Quad pop when squatting

[evanss1]

Hi everyone,

I've been training for about 15 years with various bodybuilding and more recently powerlifting programs. I've had great success with 5/3/1 and a few variations of it and have been able to run it for quite some time now with sizable gains. Today however, during my 4th set of squats (first week of program, 5 reps, doing an extra 2 sets pyramid style) I felt a pop and what I'd consider to be moderate to severe quad pain. I did 3 warmup sets as I usually do at 40%,50%, and 60% of my heaviest set and did not feel any weakness in legs, though I did feel some slight knee pain during the warm-ups. This has happened to me before however it was during a time that I was blatantly over training and not resting enough or getting enough nutrients. I make a conscious effort to squat with good form, and train other muscles that aid in the movement (I. E. Hip flexors, glute bridges etc...) I'm stumped as to why this happened, and thinking when I do heal up I'll post a video to spot check my form. Until then, any ideas as to what could've caused this?

 

[evanss1]

... And I realized the last time I posted on this board was the last time this happened to me...

 

[NantZE]

Do you you stretch and foam roll before heavy lifting?

 

[evanss1]

I'll usually stretch a bit plus the light warmup sets... No foam rolling though

 

[NantZE]

Foam rolling will change your life and it helps create healthy muscle. If you don't embrace the foam rolling as a part of your routine, at least do it when you hit your legs. Since this is a recurring issue, start rolling your quads ASAP! It will speed up your recovery.

 

[evanss1]

I've incorporated them into post training but never before... I'll check it out. Still though my question is aimed more as to why this happened more than prevention

 

[NantZE]

There could be a ton of reasons why this happens from muscle imbalances, overtraining, dehydration, unhealthy tissues, etc. I guess take a look at your form but your issue is more the quality of you muscle than your training. So heal up and prevent the issue from returning!