Squat form Check Video

MinnesotaManimal

http://s1147.photobucket.com/albums/o554/Solomon_N/?action=view&current=2012-06-10_06-21-41_674.mp4

First form check video Ive ever recorded, sorry its sideways..... this was set 3 out of 5 this morning. my 3rd set always feels the strongest.
first time Ive completed 5x5 at 180 lbs. I was stuck at 165-170 for a few months because my core was weak and I would end up doing a "good morning" to get the bar up because my legs were the strongest in the chain. so I worked on stiff leg deads 1-2 times a weak following normal routine.

hard to see my lower back with this teeshirt.....

Also- is this considered highbar or low bar????

Sublog

Definitely not an expert, but form is pretty decent IMO. Looks like your back kind of rounds at the bottom a bit. Much better than most people's I've seen around here.

MinnesotaManimal

it might be, I have a problem with flexibility in my lower back and legs, it is improving because I have been doing focussed stretching on rest days. I have degenerative discs in my lower back and for years I "gaurded" my back and limited my mobility to prevent injury and it led to not even being able to touch my toes. Im working on it. I should do a set shirtless to see for sure how my form is doing. Its tough when going below knee to keep my back inverted.

MinnesotaManimal

anybody know an easy way to rotate videos like you can pictures? or is it not that easy?

UponThisRock

looks good. you look a little shaky there at the end, make sure you're pushing those knees out and driving with the hips.

MinnesotaManimal

looks good. you look a little shaky there at the end, make sure you're pushing those knees out and driving with the hips.

THanks, Keeping knees out is something that I focus very hard on. Still trying to understand what it means to "drive with the hips" I don't quite follow what that entails..

I figure if Im not starting to shake at the end of each set then Im not lifting heavy enough :-)

Also, can you tell from the video if I am doing what is considered high bar or low bar squats? the bar does not ride on top of my shoulders but just below

UponThisRock

looks good. you look a little shaky there at the end, make sure you're pushing those knees out and driving with the hips.

THanks, Keeping knees out is something that I focus very hard on. Still trying to understand what it means to "drive with the hips" I don't quite follow what that entails..

I figure if Im not starting to shake at the end of each set then Im not lifting heavy enough :-)

Also, can you tell from the video if I am doing what is considered high bar or low bar squats? the bar does not ride on top of my shoulders but just below

keeping the knees out and using the hips are one in the same. If you stand with your feet shoulder width apart, put your hands on your hips, and push you knees out (pull the floor apart with your feet), you will feel your hip muscles activate. This is the same thing you should be doing when you come up from the bottom of a squat, pull the floor apart with your feet.

In terms of bar placement, it's kinda hard for me to tell where the bar is from that angle. But here's a good article for you on bar placement: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/whats-the-proper-way-to-squat-qa.html

FoxyMcDeadlift

Thats high bar. If you rest it on your neck, its high bar, for low bar, you grip it with both hands and pull it into place against your traps. I low bar, i prefer it because i think it forces you to pump your chest out and keeps your back straight.

With regards to form, you're not using your hips enough, and thats where you struggle in the fourth and fith reps. When you go down, try and think about how you would sit down in a chair, breaking at the hips first, then lowering your body. As you come back up, imagine sexy time with a lady, you push out the hole with your legs, and then drive up out of the part where you struggle with the sexy time hip movement.

Your depth is solid,and you keep your back and chest nice and straight. Good work!

MinnesotaManimal

thanks for all the tips guys. I think the video perpective is a little funky the bar is not on my neck the top of the bar sits even with or just below my shoulders and I keep my elbows close together and press the bar into my back to hold it there.

I will continue to work on my hip drive. and core strength.

Thanks again.

AlmondTheGreat

Your knees should not go over your toes. It should be as if you are sitting down on a stall and not on your ankles.

Beastette

I love the depth! Lots of guys at my gym barely go parallel.

I didn't see any rounding until the last couple of reps, when you started to fatigue. I liked Rock's tip about driving through the hips...I'm going to try that later this week.

mideon_696

yeah not too bad overall.

more hip drive as said above also. think of moving your hips forward the whole time like in deadlifts.

you do need to sit back a bit more too to get more of the weight onto your heels.