Hip Drive out of the hole

[DavidA]

Greetings!
Low bar back Squat- When coming out of the hole, I find myself sometimes cheating or favoring my left leg to push/hip drive up..

When I think about it, maybe bc I’m right hand dominate, I’ve always jumped off that left leg, when not vertical jumping in basketball.

Just like using my mind to keep my knees pushed out; I will be doing the same with both legs when squarely pushing/hip drive out of the hole.

Thinking out loud with others that can empathize with this being subjective to habit, leg length difference, or what I’m really ‘fishing’ for, is whether it could be representative of some of the many other parts in the kinetic chain !?

I appreciate Jordan and Austin being the athletic ‘thinkers’ that they are!
Thank you for ANY and ALL feedback to THINK about

[Bear_Bryan]

I'm thinking that pushing more with one leg than the other would look pretty crazy on video. Do you video and watch your work sets? I imagine it's probably just mind games. I would just continue to cue knees out as you initiate the ascent with your hips. Two cues is about all I can handle.

[ericjspencley]

I actually have this same "problem". I am right hand dominate and have played goalie in ice hockey since I was 5. That sport requires a lot of getting up and down from my knees and over time I tend to favor my right leg. As a result, I find I favor my right leg when I squat. I have recorded myself hundreds of times and you can't tell on the majority of the sets. I did a little research (I don't have the articles on hand) and this seems to be a common thing. What I gathered is that you do actually have a slight muscle imbalance but it's very minimal. The majority of the issue is in your head..basically a nocebo. Just keep squatting and focusing on good form!

[DavidA]

I’ve learned that my kinesthetic sense or "muscle memory," seems to be intact from that dominant jumping leg. However studying proper form and demanding of myself to do it correctly before continually adding weight; that after a couple of videos I kind of morph into my Proprioceptive input- or my body’s ability to sense where I am in relation to my action or surroundings.

In the end, I understand the importance of staying on schedule with my squatting and ultimately videoing myself more often (among other ‘things’!) will result in success!

I’m grateful for you sharing your insights and hope for your success too!

[9wIx]

Pause squats are usually described as helping to keep the weight balanced over the midfoot, meaning in the front-to-back plane, but I've found them really helpful in keeping me from favoring my 'strong' leg in the side-to-side plane as well.

The same thing happens to a lesser extent with the tempo squats, which in a way shouldnt be a surprise. All of these submaximal variations offer an opportunity to focus more on technique which carries over to the main lift.

[DavidA]

Excellent input, I’ll be definitely putting this to use on my lighter days! I’m already noticing a solid change having this at the forefront of my focus..thx!