Bad squat form help please!

BattyKnitter
BattyKnitter Posts: 503 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm currently doing StrongLifts 5x5 and I am stuck on 80lbs for my squats. I've failed 3 times at completing 5 sets of 5 reps and I know my form is bad but not sure how to fix it/what I'm doing wrong.

Here's a link to a video of me squatting.

https://youtu.be/kGTXCExvpyE

Replies

  • MT1134
    MT1134 Posts: 173 Member
    It's not all that bad. I see that your knees are coming forward a bit. There's thousands of things you can do to fix it.

    I would say make sure you're nice and warm when you're working heavy sets. Goblet squats help. Mobility drills. The stick and foam rolling. Strengthen your midline. Strong core (abs, glutes, lower back, hips) muscles helps everything. That will give you the ability to stabilize your body and posture so that the weight doesn't shift you into compromising positions. Make sure to unlock those hips as well.

    I know that's a lot, sorry. Just trying to throw out a few ideas.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    I don’t think you look bad either. It might be helpful to see video from the front better see what your knees are doing. You just may have to repeat 80 pounds for a week or so before moving on.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    Yeah not that bad. I suggest you search for @australianstrengthcoach on Instagram - he has some good tutorial/tips on good cues for squats (and bench and deadlift) you'll need to scroll through his page to find it though. He trains powerlifters including that Thor dude who is strongman super man from Iceland. He knows his *kitten* and is a nice guy too, which helps.
  • Cahgetsfit
    Cahgetsfit Posts: 1,912 Member
    The bar path is good but there's something about you coming up that I can't quite put my finger on - you sort of undulate, I don't know - hard to explain. There's something there though that can be improved, but i'm afraid I'm not expert enough to tell you how to improve it particularly by just looking at the video!
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    Your form looks fine to me. What weight were you lifting in the video?
  • BattyKnitter
    BattyKnitter Posts: 503 Member
    edited June 2019
    Thanks so much for the advice everyone! It's good to know that my form is not as bad as I was thinking, I was getting discouraged and not as excited to lift as before. I thought 80lbs was a low weight to get stuck on and it must be my form but I guess I just have to get stronger. I do have a feeling maybe my calorie deficit is not helping things, I often feel weak. Since I've only got about 15 lbs to lose I've decided to set my deficit to .5lb instead of 1 lb and we will see if that helps my lifting too. I'm also not super fond of 5x5 and once I'm done my subscription in July I'm starting New Rules of Lifting For Women, I did that program many years ago and I had really good success on it, and I enjoyed it.
    MT1134 wrote: »
    It's not all that bad. I see that your knees are coming forward a bit. There's thousands of things you can do to fix it.

    I would say make sure you're nice and warm when you're working heavy sets. Goblet squats help. Mobility drills. The stick and foam rolling. Strengthen your midline. Strong core (abs, glutes, lower back, hips) muscles helps everything. That will give you the ability to stabilize your body and posture so that the weight doesn't shift you into compromising positions. Make sure to unlock those hips as well.

    I know that's a lot, sorry. Just trying to throw out a few ideas.

    I warm up with hip thrusts and squats with an empty bar, I'll try adding in some goblet squats too. I was wondering at the lack of core work in this program, I think I will add in some core work at the end.

    mom23mangos wrote: »
    I don’t think you look bad either. It might be helpful to see video from the front better see what your knees are doing. You just may have to repeat 80 pounds for a week or so before moving on.

    I'll try and take a video from the front as well next time. It was the third time I failed at 80 so that's why I was worried, the app told me to deload to 70 so I will do that and see if it helps.
    Cahgetsfit wrote: »
    The bar path is good but there's something about you coming up that I can't quite put my finger on - you sort of undulate, I don't know - hard to explain. There's something there though that can be improved, but i'm afraid I'm not expert enough to tell you how to improve it particularly by just looking at the video!

    What your describing is what I was feeling was wrong I kinda lead with my butt/lower back? I think a stronger core might be the answer there but I'm not sure I can just experiment and try stuff! I'll look up that instagram person too!
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Its not your "form". That is a misconception that is thrown around way too much in the fitness community since there is no clear definition that engulfs everyone and there mechanics and body proportions.

    I would hazard you have ran out the 5×5 novice template and are ready for more advanced programming that has appropriate volume. This is not only very common with linear programming, it happens 100% of the time.

    If I was going to suggest one adjustment to tweak, you're leading with chest out of hole. Think "Leg drive" while holding your back angle steady.

    I would highly suggest wearing some lifting shoes with good arch support if we are talking long term goals as well.

    Yeah I kinda feel like I lead with my chest/butt lol gonna work on using my legs more. We'll see about the shoes I really hate wearing shoes when I lift, socks are even a struggle lol!
  • jeffjeff85
    jeffjeff85 Posts: 118 Member
    If you watch the bar, you'll see that you shift forward a bit right at the bottom of the lift. First move isnt.up, its forward.
    First isnt bad st all, then it gets worse as you get more tired.
    Educated guess from the video I'd say you are relying on your quads to help glutes/ hamstrings. Problem is, if you continue or go up in weight, it probably get more pronounced as the quads get stronger but the hams dont.
    If it was me, I'd put in a couple of weeks where I go like 4x8 at 65# instead of 5x5 at 80#. Make a point of keepin the tension on the hams.
  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,208 Member
    Biggest issue i see is you're hyperextending (arching) your lower back on the way down - possibly because you learned somewhere to "stick you butt out" on squats, or possibly because you're looking in a mirror (don't). Focus on keeping your back curvature constant and your abs braced tight. Increasing ab strength doesn't guarantee conscious activation, btw.

    Minor point - your right foot splays outward on the 1st descent. Try this calf stretch for 30 seconds right before squatting, to test if you have tight calves (if it helps, you do).

    I agree with the above poster that you're sliding forward a bit to make it easier, and it will probably worsen with heavier weight. The way up should be a mirror image of the way down, if that makes sense. :+1:
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member
    You look to be sliding forward because the bar is over the heel too much on the descent then you shift forward a bit more toward mid-foot wasting energy and maybe robbing a few pounds. From what I can see it looks like even that shift is still not far enough forward so you might want to increase your torso lean at the top and keep the bar over mid foot the entire ROM.

    It could also be camera angle but give it a shot.

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