Front squatting shoulder mobility

TimeToShine

Does anyone know any good stretching/flexibility stuff I can do to increase shoulder mobility so I can balance the barbell on my anterior delts in the front squat? It feels like it's balanced but when I squat down I can feel the weight pushing off my shoulders as I tip slightly forward and I have to balance the weight with my arms. I've been doing around 40kg like this for a while now. I was back squatting 95 for 3 sets of 6-8 in the stronglifts program before deciding to try front squatting to fix some imbalances.

i'm 5'6 and 74kg if that helps.

thanks in advance

Hanley

I'd probably look at thoracic spine mobility first. And tricep & lat flexibility.

The weightlifters probably have some good stuff for this.

thehamo

+1 on that. I couldn't do a front squat for jack **** but was told to do some foam rolling on my lats right up into my armpits. 3 agonisingly painful sessions later and my arm position on the bar had improved a good bit. Still a bit to go though. I'd have a look at that first

Molly

1. Two hockey balls taped together, lie on it and move your arm from opposite hip to overhead. Do 10 reps each side on each rib and then move up a rib. **** explanation, go look it up on mobility wod.
2. Bar in squat rack, put your arms in rack position and try squat. Obviously you can't but it forces your arms up more. If you've a training partner he can stand under your elbows and stand up to make this even more effective
3. Hockey ball on lats
4. Get an upper back, if your back isn't strong enough to support the weight your elbows will drop

What imbalances were you trying to fix exactly?

token

Molly wrote: »

2. Bar in squat rack, put your arms in rack position and try squat. Obviously you can't but it forces your arms up more. If you've a training partner he can stand under your elbows and stand up to make this even more effective

If you're johnny no mates you can do a fairly good job of this with a band by standing on it and stretching the same area.

Barry.Oglesby

Standing under a racked, loaded bar and drawing your hands into the position is also a pretty good stretch. All good advice here though.

token

A quick search of "Front Rack" on the mobility wod site gets these.

http://www.mobilitywod.com/2010/11/episode-99365-solving-front-rack.html

http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/08/episode-304365-improving-the-front-rack.html

I can't find the video but another one I got good milage out of was doing myofascial release just above the elbow. You can do this on a bar in a squat rack. At home I do it with a ball on my couchs armrest and roll the area.

ray jay

token wrote: »

I can't find the video but another one I got good milage out of was doing myofascial release just above the elbow. You can do this on a bar in a squat rack. At home I do it with a ball on my couchs armrest and roll the area.

I think this is the one you're thinking of.

token

ray jay wrote: »

I think this is the one you're thinking of.

Yup that's her.

Kev M

I had the exact same problem, like starting off I couldn't even get the bar down to my shoulder at all never mind get my elbows up. I just stretched each side at a time, by placing my hand under the end of a bar on the rack and pressing it back into my shoulder while stretching my elbow up as much as possible and holding for maybe 3 x 30seconds at the end of sessions, getting the stretch up through the lat, and within about 3 or 4 weeks I could rack the bar no problem. Also moving my grip out slightly made a difference but whether you want to do that I don't know.

Hanley

Also trying to keep a closed grip on the bar may end up killing you. Ya can let it roll back into your finger tips or keep the pinky and ring finger off the bar. Will ease pressure on your elbows a bit too.

Also - not sure what FS'n will do to fix imbalances now that I read the post fully.

Scuba Ste

I'd do what Barry said, get into the right position with a bar in the rack and try force your elbows up. If someone is with you you can do PNF type stretches with someone holding your elbows up while you try to push down. That's all I or any one I train with has ever done.

I've seen a vid by Glen Pendlay doing something like this if you wanna look through the Cal Strenght youtube page.

Doctor_Socks

I wasn't able to do front squats at all for ages, then I did as the lads above said, setup a loaded bar, get under it and try put yourself into a proper position. It's annoying at first when you realise you can barely get into position but work on it gradually and it will come!

Hanley

Doctor_Socks wrote: »

I wasn't able to do front squats at all for ages, then I did as the lads above said, setup a loaded bar, get under it and try put yourself into a proper position. It's annoying at first when you realise you can barely get into position but work on it gradually and it will come!

Remember on this - the key point is to not allow lumbar extension to compensate for thoracic. So squeez your ass tight and lock your rib cage down when doing it (ie almost like a standing crunch)