Hips Rise Faster Than Shoulders

[RandallH1989]

This has been a major issue for me since I have been squatting, yet I have kept adding weight to the bar at the expense of back pain (really damn stupid, I know). I don't think I realized what I was doing until recently.

When I begin my ascent from the bottom of the squat, I drive my hips, and my chest caves forward. I have tried keeping everything tight, which helps, and I have tried wearing a belt which also helps, but neither has seemed to alleviate my issue. I am concerned that I am going to have to drop the weight A LOT to fix this.

Are there any cues that I should be reminding myself of other than what I have already mentioned?

I have been "doing SS" for 6 weeks and my squat is now at 225x3x5 and my weight is 191 at a height of 6'4. I keep a log here on the forums.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You may have to actually think about lifting your chest first to fix this. Sometimes it is necessary to cue a movement with what amounts to an exaggeration that would be literally incorrect, if the fault is bad enough. This overcorrection would average out into correct form.

[RandallH1989]

Thanks, coach. I saw you recommend that to a guy in the SS DVD and thought that might be my answer too. I did this last night and the drive felt much more balanced.

[mlentzner]

I had this exact same problem. I could keep my lower back locked but my upper back would roll forward and my weight would go onto my toes. After I failed forward and had to dump the bar over my head I decided to fix it.

I actually paid for a coaching session at my local CF affiliate to fix this. I had the trainer watch my upper back closely and let me know the minute he saw some upper back softness. Once I was good at a weight we kept adding weight until the problem reappeared at which point I would fix it again. It also turned out I had a depth issue and that got fixed also.

It was really a control issue and not a strength issue. I just couldn't keep those muscles locked without consciously concentrating on it.

At home, I dropped weight and started my linear progression again doing each rep with my new found awareness of my upper back and new depth setting. I really concentrate on it during my warm up. On the work sets I'm a little distracted, but I think it has become automatic by now. So far I have not rolled forward on my toes since this reset.

HTH,

Matt