Extremely odd pain while doing front squats

[KrYptic.x]

The past coulpe workouts I have been trying to migrate front squats into my workout. My lower back is finally strong enough to do them without pain. Well, the first few times I have done them on the smith machine to get the motion down. Today, I was going to do them in the power rack like normal.

I did my warm-up's and put only 105 on the bar b/c I wanted to do a set of 15 - 20. I got 3 or 4 into them, and had this sharp pain, of all places, up by my neck (see the hightlighted section of the picture below)

http://www.powerweb.net/krypto/neck%20pain.jpg

I was just going to gut through it, but actually couldn't. It kinda ruined my workout.

Any thoughts?

[Steel Warrior]

you think your just really tight in that spot and it's stretching the muscles to far? I use to have pain in that part of my neck untill i Really started working on flexibility in that area.

[nozzle]

Get thee to a chiropractor!

[Fireproof]

You ARE putting the bar in front of your head, right? /forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[ryancostill]

the front squat will stretch the trapezius and require the trapezius to do quite a bit of work as a stabiliser, so it shouldnt be that surprising that it can cause pain in that region.

What type of grip are you using when front squatting?

this one...

http://www.stumptuous.com/frontsquat1.jpg

or the easier forearms crossed way?

http://www.naturalstrength.com/pics/frontsquat.jpg

[KrYptic.x]

[ QUOTE ]
You ARE putting the bar in front of your head, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

You mean you're not suppose to try and balance it on the top of your head? /forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I use this one...

http://www.naturalstrength.com/pics/frontsquat.jpg

[ryancostill]

Cheater!!

Just kidding. The reason I ask is because the first example, i imagine, would put more of a stretch and demand more stablising from the trapezius. Considering that you use the other grip, i dont really know why you would be experiencing pain in that region.

As an aside, if front squat is something you are thinking about incorporating into your workouts for the long haul, i'm of the opinion that the traditional grip (picture example 1) is worth working on as it will allow you to manage more weight yet still keep your torso in an upright position.

However many people are limited by their flexibilty to do this.

A simple stretching exercise is to place a heavily loaded bar on the squat rack pins, assume the front squat stance and drive your elbows toward the air. If you keep your body rigid, chances are your upper arms wont reach parallel with the floor (your elbows will be pointing downward). At this point (where you cant drive your elbows anymore upward without moving your body position) have your training partner resist you as you now push your elbows back toward the ground. push for 2 seconds then relax and have your partner push your elbows back upwards. Through the PNF method of stretching you should now be in a more stretched position.

I hope that explanation makes sense.

[KrYptic.x]

Just a note:

The pain wasn't nearly as bad when I did them yesterday, but I could still feel a twinge.

It get's really 'warm' so I wonder if some nerve is getting pinched in the process?