Arms go Numb

cardio,shoot me

Just a quick question, when doing squats(i believe i use highbar position) does anyone elses arms go numb/pins and needles towards the end of the set? its mainly in the hands and since i switched to the rippletoe grip its not as bad but i still get it.

BossArky

Are your hands as close together as possible i.e. stretching your chest and shoulders back? If so you may be cutting off circulation or trapping a nerve.

Something similar happened to me doing overhead squats a year or so ago. Took about a week to get rid of the tingling sensation. It was like pins and needles in my thumb and forefinger of each hand. I think it was a trapped nerve due to forcing my shoulders/arms into an unusual position.

podge57

i get it a lot in my wrists, hands and shoulders when i do higher rep sets

it gets annoying because sometimes it causes me to stop even though my lower body could do more

dont really know how to stop it tho, and i dnt want to change anything because my setup works well apart from the numbness

Hanley

Overhead squats put my hands and arms to sleep faster than anything.

It happens with normal squats on higher rep sets when I've my hands in closer. I experience a trade off between getting my hands close enough to be really tight (for the heavier sets) and wider out so my arms don't fall asleep (for the lighter ones/higher reps).

Malteaser!

This happens with me when I do BB lunges!

cardio,shoot me

nice to know its not just me, sounds like my problem is the same as podges, i keep my middle finger on the rings at the moment and try to hold the bar lightly.

Burkatron

It sounds like to me that the bar is sitting right on your C7-T1 vertebrae (the CT junction) where you've got branches of the Brachial plexus passing through & passing into the arm eventually branching into the Ulnar,radial & median nerve! This would definitely cause numbness & tingling in both arms at the same time!

cardio,shoot me

hmm, i concur. LOL. So what your saying is the bar is resting on a bone, not muscles? If i kinda kept my shoulders up would it eliminate the problem?

Burkatron

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

hmm, i concur. LOL. So what your saying is the bar is resting on a bone, not muscles? If i kinda kept my shoulders up would it eliminate the problem?

Going by the symptoms you described thatd be my best guess without seeing where the bar is resting. The bones I'd say it's resting on are the lowest vertebrae in your neck and the highest in your back. Do you ever get numbness when you're not lifting?
This is an idea of the way the nerves run, so if the bar is compressing any of this area you'll get these problems.

cardio,shoot me

i never get any numbness when im not lifting. it subsides immediatly when i rerack the bar and then comes back after being under the bar for maybe +1minute.

accensi0n

I get is in my hands and arms sometimes.

Burkatron

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

i never get any numbness when im not lifting. it subsides immediatly when i rerack the bar and then comes back after being under the bar for maybe +1minute.

Was just checking to make sure it wasn't a postural thing. Sometimes people get a forward posture problems where basically there neck sits forward & they slouch/have rounded shoulders which can cause the problems without doing excercise. I cant really give advice on where to hold the bar as I'd have mine in the same position, I probably dont stack the bar enough to get this problem because my **** gym wont get a squat rack so I have to clean it, it sucks. Do you use a pad on the bar at all, it might take a bit of the pressure off?

brianthebard

cardio,shoot me wrote: »

nice to know its not just me, sounds like my problem is the same as podges, i keep my middle finger on the rings at the moment and try to hold the bar lightly.

I use to get this but not in a long time I think. I'd do the opposite to the above, my little finger is inside the ring or just on it, and I try to grip the bar so that its forced into the lower half of my palm. Also setting the bar lower and after dipping under pushing my chest forward, then up and back into the bar is the way I set up now and it seems to work. I'm sure just like anyone you'll have to play around with your set up for a while until you find what suits. I do think that personally the low bar position alone has helped minimise any numbness.

cardio,shoot me

i want to use low bar position because people say it lets you move more weight, but the bar will just fall of me lol! I can only feel one part of my back where the bar can actually sit.

brianthebard

Its true it can seem like an odd place for the bar at first but it is actually much more solid, for me at least. You have to bring your shoulder blades together even harder to get it right imo. When you set up for the squat, how high is the bar, nipple height or higher?

cardio,shoot me

sorry, im confused by that question :P, like how far up my back? or how high is it on the rack when i get under it?

brianthebard

How high in the rack when you stand in front of it. I used to have it almost where I wanted the bar on my back, but lowering it makes everything much easier.

cardio,shoot me

well if i push out my chest my nipples are about level with the bar