Why are my squat numbers so low?

V

vonshu

0
Ok so I can squat only like 90 lb. 3x8. The same that I can bench. I have been wondering why I can only squat very little weight and I have come up with 2 possibilities.

1, I have heard that long femurs make it harder to squat and since I'm fairly tall I might have long femurs (I really don't know though). I'm providing a pic of my right leg in order to see if anyone here can tell me if my femur is longer than the average person and that is maybe why i can't squat very much.

2, I have pain in my knees whenever I squat down. I'm pretty sure it was caused by running too much. So I haven't been running for the last 3 weeks and I've been swimming. Since I've stopped running, the knee pain has lessened. But I'm not sure if doing squats or lunges and stuff also injures the knee, because I haven't worked out in 2 weeks in order to try and let them rest. Someone told me it could be tendinitis, but they didn't know for sure. Right now it hurts my knees just to do a body weight squat, but for some reason when I'm squatting with weight, my knees don't really hurt. But anyway like I said, my knees have been getting better every day that I haven't been using them (only swimming).

So my main question is, are my femurs long and therefore causing me not to be able to squat much or do you think its the knee pain or maybe another problem?
 
i was the same way for a year till my weight lifting coach caught me. my technique was wrong find a trainer or someone who can lift to teach you how. once you get it you will go up about 100 more lbs i started at 225 and jumped to 305 no joke thats how bad it was..
 
You being tall not only means you may have long femurs, but long arms as well. Having long arms is a bit of a mechanical disadvantage to bench press. Generally short people are better at "push" motions than tall people, or rather people with long limbs.

I agree with the above comment. Have someone check your form. Also, if you only recently started doing squat, and you've been oding bench press for a while, this may be the problem. But your squat will probably shoot past your bench in the matter of a week.
 
You being tall not only means you may have long femurs, but long arms as well. Having long arms is a bit of a mechanical disadvantage to bench press. Generally short people are better at "push" motions than tall people, or rather people with long limbs.

I agree with the above comment. Have someone check your form. Also, if you only recently started doing squat, and you've been oding bench press for a while, this may be the problem. But your squat will probably shoot past your bench in the matter of a week.
Click to expand...

Right now I can't really get anyone to watch my form but I looked around and read that your knees are not supposed to go past your feet when you squat down. It is very hard for me to do a parallel squat without my knees going past my feet. Even when I try doing it right now, I can hardly keep my balance and my knees are still a little bit infront of my feet. It seems like when I arch my back very exessivly, it helps me keep my knees in the right place. So are there any tips to keeping the knees where they are supposed to be?

And I have been bench pressing for about 2 months and squatting for about 1
 
Well. set the bench or chair about a foot behind you, and sit down on it. Do your knees pass your feet? Now it's a similar motion only your back leans forward (it's straight though, or "C Backed")
 
dont blame your weak squat on your long femurs.
you are simply not trained well, or perhaps not fed well.
it could also be a knee problem. see a doctor about your knees.
your form could also be the problem. a lot of people squat incorrectly. if your not pushing through your heels, your putting more stress on your toes which strains your knees more.
record yourself squatting and show someone who knows their stuff.
 
Well. set the bench or chair about a foot behind you, and sit down on it. Do your knees pass your feet? Now it's a similar motion only your back leans forward (it's straight though, or "C Backed")
Click to expand...

No my knees don't pass my feet. But when I try to do the same motion without a chair, I can't keep my balance without pushing out my knees more. I can also keep my knees in the right position when I use a smith machine but not with free weights probably because i can lean on the bar somewhat. No I don't use a smith machine.

Proteinboy, hopefully I will see a doctor soon about my knees and I will also try to record myself squatting so someone here can look at it.
 
the knees passing the toes is not the end of the world. If you do full squats, your knees will probobly HAVE to pass your toes. Also, if you have long femurs you will be much further back in a squat than someone with long femurs, this often means falling backward unless you let your toes pass your knees. I think the whole "dont let the toes pass the knees" is a bad rule of thumb. It's to prevent people from doing a knee break squat, which means they just bend at their knees, shooting them forward way past the toes, then come back up. That is incorrect, you should sit back and break at the hips first or break at the hips and knees at the same time. If going low causes you to bring your knees in front of your toes, so be it. Unless it hurts ofcource.
 
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