, then go do leg presses, extenstions and curls?

Tbh as a way of increasing your squat it's probably not the best way to go. Anyone who I know that has increased their squat dramatically, myself included has used more squatting volume to get it up. Maybe like 5x5 squats, then 3x6 front squats, stiff leg deadlifts, calves and core.

It takes time and is probably the hardest lift to do, in that it's both physically and mentally draining. Best bet is to post some vids.

Patto

I would listen to Hanley on this one.

I have to confess I am in a similar boat, albiet maybe a few months of squat training down the line. I am 6'4", 95Kg and my ATG squats are only 80-85Kg for sets of 5 reps. That is compared to a 160Kg max deadlift and a 90Kg max bench.

I am training for a 10 mile road race at the moment but from 2nd week in march I am going back to the gym and for the next 4 months its strength training all the way. Getting my squat up to above 100Kg for sets of x5 reps is my no. 1 goal. I'm thinking about running a fitness log here.

Maybe that is something you should also consider, I think you would get some good advise here.