I have been noticing on heavy squat sets that I seem to be having strong adductor influence on my initial accent. Out of the bottom, my knees tend to crash in. Its rather quick (maybe the first 1/4 of the accent) and I can drive them back out after that sticking point. I am not necessarily concerned with injury, though it does seem to be adding some extra stress to my knees as they are irritated after a lot of volume of heavy sets. I just want to elicit the best efficiency via better form. I signed up for my first powerlifting meet in December. I obviously think this is something I need to “fix”, is there anything in particular I could do to work on this issue? Thank you for your time.
It is normal to have “strong adductor influence” on the squat, as they are among the prime hip extensors involved in the movement. The gluteal muscles also function to both extend the hip and maintain knee abduction as well. This is to say that I’m not sure your problem is a “strong adductor influence”. I am also unconvinced that this is the cause of your knee “irritation” after a lot of heavy training volume.
Regardless of these anatomical details, it is common (and generally not of significant concern) if there is some amount of knees coming in as you initiate the ascent. So without seeing your squat it is hard to say the extent to which this isa actually a problem. However, if this is a marked issue that you feel is affecting your performance, you will likely need a combination of more squat training (perhaps including more variation, and more practice with the motor pattern you are trying to achieve at more manageable loads), more active cueing as a first step. Further interventions beyond that … I wouldn’t be comfortable recommending without further assessment.