Issues with squatting and day off

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hello,

I am on the first week of the Beginner Template, and I am having trouble performing squats correctly. The only way I feel I can do them comfortably is doing a bench squat or doing a squat where my butt barely touches the bench. I performed the squat with dumbbells the first day and barbell the second day, but my range of motion is not very good. I filmed myself and my depth is not good enough, and there was thoracic spinal flexion present. My neck has felt stiff, and I had to move a day of training. I feel like I need to repeat the first week in order to use a consistent exercise. Is this a good idea?

2

Congrats on starting the program and on being committed to making this work! Repeating week 1 would be just fine if that provides you more confidence and skill in the movements. And then I’d move on, knowing that you’re going to spend a life-time improving!

We do offer form checks and that might be very helpful as you’re working on this, as you also want to avoid overanalyzing your lifts to the point that you stop pushing your progress. And with your neck, I’d work on setting a focal point, about 4-6 feet ahead, keep your eyes set on that for the whole lift.