Squat form check, please [:

marinadanielle

I finally started the program today! I figured I should get a video of my squats right out of the gate so that if I'm doing something wrong, I can correct it immediately and not develop any bad habits. This was my first time ever squatting with weight so I'm sure I'm doing 3904033439 things wrong, so I'd love some feedback please!

http://youtu.be/vr1n3gYLIc4

sarahstrezo

The video isn't loading completely for me.

But...the first thing I see is you are putting the bar on too high a rung. It looks like you are having to pop up on your toes to get it off the rack and do the same to get it back on. That will be very hard (if not impossible) to do with a lot of weight.

From the rest I see, it looks good, but.....it would help if the video person got the lower part of your legs to show just how your knees are.

taso42

Agree with sarahstrezo. The bar is on too high of a rack. You want it one or two notches lower and you're gonna want to do like a mini-squat to unrack it. It's also too high on your back

Your depth seems to be too shallow, but it's hard to tell with the camera angle. Make sure you're breaking the parallel.

On a positive note, your back looks great. Nice arch.

Fittreelol

What taso and sarah said.

marinadanielle

Thanks for the feedback! I'll definitely be sure to move the bar down a notch or two from now on and watch the Rippetoe video to see where it should be on my back. I'll try to get my friend to take a lower video to show how low my knees are going. I'm having some balance issues and I'm worried about falling backwards (when I was preparing for today and doing body squats at home, I literally just completely tipped backwards) but I'll try to get lower.

I also have a stupid question. I see everyone talking about the safety latches that they'd use to put the bar on in case they fail their squats. Are those the rungs that I got the bar off of? Because I thought those were a bit high? Or was it the base part that was blocking my legs? I know that's a silly question but I'm kindddd of concerned that I'm not doing something correctly or using the wrong rack if I don't have the safety pegs.

Thanks again everyone!

DaniH826

Far as squat form goes:

I read SS again yesterday (it's a really awesome book to help you fall asleep by the way cause he goes into so.much.detail :yawn:), and here is what made it "click" for me:

Visualize making the bar travel a perfectly vertical path. Your body will adjust to make that happen, which keeps you from having to micromanage form.

I tried that today, and it made my brain quit overthinking as my body took over. All I had to worry about was stance, and getting low enough (which is what muscle memory is for and I always go below parallel nowadays).

And that is why Rippetoe is my lifting hero.

I'ma try that with deadlifts on Saturday too!

The safety latches are bars that are inside a power cage/squat rack towards the bottom. They're not the rungs you load the bar on. The safeties are designed to catch the weight, should you have to drop it behind you during a failed attempt, so the weights don't damage the floor and more importantly, so the weight of the bar/plates doesn't crush you and you can get away.

Short answer: It's the base part blocking your legs.

taso42

One note about losing balance backward... that is probably because you're not allowing yourself to lean forward. You will have to lean forward to stay in balance, and that's perfectly normal and necessary.

That's a good tip from DaniH above with keeping the bar path vertical. You will also notice that the bar is centered above your foot the whole time. This will be interesting to watch yourself do next time you get a more zoomed out shot from the side.

sandradev1

Far as squat form goes:

I read SS again yesterday (it's a really awesome book to help you fall asleep by the way cause he goes into so.much.detail :yawn:), and here is what made it "click" for me:

Visualize making the bar travel a perfectly vertical path. Your body will adjust to make that happen, which keeps you from having to micromanage form.

I tried that today, and it made my brain quit overthinking as my body took over. All I had to worry about was stance, and getting low enough (which is what muscle memory is for and I always go below parallel nowadays).

And that is why Rippetoe is my lifting hero.

I'ma try that with deadlifts on Saturday too!

The safety latches are bars that are inside a power cage/squat rack towards the bottom. They're not the rungs you load the bar on. The safeties are designed to catch the weight, should you have to drop it behind you during a failed attempt, so the weights don't damage the floor and more importantly, so the weight of the bar/plates doesn't crush you and you can get away.

Short answer: It's the base part blocking your legs.

That was the single most useful piece of advice for all the lifts, that I took from Rip. Visualise the bar travelling a vertical path over the centre of your feet and your body will correct itself. It really does work.

Amazing1985RSD

Should we be concerned with the random phone number in the post?

zerryz

I'm a newbie at this, just like you. One thing I recently learned to do which helped me tremendously is to put my thumb above the bar, not underneath so that the stress on the wrist be reduced. The result should show your hand in complete alignment with your forearm. From the angle, it seems that your thumbs are underneath the bar.

The tip re the barbell staying vertical during the entire trajectory is an incredible one that I will certainly use next time. Thanks!

DaniH826

I'm a newbie at this, just like you. One thing I recently learned to do which helped me tremendously is to put my thumb above the bar, not underneath so that the stress on the wrist be reduced. The result should show your hand in complete alignment with your forearm. From the angle, it seems that your thumbs are underneath the bar.

The tip re the barbell staying vertical during the entire trajectory is an incredible one that I will certainly use next time. Thanks!

Yea your bar should rest on that ledge just above your shoulder blades you will create by bringing your elbows back, and your hands should [/b]support[/b] the bar, not actually [/b]grip[/b] it. In other words, the bar will rest on your back, not on your hands. Your wrists should be straight, never bent.

This means you will have to lean forward some while squatting so that the bar continues to rest safely on your back.

Like so:

http://www.allthingsgym.com/mark-rippetoe-on-the-squat-bar-position/

P.S. If you haven't read Starting Strength (that's what I mean when I say "SS" ... sorry if that was unclear), then do so. It's an invaluable resource and a must-read for any serious lifter, far as I'm concerned.

marinadanielle

So many great tips in this thread! I'm going to have to try the trick about visualizing the bar traveling vertically! The Rippetoe video was extremely helpful as well. Thanks for all the tips!

And that's definitely not a phone number.... it's a random number symbolizing just how many things I assumed I was doing wrong with my squats haha

@taso: how far should I be leaning? In my video I actually thought I was wayyyyy too far forward and I was trying to make sure I didn't end up in the good morning position! I'm not sure how to lean while keeping my back curved and trying to figure out the mysterious (to me) hip drive lol

DaniH826

I'm not sure how to lean while keeping my back curved and trying to figure out the mysterious (to me) hip drive lol

It took me a good month to even be able to focus on driving my hip forward at the end of the squat and finishing the movement.

Some things just take time. Give yourself time to develop muscle memory and get used to all the new things you're making your body do.

As long as your form improves with every session and you get the basics down, don't worry about it overmuch. Right now your form looks alright, so you have a good place to start from already. There's really no such thing as "perfect" form, so don't even worry about chasing that because you'll never catch it.

Hip drive really has to do with pushing out from the bottom of your feet through your hips and on up (and not from your toes or somesuch wonky movement).

The muscle nerds call that "engaging the posterior kinetic chain" which is basically the way our back leg/butt/hip/lower back muscles move together and in sequence to produce the force that makes the bar travel a certain way.

Like I said: Focus on making the bar go straight up and down, and your body will adjust. As far as how far to lean, make the bar line up with the middle of your foot and you should be fine.

taso42

@taso: how far should I be leaning? In my video I actually thought I was wayyyyy too far forward and I was trying to make sure I didn't end up in the good morning position! I'm not sure how to lean while keeping my back curved and trying to figure out the mysterious (to me) hip drive lol

Basically the bar position will determine the lean angle. If it's a front squat, then there is very little lean. High bar squat there's a little lean. And low bar squat is the most lean. Remember it's all about keeping the bar centered above the foot. It will more or less happen naturally if you focus on it just a little, as you have to lean to stay in balance.

booyainyoface

i would do some box squats as well to help you learn to engage and drive from your glutes instead of using mostly quad. they are also awesome in general...

http://stronglifts.com/build-explosive-strength-how-to-perform-box-squats/

nexangelus

i would do some box squats as well to help you learn to engage and drive from your glutes instead of using mostly quad. they are also awesome in general...

http://stronglifts.com/build-explosive-strength-how-to-perform-box-squats/

I agree, I poo pooed box squats until the weight on my back got heavier and form got crappier...when the weight got heavier I revisited form and technique by going lighter and squatting to a bench/box...also helped me not to overthink and fail on the trial runs...for now though, the form looks pretty good, although with just the bar, you could possibly go a bit lower (not sure how flexible you are)