whats wrong with my squats?

[BRINO]

When i do squats i feel it in my inner legs{adductors} and glutes and hammies but not my quads. I got to parellel not lower cause of knee problems. I have good form too look staright and back is right on but i want it more in my quads. Should i just switch to front squats? Back squats make my ass grow and then my hammies look too small.

[Mols]

helll yea front squats! :kiss:

[CJB]

How wide of a stance are you taking? Typically the wider your stance, the more you'll rely on glutes/hams to bear the brunt of the load?

With that said, it actually sounds like you're squatting correctly! :lol: More people probably wish they had your problem. One of the hardest things to teach someone with squatting is having them sit back into the squat. Sitting back and breaking at the hips first help direct the load to the p-chain muscles.

[BRINO]

Yeah CJB, i know im doing it right and yesterday i di 405 for reps with no problem. I dont take a very wide stance, maybe a little wider than my shoulders but not much. I like them cause i can push heavy weights but i need bigger thighs not glutes.

[CJB]

Maybe try moving the stance in just a tad and maybe even try to ride the bar higher across your back.

Also, shoes can make a difference. I usually wear olympic lifting shoes (solid sole; elevated heel) when I full squat and they do a good job of distributing the load more to the quads. If you're wearing a flatter-soled shoe, that could be contributing to you using more glute/ham.

[BRINO]

Shoes may be it, i wear some NB cross trainers and they are quite cushiony

[Lumberjack5.0]

Whether or not they solve this particluar problem, Oly shoes are fucking unbelievably great for squatting, and basically any lift where you stand, for that matter.

[BRINO]

Thanks guys, ill have to look into it. They seem like theyd be a lot better for my deads as well

[IliekFude]

i dunno about deads, unless yr sure their flat soled and not heel elevated which will kill alot of your leverage in the deadlift.
you wana be able to lean back and use yr bodies own weight as leverage when deadlifting.

[mlong]

You may feel you are doing it perfect, but not being a dick something ain't right. Ask someone to look at you when you are doing them to see what they think.

Keep the bar up on your traps if its not there. When coming down don't let your ass go way out. Kind of hard to explain unless we saw you doing it and we could show you how we do it to compare. The reason you are feeling it in your inner legs is that your legs are too far apart. I used to push through the heel when squatting and felt a lot of stress to my glute and hamstring area as well. Now I push through with the whole foot and feel it in my quads almost exlcusively. Quads can be built pretty good with squats, but for hamstrings I wouldn't even count this as an exercise.

What else are you doing for your legs?

[mlong]

When I am really feeling it my leg day looks like this:

Back squats
Leg press
front squat or hack squat
leg extension
leg curl
standing one leg curl
stiff leg deadlift

also got lunges, but those work the ass out like crazy, maybe not great for you.

[mlong]

i dunno about deads, unless yr sure their flat soled and not heel elevated which will kill alot of your leverage in the deadlift.
you wana be able to lean back and use yr bodies own weight as leverage when deadlifting.

I don't think it really matters unless you are a numbers guy trying to hit a certain number or are a competitive lifter. You may get a few more pounds out of different shoes, but I don't think from a bodybuilding perspective its going to matter a lot. I don't think their is a shoe I own that I couldn't do a heavy weight and rep it out.

[BIG SMT]

I had a pair of Adidas with the plastic web heel support blow out on me while doing heavy DLs. I started staggering backwards and almost fell while still holding the BB. Very scary! Shoes can be a safety choice as well.

[BRINO]

I noramlly do something like this
leg extensions 2xwarm up, 3 pyramid
Leg press 5 sets pyramid
front squats 3 sets
smith luge/hack supersetsx3-4
maybe sissy squats
leg extensions 4 rest pause.

Normally i do hams on different days, I dont do back squats a lot anymore because of knee problems but im doing them now as part of DC training. I will breing in my stance next week and see, thanks guys.