Squat form - does it look ok???

FrnkLft

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

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

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.

juliewatkin

[
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

[
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

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

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

[
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

[
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

[
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

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

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 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

Your hips look a little unstable. One of the reps looked like you were leaning too far forward.