Help my squat

lindyyy87

So I noted that during my squat, my knees have been buckling and I've been driving through my toes. I read that I need to look up and push my knees out, maybe curl my toes up. I spent about 30 min working on my form today and wanted to see what you guys think.

https://youtu.be/DSEBfHH8Fp4
https://youtu.be/sPJbWIOIVN0

Chieflrg

I disagree one needs to.look up. In a low bar squat, looking a few feet in front of your feet with a neutral neck will give you better balance and hip drive in most cases.

Your form looks pretty good. Hard for me to see with the size of the vid, but it appears you may be hyper extending your back which might be related to your neck or possibly tightness in back.

* edit to add, I would like to see your wrist in a straight line with your forearm. As weight gets heavier, that angle could put a lot of unnecessary pressure and possibly pain issues.

ccruz985

Maybe you should try doing them sans the bar until you think your form is corrected. Your knees are angling a bit in front of you feet; when you look down, you should be able to see your feet clearly and not your knees. Sit almost like you're sitting back into a chair, keeping your back straight.

lindyyy87

Chieflrg wrote: »

I disagree one needs to.look up. In a low bar squat, looking a few feet in front of your feet with a neutral neck will give you better balance and hip drive in most cases.

Your form looks pretty good. Hard for me to see with the size of the vid, but it appears you may be hyper extending your back which might be related to your neck or possibly tightness in back.

* edit to add, I would like to see your wrist in a straight line with your forearm. As weight gets heavier, that angle could put a lot of unnecessary pressure and possibly pain issues.

Thanks for your feedback! I will try looking forward a bit tomorrow. I'm trying really hard to not hyperextend my back, but it tends to happen. Do you think box squats would help?

I I hadn't even considered that my wrist position was off, but it makes sense because I have had pain in my wrist after squatting before.

lindyyy87

ccruz985 wrote: »

Maybe you should try doing them sans the bar until you think your form is corrected. Your knees are angling a bit in front of you feet; when you look down, you should be able to see your feet clearly and not your knees. Sit almost like you're sitting back into a chair, keeping your back straight.

I will try looking down tomorrow when I squat to see where my knees end up. Thank you for your feedback!

Erik8484

lindyyy87 wrote: »

Chieflrg wrote: »

I disagree one needs to.look up. In a low bar squat, looking a few feet in front of your feet with a neutral neck will give you better balance and hip drive in most cases.

Your form looks pretty good. Hard for me to see with the size of the vid, but it appears you may be hyper extending your back which might be related to your neck or possibly tightness in back.

* edit to add, I would like to see your wrist in a straight line with your forearm. As weight gets heavier, that angle could put a lot of unnecessary pressure and possibly pain issues.

Thanks for your feedback! I will try looking forward a bit tomorrow. I'm trying really hard to not hyperextend my back, but it tends to happen. Do you think box squats would help?

I I hadn't even considered that my wrist position was off, but it makes sense because I have had pain in my wrist after squatting before.

I'm seconding everything that @Chieflrg said, particularly the looking down (say 4ft in front of your feet, keeping your eyes there the entire squat).

Since you're low bar squatting, I recommend that you buy and read "Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training" by Mark Rippetoe. It's very useful when it comes to squat form.

Chieflrg

lindyyy87 wrote: »

Chieflrg wrote: »

I disagree one needs to.look up. In a low bar squat, looking a few feet in front of your feet with a neutral neck will give you better balance and hip drive in most cases.

Your form looks pretty good. Hard for me to see with the size of the vid, but it appears you may be hyper extending your back which might be related to your neck or possibly tightness in back.

* edit to add, I would like to see your wrist in a straight line with your forearm. As weight gets heavier, that angle could put a lot of unnecessary pressure and possibly pain issues.

Thanks for your feedback! I will try looking forward a bit tomorrow. I'm trying really hard to not hyperextend my back, but it tends to happen. Do you think box squats would help?

I I hadn't even considered that my wrist position was off, but it makes sense because I have had pain in my wrist after squatting before.

I would focus on a neutral spine/neck.

If you want to fix your squat, just work on your squat. Accessory lifts are more for helpful for Internediate/Advanced lifters. Most people in earlier stages lose tightness with box squat because they don't know how to squat by itself yet.

Honestly from what I see you aren't far off once you take out looking up.

To add I would work on a two or three step walk out. It will save energy as weight progresses.

taziarj

Shouldn't your heels only be about shoulder width apart? They look to be much wider in the view from the front. This could be causing your knees to flare out at the bottom?

bbell1985

Whoa. Don't look up like THAT. You can look up a little, but you still want to keep your spine/neck neutral.

bbell1985

lindyyy87 wrote: »

Chieflrg wrote: »

I disagree one needs to.look up. In a low bar squat, looking a few feet in front of your feet with a neutral neck will give you better balance and hip drive in most cases.

Your form looks pretty good. Hard for me to see with the size of the vid, but it appears you may be hyper extending your back which might be related to your neck or possibly tightness in back.

* edit to add, I would like to see your wrist in a straight line with your forearm. As weight gets heavier, that angle could put a lot of unnecessary pressure and possibly pain issues.

Thanks for your feedback! I will try looking forward a bit tomorrow. I'm trying really hard to not hyperextend my back, but it tends to happen. Do you think box squats would help?

I I hadn't even considered that my wrist position was off, but it makes sense because I have had pain in my wrist after squatting before.

Mark Rippetoe has a good video on wrist position (though I don't love all of his form stuff). That one is huge for me.

heybales

If camera was straight, and it appeared very - you aren't leaning forward too far at all - bar almost tracks right over your mid-foot. If you really feel your heel lifting up such you are pushing your toes in to keep balance, then you are right and I can't see the feet.

Usually you do need your wrists closer together for low-bar squat just to squeeze your back better to create that shelf the bar sits on.
Wrist issue could be not only the angle - but do you feel you are actually pushing up on the bar?
You could try not wrapping the thumb around, but keep it on same side as fingers.

You'll also want to confirm you start the habit of dropping/lifting the bar off while directly under it, not leaning forward. Just move on forward until it hits, then drop straight down.

Otherwise, really good form despite the head tilt. Which the neutral that has been mentioned means the spot you are looking at will change depending on the tilt of your upper body. It'll start almost straight ahead, and then be that close spot at the bottom.
Very similar to deadlift sweep of the head.
https://youtu.be/bbNA17KjBzU

Feet width, and feet/knee angle are personal preference to what allows good form on the aspects that could injure you if done wrong. Perhaps you already experimented on that and found what's best.

lindyyy87

@heybales- thank you for the awesome advice! It will definitely be easier to keep my head/neck neutral. Also, I appreciate the tip about keeping my wrists closer to create the "shelf." I'm squeezing my shoulder blades together, but I hadn't considered keeping my wrists closer.

TR0berts

Most things have already been addressed, but there was one additional thing I'd advise on. I'd put the pins (where you unrack the bar) down one notch. It looks like it's so high, you're starting to get on your tiptoes a little when unracking and reracking the bar. When the weight gets heavier, you definitely won't want to do that.

ninerbuff

Most have been addressed. Like heybales video, I have my clients spot a place on the floor about knee level and just focus looking there to keep a neutral spine. Some will look up once in awhile, but I correct them.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

lindyyy87

TR0berts wrote: »

Most things have already been addressed, but there was one additional thing I'd advise on. I'd put the pins (where you unrack the bar) down one notch. It looks like it's so high, you're starting to get on your tiptoes a little when unracking and reracking the bar. When the weight gets heavier, you definitely won't want to do that.

Yes, you're right, I do have to push up quite a bit to get the bar. Thanks!

blakejohn

dig the shirt

mcraw75

Here's another video from Alan that explains the position of the low bar and locking out your wrists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrnq4OAN5bE

lindyyy87

Thanks for all your help, guys! I felt really good about my form today. Staring at a spot a few feet in front of me helped a ton- I've found that once I start looking in the mirror, my form gets *kitten*. I've also fixed my wrist/arm positioning. One thing I heard on a podcast that helped, too, was that I should "break at the knees."

Right now I'm keeping weight light and doing 4-6 reps in a set to really manage my form- I'm hoping to bump up my reps next week, but I have noticed that once I start feeling the tension, my knees start to buckle again. I guess I just need to practice more. I don't have this problem when I do goblet squats, but im only using a 25 pound kettle bell for that.