Squat form - does it look ok???

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Replies

  • gemheath2010
    gemheath2010 Posts: 68 Member
    Thank everyone comments are really useful-I thought I was using the low bar position to be honest but after the comments I watched it back and I can see that the bar is defo sat to high. So when I train next I will make sure I bring it down a bit lower. Hopefully these will be easy fixes, I didn't realise it would be so hard to perfect the squat

    Yeah actually I have a suspicion that it's nearly impossible... :drinker:

    And as for the mirror, I think it's a great tool to determine depth, but just never forget that there is a bunch of things that you need to focus on that you can't see, or that might look fine in the mirror but are wrong from the side/back.

    Oh dear lol - I did wonder if I should just give up now but I actually really enjoy squats

    NOOO! Don't, sorry, forget I even said anything, delete your browser history and never check this topic again....

    Keep it up, your squat is actually very good for a beginner!

    lol nah I don't think I could give it up now to be honest I really enjoy picking up large lumps of metal- way more fun then running for 40 mins


    So like... what's your situation. You married? ;)

    Yup - celebrated my third wedding anniversary yesterday :tongue:

    Crap... I mean congrats!... I mean... crap... :laugh:

    Lol
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    Me too... It just bums me bc last week I finally hit 185 with no spotting on the rack and did 7 reps and yest I went down on my 4th at 155 and Boooo I'm down and not getting back up after the loud pop . Heading to the chiro in 1 hr :)


    Oh man, 185 isn't bad for a girl with your physique. What is that in relation to bodyweight?

    Also, what happened to your back? Did you GM the weight or was it butt wink? Also, a "loud pop"... I don't want you to think that's normal. You might want to see an MD about that too.
  • CassandraBurgos83
    CassandraBurgos83 Posts: 544 Member
    Me too... It just bums me bc last week I finally hit 185 with no spotting on the rack and did 7 reps and yest I went down on my 4th at 155 and Boooo I'm down and not getting back up after the loud pop . Heading to the chiro in 1 hr :)


    Oh man, 185 isn't bad for a girl with your physique. What is that in relation to bodyweight?

    Also, what happened to your back? Did you GM the weight or was it butt wink? Also, a "loud pop"... I don't want you to think that's normal. You might want to see an MD about that too.

    I just like to see how strong I can be and honestly just want my big butt back. I love lifting, legs and glute days are my fav days. I have a bulging disc and uneven hips from 2 very bad car wrecks and two pregnancies. I'm 117ish, but my squat goal is 225 and I dead lift 120lbs ( maybe not after last night.) I need some replacement exercise to gain strength while I take a squat break.
  • elkahallick
    elkahallick Posts: 1,138 Member
    I love a woman in a squat rack... Just sayin
  • PJ_73
    PJ_73 Posts: 331 Member
    Saving this for later, cos need to check my own form out now!

    I am still really low in terms of weight - 25kg - but getting stronger every week.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    You guys mind if I post my squat in here too?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXs--CbdpkE

    Needs a little more depth I think.
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
    You guys mind if I post my squat in here too?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXs--CbdpkE

    Needs a little more depth I think.

    Yours don't look bad. You're super slow though. How can you squat that slow. At one point I was concerned because your knees blurred :laugh:

    Your depth isn't terrible. You may just want to sink it a couple more inches.

    This is a training video of mine for a couple days ago. Everyone's form breaks down with fatigue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6a6Eym9ctQ
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    You guys mind if I post my squat in here too?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXs--CbdpkE

    Needs a little more depth I think.

    Yours don't look bad. You're super slow though. How can you squat that slow. At one point I was concerned because your knees blurred :laugh:

    Your depth isn't terrible. You may just want to sink it a couple more inches.

    This is a training video of mine for a couple days ago. Everyone's form breaks down with fatigue. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6a6Eym9ctQ

    Rofl, yeah I really like to "feel" it.

    and just in case, it's slo-mo...
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    You guys mind if I post my squat in here too?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXs--CbdpkE

    Needs a little more depth I think.

    looks pretty crisp.. your bar path is fantastic.... I held a piece of paper to my 46" monitor/tv and the bar literally tracked the line on the edge of the paper and stayed perfect over midfoot.

    Its pretty hard to tell from this angle, but, it looks like your feet arent angled out far enough so your knees dont track wide enough.. this would likely solve the minute lack of depth. Did you ever feel pinchng at the crease when your in the bottom position (pinching psoas most likely).... If so, its too narrow and restricting depth... also, if you get into a bottom position and hold your arms wide with palms pressed, your knees should be spread wide enough to fit your elbows between them (thereabouts)

    I think you may be doing a more higher bar, narrow stanced, quad dominant, more OLY type stance... without other views its hard to say.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    You guys mind if I post my squat in here too?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXs--CbdpkE

    Needs a little more depth I think.

    looks pretty crisp.. your bar path is fantastic.... I held a piece of paper to my 46" monitor/tv and the bar literally tracked the line on the edge of the paper and stayed perfect over midfoot.

    Its pretty hard to tell from this angle, but, it looks like your feet arent angled out far enough so your knees dont track wide enough.. this would likely solve the minute lack of depth. Did you ever feel pinchng at the crease when your in the bottom position (pinching psoas most likely).... If so, its too narrow and restricting depth... also, if you get into a bottom position and hold your arms wide with palms pressed, your knees should be spread wide enough to fit your elbows between them (thereabouts)

    I think you may be doing a more higher bar, narrow stanced, quad dominant, more OLY type stance... without other views its hard to say.

    Thanks for the crit man, since then I've gone down much lower, though doing high bar (see my photo gallery). This was the last low bar I'd done before switching up a month or so ago. It was good because it taught me depth.

    After doing the high bar for a while, I really came to realize the difference between the two (before I was wondering what people were talking about and why it was better, lower). I'm out of commission for right now, but when I start up, I'm going to be using a lower position.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    man.. my low bar is low.... lol.. that looks high to me.... my back is much more horizontal too...

    did you have too narrow of a stance?

    ETA:

    why did you post an old video just to tell me you've fixed teh problem you alluded to? Or did you go do a set after posting it and find the perfect squat? j/k
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    man.. my low bar is low.... lol.. that looks high to me.... my back is much more horizontal too...

    did you have too narrow of a stance?

    ETA:

    why did you post an old video just to tell me you've fixed teh problem you alluded to? Or did you go do a set after posting it and find the perfect squat? j/k

    lol because that was my last low bar squat, never got a crit on it. I wanted some feedback on depth and my knees coming forward maybe a little more than needed.

    I never did fix the depth problem with my low bar squat. Just learned a little more about depth after switching to the high bar. But it'll translate nicely once I start doing them again I hope.

    My stance has always been relatively wide to avoid butt wink, I'd say just outside shoulders, with feet at about 45 degrees. But then I have to adjust sometimes depending on how it feels during a set.

    How much more horizontal do you go though? Here are the pics from Rippetoe's book. More than this? You might be bending too far forward with the weight.

    starting-strength-squat-illustration.jpg
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
    [
    How much more horizontal do you go though? Here are the pics from Rippetoe's book. More than this? You might be bending too far forward with the weight.

    Too far forward makes me think too much forward lean with the weight. I get that when the weight gets heavy. IMO it's not a good thing. I know I do it because I need more back support to handle the heavier weight. However, too much forward lean means trouble hitting depth. I've been red lighted at more than one meet because of it. That's one of the reason I hook the bar, to keep my wrists from cocking and leaning forward too much.

    Plus I'm not a Riptoe fan.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    [
    How much more horizontal do you go though? Here are the pics from Rippetoe's book. More than this? You might be bending too far forward with the weight.

    Too far forward makes me think too much forward lean with the weight. I get that when the weight gets heavy. IMO it's not a good thing. I know I do it because I need more back support to handle the heavier weight. However, too much forward lean means trouble hitting depth. I've been red lighted at more than one meet because of it. That's one of the reason I hook the bar, to keep my wrists from cocking and leaning forward too much.

    Plus I'm not a Riptoe fan.

    Yeah I don't care much for him personally, but do you have a problem with Starting Strength?
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    I watched that video Julie... I dont know if you ever read rippetoes section on squats in starting strength, but, its much more descriptive about the actual squat.. I liked most of what they said, but, why would you squeeze your butt before squatting?I dont know how you arch your lumbar spine while squeezing your butt.. I stood up and tried and I couldnt.. I can do it in the bottom of a squat but not at the top while maintaining that spinal curvature.... doesnt feel right to me
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Good stuff in here, not much else to say. Just stay positive, focused, and keep working hard. Don't be too hard on yourself, everybody's form goes to **** to some degree the heavier the weight gets, even the pro's. Get a little posterior chain work in the form of SLDL's or Back Raises and the rest will come together.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    [
    How much more horizontal do you go though? Here are the pics from Rippetoe's book. More than this? You might be bending too far forward with the weight.

    Too far forward makes me think too much forward lean with the weight. I get that when the weight gets heavy. IMO it's not a good thing. I know I do it because I need more back support to handle the heavier weight. However, too much forward lean means trouble hitting depth. I've been red lighted at more than one meet because of it. That's one of the reason I hook the bar, to keep my wrists from cocking and leaning forward too much.

    Plus I'm not a Riptoe fan.

    Yeah I don't care much for him personally, but do you have a problem with Starting Strength?

    Watch So You Think You Can Squat a few times and then watch or read Rip and you'll have your answer as to why some of us think there are better trainers than him.
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
    [
    How much more horizontal do you go though? Here are the pics from Rippetoe's book. More than this? You might be bending too far forward with the weight.

    Too far forward makes me think too much forward lean with the weight. I get that when the weight gets heavy. IMO it's not a good thing. I know I do it because I need more back support to handle the heavier weight. However, too much forward lean means trouble hitting depth. I've been red lighted at more than one meet because of it. That's one of the reason I hook the bar, to keep my wrists from cocking and leaning forward too much.

    Plus I'm not a Riptoe fan.

    Yeah I don't care much for him personally, but do you have a problem with Starting Strength?

    I don't care for Riptoe's style which I can easily explain just by looking at the form picture posted. The head/sight line is down, hands appear loose on the bar. The lifter's neck is not packed and the chest is down.

    Starting Strength is fine as is Stronglifts and 5/3/1, Cube Method, Maximum Strength, Sheiko, Smolov, Madcow, Bill Starr 5x5.

    Each of those plus one's that I've missed are good as long as they are helping you achieve your goals. It is only beginner's; people new to the sport that are dogmatic in their approach. Once you've been doing it for a while, you need to learn what works best for you. I like volume, but not too much. I can't go heavy consistently or it will grind me down. The opposite is true for other people.

    While I don't like Riptoe's squat style, if it works for you, have at it. I've watched and competed at enough meets, including world championships and seen enough top level lifters that have dramatically different styles to say there is only one way to do it. There are the basics to learn but beyond that, each person has to learn what works for them. That's where some of the real work enters into it.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    [
    How much more horizontal do you go though? Here are the pics from Rippetoe's book. More than this? You might be bending too far forward with the weight.

    Too far forward makes me think too much forward lean with the weight. I get that when the weight gets heavy. IMO it's not a good thing. I know I do it because I need more back support to handle the heavier weight. However, too much forward lean means trouble hitting depth. I've been red lighted at more than one meet because of it. That's one of the reason I hook the bar, to keep my wrists from cocking and leaning forward too much.

    Plus I'm not a Riptoe fan.

    Yeah I don't care much for him personally, but do you have a problem with Starting Strength?

    I don't care for Riptoe's style which I can easily explain just by looking at the form picture posted. The head/sight line is down, hands appear loose on the bar. The lifter's neck is not packed and the chest is down.

    Starting Strength is fine as is Stronglifts and 5/3/1, Cube Method, Maximum Strength, Sheiko, Smolov, Madcow, Bill Starr 5x5.

    Each of those plus one's that I've missed are good as long as they are helping you achieve your goals. It is only beginner's; people new to the sport that are dogmatic in their approach. Once you've been doing it for a while, you need to learn what works best for you. I like volume, but not too much. I can't go heavy consistently or it will grind me down. The opposite is true for other people.

    While I don't like Riptoe's squat style, if it works for you, have at it. I've watched and competed at enough meets, including world championships and seen enough top level lifters that have dramatically different styles to say there is only one way to do it. There are the basics to learn but beyond that, each person has to learn what works for them. That's where some of the real work enters into it.

    Yeah I've never competed, and I am still very much a beginner, but I think it's really interesting that you distinguish between the "basics" and "style".

    For me though, any discussion I have on squats is always to determine what is safe, while trying to hit FRoM. So the basics I guess.

    But thanks for that perspective, it's cool to think of it that way, and it makes sense.
  • Jacqson84
    Jacqson84 Posts: 189 Member
    Excellent video! Thank you! Great info, but by the end of the video, Susie has a bit of a butt wink...:noway:

    Tips on how to go as low as you can without butt winking:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLwiGkywKN4

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQSjIWEhvV0


    For form, you need to watch this man's videos. Elliott Hulse is the truth. In this one, he explains form from head to foot.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-DE1jtaRQ


    An awesome video to watch is a squat set up tutorial by Susie Hartwig-Gary. She explains it in a way that is very easy to follow and although everything she mentions is something I already knew, the way in which she explains it helped me develop my own cues.

    It's a bit long but worth the watch.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPN-ftmxG8
  • juliewatkin
    juliewatkin Posts: 764 Member
    Excellent video! Thank you! Great info, but by the end of the video, Susie has a bit of a butt wink...:noway:

    Tips on how to go as low as you can without butt winking:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLwiGkywKN4

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQSjIWEhvV0


    For form, you need to watch this man's videos. Elliott Hulse is the truth. In this one, he explains form from head to foot.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ-DE1jtaRQ


    An awesome video to watch is a squat set up tutorial by Susie Hartwig-Gary. She explains it in a way that is very easy to follow and although everything she mentions is something I already knew, the way in which she explains it helped me develop my own cues.

    It's a bit long but worth the watch.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtPN-ftmxG8

    I guess I never noticed her butt wink. However, as one of the top women lifters in the world who now is in her 40's I don't think she has anything to worry about :smile: I find her amazing to watch and her form pristine.

    For bench it's always Jennifer Thompson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNQP382CT2k who is also in her 40s. She's also got a killer deadlift and is an absolute joy to watch lift.

    Sorry to get off the topic of squat
  • vanguardfitness
    vanguardfitness Posts: 720 Member
    Your hips look a little unstable. One of the reps looked like you were leaning too far forward.