squat position how do i know if my form is correct?

peppermintmama
peppermintmama Posts: 30 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
i have been doing t25 for almost two months now. i am well in to my second week of the beta cycle which has a lot of squats with dumbbells. I'm really concerned with my squat form, my knees do not hurt but I've noticed my back certainly does no matter how tight my core is. i also have to turn my toes outward to go in to the deep squats, i focus a lot on keeping my back straight but when i go down and push my glute's back i feel like i lean forward but on a toe check i see my knees are not pushing out past my toe. my question is how should my form look and feel? more feel then look i do not have a mirror to study my form.
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Replies

  • dlm7507
    dlm7507 Posts: 237 Member
    How are you holding the dumbbells? If you hold them in a front squat position in front of your shoulders/collarbones it is hard to lean forward because your arms will give out. Takes the strain of your back.
  • peppermintmama
    peppermintmama Posts: 30 Member
    I hold them at shoulder height, about an inch or so away from my shoulders but that's only one squat exercise there are numerous. i would say my back hurts most when i'm doing the dead lifts then going into the squat all in one movement.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Everyone's form will be a little different. If your back is straight and your core is tight, you're probably 90% of the way there. Are you able to post a video?
  • McCloud33
    McCloud33 Posts: 959 Member
    Toes out is perfectly fine. Mine are usually 30-45 degrees out. If you're just using dumbbells, form isn't *quite* as important either since it's hard to have a lot of weight that way. Deadlift may be more of an issue since that's more back-centric movement and you're starting from a lower position with dumbbells as opposed to barbell.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
    peppermintmama wrote: »
    how do i know if my form is correct?

    Either hire a good trainer to check your form, or post a form check video yourself so the trainers here can critique it. :+1:
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,404 Member
    edited June 2016
    Are you performing a clean?
    http://youtu.be/mPsxlNjv7Aw
  • T0M_K
    T0M_K Posts: 7,526 Member
    not to high jack the thread..but are dumbbell squats as effective as barbell squats?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    Tomk652015 wrote: »
    not to high jack the thread..but are dumbbell squats as effective as barbell squats?

    no
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
    OP - is there a reason you are not barbell back squatting?
  • SonyaCele
    SonyaCele Posts: 2,841 Member
    edited June 2016


    OP post a video of your squat
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    You sound like you may have the weight in your toes? Agreed post a video.

    And as to the question why no barbell squatting, some of us workout at home and don't have access to a barbell. I'm one of them, I'm totally good using adjustable dumbbells and not lifting heavy, well, as heavy as I possibly could with a heavy lifting program.
  • peppermintmama
    peppermintmama Posts: 30 Member
    Ok So to post a video of my squat would I need to post it to YouTube and lay the link to my video here or is there a way to post a video directly to mfp?
    SonyaCele wrote: »

    OP post a video of your squat
    Cherimoose wrote: »
    peppermintmama wrote: »
    how do i know if my form is correct?

    Either hire a good trainer to check your form, or post a form check video yourself so the trainers here can critique it. :+1:
    jacksonpt wrote: »
    Everyone's form will be a little different. If your back is straight and your core is tight, you're probably 90% of the way there. Are you able to post a video?

  • peppermintmama
    peppermintmama Posts: 30 Member
    edited June 2016
    ndj1979 wrote: »
    OP - is there a reason you are not barbell back squatting?

    I'm not able to make it to the gym so I workout from home 5 days a week. So I'm just upping my weights with Dumbbells,although I can look into getting a barbell if it will improve my back pain and form.
  • torsab
    torsab Posts: 12 Member
    make sure you're squatting back - think sitting down in a chair. your knees should not go forward of your toes. otherwise, back neutral and core tight, slow and steady
  • PoundChaser2
    PoundChaser2 Posts: 241 Member
    How deep are you squatting ? It could be that your not balanced while squatting (slight lean to one side) or you increased your weights too much (unless) you experienced back pains before you upped your weights? I can't imagine squatting using your toes "ouch" that would kill my knees.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    You may not have the flexibility to go as deep as you're going - are your hip flexors tight? If you go too deep, your pelvis tilts forward and puts strain on your lower back. If you do a squat slowly, you can feel the point where this happens, and it's easy to see if you take a video of yourself.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Runngurl43 wrote: »
    How deep are you squatting ? It could be that your not balanced while squatting (slight lean to one side) or you increased your weights too much (unless) you experienced back pains before you upped your weights? I can't imagine squatting using your toes "ouch" that would kill my knees.

    I'm a dancer, I had to concentrate really hard when I started squatting because in dance your weight is always in your toes so being back in my heels felt really unnatural.
  • PoundChaser2
    PoundChaser2 Posts: 241 Member
    Like your name vintage feline
  • scottburger104
    scottburger104 Posts: 90 Member
    peppermintmama wrote: »
    i have been doing t25 for almost two months now. i am well in to my second week of the beta cycle which has a lot of squats with dumbbells. I'm really concerned with my squat form, my knees do not hurt but I've noticed my back certainly does no matter how tight my core is. i also have to turn my toes outward to go in to the deep squats, i focus a lot on keeping my back straight but when i go down and push my glute's back i feel like i lean forward but on a toe check i see my knees are not pushing out past my toe. my question is how should my form look and feel? more feel then look i do not have a mirror to study my form.

    I recommend that you use 1 dumbbell and perform goblet squats. A couple sets of 3 to 5 with a light to medium weight dumbbell a few times before you do your squat workout. there isn't a better way to pattern a squat movement than goblet squats. Just do a couple practice sets and it will help you feel what you are supposed to feel like. make sure you put your elbows right on your vastus medialis and use the dumbbell for a counter weight so you can concentrate on pushing your chest out.
  • peppermintmama
    peppermintmama Posts: 30 Member
    edited June 2016
    trying to post a video here from my phone is a nightmare.

    https://youtu.be/4wkxTJKodUI

    I uploaded a 12 sec video to YouTube hopefully you all can help me out.

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