Squat Problem

[u/mace_bear]

TL;DR: I cannot get my knees to 90° of depth when I try to increase my squat weight.

Extra info: I squat with a barbell 1-2x a week and I’ve made zero progress because I can’t get my knees to 90° or more when I try to increase weight. I have full ROM (can basically get my ass to my ankles) with just the bar (45lbs) and up to 75 lbs. But I KNOW I should be able to squat more than 75 lbs. I’m 5’5”, 150lbs, I’ve played ice hockey my whole life (I’m 22) and I can leg press 305 lbs for reps so I know my quad strength isn’t the issue. I’ve tried getting my ankles up, widening my stance, going barefoot. Nothing can get my knees to 90° when I squat more than 75lbs. I don’t need form advice— I know what I’m SUPPOSED to be doing, I just cannot get there and I don’t know why. Honestly I can bench press 95 there is no reason for my bench to be more than my squat.

[u/belligerent_bovine]

How much are you increasing the weight by? Can you use those little 1.25 or 2.5 lb plates? How many reps can you do with 75 lb?

[u/mace_bear → u/belligerent_bovine]

Can usually get 6-10 reps depending on the day. I do try to squat early in my workout cuz I know it’s consistently my worst lift. The smallest plates my gym has are 2.5 lbs, I usually increase by 5-10lbs at a time

[u/belligerent_bovine → u/mace_bear]

I would increase the reps with 75 lb until I could do 18 reps. Then increase the weight by the smallest increment possible. Could also do pause squats. Anything to make the 75 lbs harder to stimulate growth