HI guys , back in the gym , shoulder is working fine with no issues . and im sore as hell all over .

One big question.

Ive never been able to do proper squats, since when i place the bar on my shoulder/neck . it hurts my spice.

theres this bump on the thoracic vertabre that's in line with my shoulder , i dont know if thats normal , but ive had alot of neck injuries

in rugby over my lifetime , stopeed playing at 21.

so when i place the bar on my shoulders no matter what i do it hurts that bone,

ive looked at many many videos, and nothing ever says anything about bar placement , unless I just overlooked it.

so i do my squats with the bar on my shoulers infront of me , this means i cant do heavy wheights as it thows of my balance . and holding a few hundred pounds there is just nasty , controlling it is nearly impossible .

Any ideas ? cause i want to start http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/jason-blaha-ice-cream-fitness-5x5-novice-workout

That workout , and tbh my squats need to get heavier . im just irritated atm.

Any help would be fantastic

Hi,

with front squat (when you have bar in front of you) you can't lift so much as when you have on back, but that doesn't mean your legs won't scream after workout. Front squat works quads (much) more.

When you put bar on your back, you put it on trapezius. You probably don't have so developed, they would take weight and therefore it is transfered to shoulders and vertebra. You can lover the bar to deltoids (powerlifting style) to avoid pain on vertebra, but you'll maybe face problems due to shoulders mobility.

Take care for your trapezius in your routine, mobility of shoulders and remember that weight itself is not so important. First take care for proper technique, even that means lower weight and that hits your ego. You will progress fast when you'll train right, so don't bother with numbers at the beginning; beside that, someone can workout with 50kg squat for 5x5, but that doesn't means it's lightweight...for him is that maximum at the moment. And because heavy weight with those exercises can cause serious injuries, really take care first for proper technique. If you have problems with stability with front squat, drop weight, work on your technique and your stabilizing muscles (core strength).

Good luck!

BR, Gregor

I agree with Gregor. Also remember, unless you are a powerlifter the amount of weight doesn't matter. You need a weight that stresses YOUR muscles and gradually increase it. If that means you front squat with 115Lbs, so be it. Keep training and raising the weight a bit at a time and you will get stronger.

You could also try doing hack squats or front squats with their respective machines. Many gyms have hack machines and front squat machines. They put less stress on the back and shoulders but you do forfeit some stabilizer muscle development in the core and hips/hams.

John

i squat 150 lbs on my back without it hurting me . and about 120lbs on the fron squat , and that really makes me grunt , im not that much interested in strength over all as much as just getting a bit bigger , as i use to be fat , being skinny now makes me feel really insecure ,so besides keeping my entire body fit , I just dont want to small and ive achieved this to some degree, just a lttle more to go.

thatnk for the advice guys , really appreciate it , and greg what you said makes complete sense .

John been reading your posts for a long time , wondering what the old dude looks like , your profile pic sais alot.

I motivational that you still look like that at in your 50's . even through the tshirt lol .

I work out at home because there is just one decent gym around here and its packed when i can go , so i spend 2 hours there and work out for 30 to 40 mins , #pointless

this makes progession very hard asswell , because i cant afford to fail on my 4th set on the 11th rep on a bench press, i did once , ended up choking myself with 190 lbs lol.

anyhoo. thankx alot guys , ill try your advice and let you know whats happening

ahhhh, flip,.

Sorry guys , one other question.

In the program i linked at the start of this post, the 5x5's . what would be the rest periods between sets and exersizes.

also the program takes about a hour and a half to complete, do you guys think i could superset say squat and bp. or biceps/chinus with tricep . etc . i really only have 1 hour to work out , and dont want to do half a program?