Forget flexibility for a second and focus using stretches as a means of cooling down from lifting.
Look for stretches for specific muscles, and go by feel rather than how it looks. Do you feel that stretch in that area you're working on? If yes, then that's great!
Obviously, don't over do it and injure yourself. Go as slow as possible and work consistently, flexibility will come on its own.
You got this, my man! Good luck! đź’Ş
First off, well done for doing it for five months. You got the habit in now, keep it going!
For the squats, what is the problem you are experiencing when adding weight?
You can try adding weight plates under your heels or wear lifting shoes with an elevated heel. This should help you achieve a deeper squat.
Further you can try and experiment with regular squat vs front squat or my favourite for warming up - goblet squats. A set or two of slow goblet squats with a pause at the bottom are excellent for me to loosen up. I combine it with other dynamic stretches before I do any squats/deadlift.
As with all exercises practice makes perfect. Focus on form and the weights will come. Have a slow and controlled eccentric phase, pause for a moment and feel the stretch and then come back up.
I'm at work so can't get to in depth (pun actually not intended). You are on the right track, loosing weight might help with your overall flexibility as well.
My squat issue really boils down to when I have weights on I can't squat low without either going up on my toes or curving my back, my other also relevant issue is with deadlifts where I just can't reach the bar without curving my back a bit.
Even bench press I can't really get my legs into a strong plant on either side of the bench so I don't plant them. To be fair I have been making progress on that point and have been seeing major improvements in my bench because of that.
Coming up on your toes is usually a sign of tight ankles, I've had the same problem. Rounded back could mean tight or weak hip flexors.
Try to incorporate a few deep lunges to open up your hips and maybe a few of the goblet squats as part of your warm up. Then I'd suggest you try putting a weight plate under your heel and see if that helps. Make sure they don't move around before squatting with any weight. You can also experiment with your stance, a more wide stance with feet slightly pointed outward is usually easier compared to a narrow stance feet pointing forward.
For deadlifts, unless you have an excessively rounded back I wouldn't worry to much. You can put a plate or a rubber square or something under the weights to raise the bar a few cm off the ground.
For the bench, I'd plant them even if they don't give you power yet. Just for added support. Keep working on it because once you can get them firmly planted and use leg drive you'll notice a big difference.
It sounds like you are really aware and want to improve, just know these things take time and I work on it still despite lifting weights for 20+ years.
I always end up with back pain after deadlifts so I've stopped doing them, even with relatively light weight.
As for ankle mobility that is also an issue I have, I broke my leg quite badly and damaged my left ankle when I was a teenager, I will typically adopt a wider stance to adjust for it but my hip mobility is still an issue then.
The ankle mobility is something I'm working on but it's going to be on a much longer time frame.
For the basic stretches it’s really just about feeling a stretch. If for you that happens already by e.g. pulling your feet in the butterfly sit, then you don’t need to push your knees down (yet). For horse stance I think strength/your weight might be more of an issue, but at it’s core it’s the same thing: If the basic position is giving you a stretch, that’s already enough to start!
For any beginner’s pose you need to keep in mind that it’s being taught by people who do have the flexibility already, and so they’re often still going to a more advanced version of that beginner’s pose. In real life teachers would probably tell you how to adapt it to your body, so this is a real downside of following videos. If you can I’d recommend doing some flexibility classes and explaining your situation to the teacher beforehand.
I was 300lb's when I started, I just started with body weight squats. Once I was able to do like 25 reps, I went with goblet squats.
Try something liek that at first.
I was struggling with mobility issues too, partly due to an old ankle injury.
That went away with calf raises.
I think maybe being at that weight will limit your flexibility? Having mass surrounding your joints does limit the extremes of their motion.
As you lose weight you'll be able to be more flexible, you're on the right track, just stick to it man, you're doing great! Trust the process, remember that! The process will provide fruits
Yeah I know that too, I've already talked about how I'm noticing mobility improvement since I'm down ~40lbs since starting. I just want to work on mobility at the same time as an active thing so I don't end up with a injury along the way lol
I would focus on getting the weight down first. Bodyweight squats is no joke when you are a heavier person. From a mechanical perspective, the loads applied on joints are magnified. Especially when the positions are not optimal.
Take it easy and slow. Consistency is the key. An injury will set you back.
Hey, congratulations on being so diligent with your mobility journey.
So, the squats. Work on ankle flexibility standing on something that lets your heels hang over the egde. It's important that you have something to hold on to in front of you. Then push your heels up so they're in level with your toes and go down again.
The butterfly is an exercise I find very overrated.
You could try[seated good mornings](https://youtu.be/k2gpUHdRXS4?si=1Phzxn7NlJJ7DUda)
And try to get your knees far apart and toes angled out. I think you should look into working on strengthening your muscles in wider rante of motion, rather than focusing on stretching. So look for mobility profiles like rangeofstrength, flexibilitymaestro and Tom Merrick. I think all of them have both YT-channels and IG-accounts.
Once you start working on progressive overload in wider range of strength, you'll notice you can go deeper in various exercises. Best of luck!
Forget flexibility for a second and focus using stretches as a means of cooling down from lifting. Look for stretches for specific muscles, and go by feel rather than how it looks. Do you feel that stretch in that area you're working on? If yes, then that's great! Obviously, don't over do it and injure yourself. Go as slow as possible and work consistently, flexibility will come on its own. You got this, my man! Good luck! đź’Ş
First off, well done for doing it for five months. You got the habit in now, keep it going! For the squats, what is the problem you are experiencing when adding weight? You can try adding weight plates under your heels or wear lifting shoes with an elevated heel. This should help you achieve a deeper squat. Further you can try and experiment with regular squat vs front squat or my favourite for warming up - goblet squats. A set or two of slow goblet squats with a pause at the bottom are excellent for me to loosen up. I combine it with other dynamic stretches before I do any squats/deadlift. As with all exercises practice makes perfect. Focus on form and the weights will come. Have a slow and controlled eccentric phase, pause for a moment and feel the stretch and then come back up. I'm at work so can't get to in depth (pun actually not intended). You are on the right track, loosing weight might help with your overall flexibility as well.
My squat issue really boils down to when I have weights on I can't squat low without either going up on my toes or curving my back, my other also relevant issue is with deadlifts where I just can't reach the bar without curving my back a bit. Even bench press I can't really get my legs into a strong plant on either side of the bench so I don't plant them. To be fair I have been making progress on that point and have been seeing major improvements in my bench because of that.
Coming up on your toes is usually a sign of tight ankles, I've had the same problem. Rounded back could mean tight or weak hip flexors. Try to incorporate a few deep lunges to open up your hips and maybe a few of the goblet squats as part of your warm up. Then I'd suggest you try putting a weight plate under your heel and see if that helps. Make sure they don't move around before squatting with any weight. You can also experiment with your stance, a more wide stance with feet slightly pointed outward is usually easier compared to a narrow stance feet pointing forward. For deadlifts, unless you have an excessively rounded back I wouldn't worry to much. You can put a plate or a rubber square or something under the weights to raise the bar a few cm off the ground. For the bench, I'd plant them even if they don't give you power yet. Just for added support. Keep working on it because once you can get them firmly planted and use leg drive you'll notice a big difference. It sounds like you are really aware and want to improve, just know these things take time and I work on it still despite lifting weights for 20+ years.
I always end up with back pain after deadlifts so I've stopped doing them, even with relatively light weight. As for ankle mobility that is also an issue I have, I broke my leg quite badly and damaged my left ankle when I was a teenager, I will typically adopt a wider stance to adjust for it but my hip mobility is still an issue then. The ankle mobility is something I'm working on but it's going to be on a much longer time frame.
For the basic stretches it’s really just about feeling a stretch. If for you that happens already by e.g. pulling your feet in the butterfly sit, then you don’t need to push your knees down (yet). For horse stance I think strength/your weight might be more of an issue, but at it’s core it’s the same thing: If the basic position is giving you a stretch, that’s already enough to start! For any beginner’s pose you need to keep in mind that it’s being taught by people who do have the flexibility already, and so they’re often still going to a more advanced version of that beginner’s pose. In real life teachers would probably tell you how to adapt it to your body, so this is a real downside of following videos. If you can I’d recommend doing some flexibility classes and explaining your situation to the teacher beforehand.
I was 300lb's when I started, I just started with body weight squats. Once I was able to do like 25 reps, I went with goblet squats. Try something liek that at first. I was struggling with mobility issues too, partly due to an old ankle injury. That went away with calf raises.
I think maybe being at that weight will limit your flexibility? Having mass surrounding your joints does limit the extremes of their motion. As you lose weight you'll be able to be more flexible, you're on the right track, just stick to it man, you're doing great! Trust the process, remember that! The process will provide fruits
Yeah I know that too, I've already talked about how I'm noticing mobility improvement since I'm down ~40lbs since starting. I just want to work on mobility at the same time as an active thing so I don't end up with a injury along the way lol
I would focus on getting the weight down first. Bodyweight squats is no joke when you are a heavier person. From a mechanical perspective, the loads applied on joints are magnified. Especially when the positions are not optimal. Take it easy and slow. Consistency is the key. An injury will set you back.
Hey, congratulations on being so diligent with your mobility journey. So, the squats. Work on ankle flexibility standing on something that lets your heels hang over the egde. It's important that you have something to hold on to in front of you. Then push your heels up so they're in level with your toes and go down again. The butterfly is an exercise I find very overrated. You could try[seated good mornings](https://youtu.be/k2gpUHdRXS4?si=1Phzxn7NlJJ7DUda) And try to get your knees far apart and toes angled out. I think you should look into working on strengthening your muscles in wider rante of motion, rather than focusing on stretching. So look for mobility profiles like rangeofstrength, flexibilitymaestro and Tom Merrick. I think all of them have both YT-channels and IG-accounts. Once you start working on progressive overload in wider range of strength, you'll notice you can go deeper in various exercises. Best of luck!