OH Squats

[-JM-]

Would anybody have any advice on getting the weight 'locked in' when performing OH squats?

I have been trying to perform these in recent weeks, however the effort seems to become more focused on stopping the bar swinging forward when at the bottom of the movement than anything else. I feel like i am being pulled onto the balls of my feet also.

Is this a shoulder or back and hams issue maybe?

[Runty]

Good deep OH squats require a lot of flexibility. If you're not using shoes with raised heel(oly shoes) I would recommend those. Make sure you are shrugging hard with your shoulders while the bar is overhead and really squeeze your traps.

[ZenMonkey]

Right, squeeze the bar apart.

How is your ROM? What is your squat form like? It can be a combination of these things.

[-JM-]

Front and back are full deep squats. I need to put them up on video. Not heavy but they are deep for sure.

At the bottom of OH i can feel myself being pulled forward from above?

I dont have oly shoes, I squat in old school 'vans' slip ons. I think it is how (angle) i am cradling the weight above though.

[Fuzzy]

Stretch your pecs heavily, and get some shoes.



Me in a OH squat, nice and comfortable.

[-JM-]

Thanks for responses guys.

Fuzzy, 220lb? ... damn!

That is the sort of position I see in my head but I just feel plain awkward when doing it. I will work on getting my head forward and arms back.

Thanks again.

[JHarris]

A lot of people talk about stretching the bar, but that never worked me for me. I always consider pressing the bar up as hard as I can throughout the whole motion. One thing that has helped a number of athletes that I've seen is doing a slightly lighter weight and making yourself hold the bottom position for 3-5 seconds on each rep.

Are you staying back on your heels as you go down? Shoulder flexibility is likely another issue - are you doing pec/shoulder stretches?

[Fuzzy]

Thanks for responses guys.

Fuzzy, 220lb? ... damn!

That is the sort of position I see in my head but I just feel plain awkward when doing it. I will work on getting my head forward and arms back.

Thanks again.

No! Not head forward, keep the head relaxed and neutral.

A lot of people talk about stretching the bar, but that never worked me for me. I always consider pressing the bar up as hard as I can throughout the whole motion. One thing that has helped a number of athletes that I've seen is doing a slightly lighter weight and making yourself hold the bottom position for 3-5 seconds on each rep.

Are you staying back on your heels as you go down? Shoulder flexibility is likely another issue - are you doing pec/shoulder stretches?

I agree, spreading the bar is not that helpful. When you have the bar overhead you want to fill up your chest as much as possible and flex the lats hard, you want the bar as high as you can get it without shrugging your traps.

Try it with the bar just standing, lock it out, then take a big full breath and try to touch the roof.

[-JM-]

Ok thanks.

I will get a video up to make this simple.