Butt wink/tuck during squatting page

[tec1207]

Hey everyone,

Does anyone have any advice on how to stop the butt wink/tuck during squatting? I am not going to add any weight to my squats until I am able to achieve that full ROM, but I don't know how to stop it from happening.

I have heard it is due to poor hamstring flexibility. I have been working on that, but I still can't seem to get to parallel during a squat without the butt tuck.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

[TheFastCat]

It's hamstring flexibility. Work on your hip mobility and stretch your hammies. The butt wink thing isn't a big deal and shouldn't even be mentioned in the crossfit airsquat youtube video - just misrepresents the phenomenon as something to do with poor form.

A good place to start is MobilityWOD

do a search for

"hamstring"
"hips"
"squat"

and see what comes up to help improve your ROM

Don't fret over a butt wink

[jens522]

I have this issue too. It's frustrating as hell. Doing squats with your legs as close to the wall as possible (facing the wall) helps keep your hips back and forces you to use your glute/hamstrings, which are the weak link. Also, box squats help. I just keep fighting for it as much as possible.

[tec1207]

Thank you both for replying! I'll continue working on my hamstring ROM as well as practicing my squat form with a chair.

Oh, and doing the face-the-wall squats made me laugh; more like face-into-wall squat :P

practice, practice, practice...

[AndreaReina]

Do you know where your erector spinae muscles are, and how to activate them? Throughout the squat you should also focus on keeping your lower back arched -- this will counter the pull of the hamstrings and give you more depth.

[jsa23]

Do you know where your erector spinae muscles are, and how to activate them? Throughout the squat you should also focus on keeping your lower back arched -- this will counter the pull of the hamstrings and give you more depth.

I agree - the biggest thing I found helped my form was focusing on keeping a proper position with my lower back, and my hip angle(i.e. angle between the lower back and legs at the hip joint). I still struggle with my squat forms, and really have to watch my mechanics if I'm to safely generate power.

[Jimcbrooklyn]

FEET STRAIGHT AHEAD, KNEES OUT! Make sure your trunk is always stabilized (Kstar's squeze butt, ribcage down), then lead the motion with your hips and let the knees spread gradually. Make sure your feet aren't rolling over as you do this, keep the arch in them by grinding theminto the ground. Where your hammies lack, your knees can spread out.

[Sean_OToole]

I'm no expert, but I'm going to have to debate this last point. Every squat tutorial I've ever seen involves letting your feet point in a direction that feels natural and then making sure your knees track over your feet. Anything else seems to be asking for knee injury.

[tec1207]

I have been changing up my form a bit and working on keeping that arched back during a squat today. One thing I noticed is that when I have my feet slightly farther than shoulder width apart (while knees still track over the toes and don't move inward) that I can much more easily reach parallel.

But from what I have been reading, you should have your feet shoulder width apart, not farther apart (unless I am doing a sumo squat or something, which I am not).

haha, am I just over analyzing something really simple?

By the way, thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice!

[Noctiluca]

I'm no expert, but I'm going to have to debate this last point. Every squat tutorial I've ever seen involves letting your feet point in a direction that feels natural and then making sure your knees track over your feet. Anything else seems to be asking for knee injury.

One thing about letting your feet point outwards though is that you lose a SIGNIFICANT amount of power. You take a lot of the hip muscles out of the equation. If keeping your feet pointed forward hurts or stresses something then you need to be working on your mobility for that area. Correct form for a strong and powerful squat is toes forward, knees wide and keep your butt back so your knees stay behind your toes.