Squat Form Check

[Brackish]

New member to the forum. I've been getting some great feedback in my post in the programming section. Multiple people have suggested posting videos for technique checks. I haven't actually failed a set of squats yet, but I've been told that I'm having some form issues. Here's a set of 5@190. I'm attempting to low bar squat, for what it's worth. Any and all feedback greatly appreciated!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NLNyQJfwbU

I'll try and get a video of my deadlifts tomorrow to post those as well.

[mbasic]

These are "OK" IMO. ....for getting started.

Maybe the bar is a tad high for LBBS.

Maybe could be tighter in the upper back with more overall back extension. (could be the bar placement thing).
I only say this because I could see things possibly degrading as the weights increase.

Same thing with depth, just barely ok ... would like to see a tad more, because will likely get higher as weights increase.

[Brackish]

These are "OK" IMO. ....for getting started.

Maybe the bar is a tad high for LBBS.

Maybe could be tighter in the upper back with more overall back extension. (could be the bar placement thing).
I only say this because I could see things possibly degrading as the weights increase.

Same thing with depth, just barely ok ... would like to see a tad more, because will likely get higher as weights increase.

Appreciate you taking the time to look at them. The bar placement is definitely an issue for me. Believe it or not, that was after multiple ‘fixes’. I don’t know how I can get the bar any lower on my back. Maybe I need to bend over more?

Depth was increased after I was told that my other squats were too deep (see video below). Guess I can go back down. That seems to be one of the few things I can reliably control.

https://youtu.be/UKi1jCYFSH8

[chrisd]

Let's compare.


As others have said, these aren't too bad. You are looking down quite a bit. Round here, the primary cue is to keep everything from hip to shoulder rigid, locked, TIGHT!

the bar might be high for low bar. Your wrists are extended and your thoracic spine appears flexed. Possibly low bar is not ideal for you.

Depth looked okay to me.

And these



Yeah, right. Whoever said they are too deep is sort of right. You are going too deep because your lumbar is rounding. This is pretty common. At light weight you can get away with it. If you are adding weight regularly, you are going to get lower back pain doing these. I am glad that you have stopped doing this.

Also, if you are going to go low bar, see if you can arrange the safeties as safeties. That rack appears to be some kind of combined thing. There appear to be hooks on the opposite side, presumably for use on the suicide bench. That set up might be okay if you will never fail a rep (but really it isn't). Dumping a high bar squat is possible, but dumping from low bar means having a heavily loaded metal bar rolling down the protrusions of your spine.

[BostonRugger]

Not bad. I think the bar placement, thoracic extension and overall tightness things that the guys above mentioned are all related and can be addressed during setup.

I’d cue for “proud chest” or “big breath” while you’re setting up. I think of it as pulling my chest up on an inhale then setting my shoulders back/down while squeezing the bar into position.

[asdf]

I'm attempting to low bar squat, for what it's worth.

Why? Can you do full depth squats with no weight keeping your lower back in extension (wearing your lifters)? If so, why not try high bar? Maybe film a couple of sets using say 95#, then 135#. Have a look and see what you think.

[BenM]

I'm not a pimple on a coach's backside and my squat is absolutely nothing to write home about so take this with a grain of salt. But I've seen a lot worse squats from uncoached novices that's for sure. These really aren't too bad.

It looked to me like the first rep was a bit shallow and they got progressively a little deeper as the set went on. I think that's because you were getting tired, and perhaps getting a bit loose in the hole. Bracing is SO key to a heavy squat. If you want to get a heavy weight out of the hole and through that sticking point, you've gotta be so damn braced it feels like your head's gonna explode. It took me a long time to get my head around this (and I've been lifting < 4 years) and I still don't put enough effort into it most of the time, especially on sets of more than 3 or 4 reps.

Aside from that I agree with the bar position being a bit high. It does feel really weird having it lower when you first start out especially when you're pretty lean and don't have a lot of muscle there, but it definitely gets easier.

If you can sort those two things out a lot of other things will fall into place, I reckon. It looks like you have pretty long legs like me which for me meant that squatting felt really unnatural for a long time. To keep the bar over mid foot you'll probably need to have a more horizontal back angle than you think. Whether it's the back angle, or the fact that I also don't brace as hard as I should, I don't know but it means low bar does cause a little more low back stress than someone who squats more upright. So while I still think low bar is great in the sense it allows you to move the biggest loads, there's absolutely nothing wrong with implementing other squat variations when appropriate. That could be high bar, front squats, or even an SSB if your gym had one (I love mine).

[Brackish]

Let's compare.


As others have said, these aren't too bad. You are looking down quite a bit. Round here, the primary cue is to keep everything from hip to shoulder rigid, locked, TIGHT!

the bar might be high for low bar. Your wrists are extended and your thoracic spine appears flexed. Possibly low bar is not ideal for you.

Depth looked okay to me.

And these



Yeah, right. Whoever said they are too deep is sort of right. You are going too deep because your lumbar is rounding. This is pretty common. At light weight you can get away with it. If you are adding weight regularly, you are going to get lower back pain doing these. I am glad that you have stopped doing this.

Also, if you are going to go low bar, see if you can arrange the safeties as safeties. That rack appears to be some kind of combined thing. There appear to be hooks on the opposite side, presumably for use on the suicide bench. That set up might be okay if you will never fail a rep (but really it isn't). Dumping a high bar squat is possible, but dumping from low bar means having a heavily loaded metal bar rolling down the protrusions of your spine.

The rack is absolutely atrocious. The saddest part is, we used to have two perfectly serviceable power racks (I lift in my school's weight room.). The P.E. department gave them away because "they were less useful than the machines". In answer to your question regarding the safeties, sometimes yes and sometimes no. I share the workout space with other people. They are often benching while I'm squatting, so the hooks wouldn't be available at those times. I've tried using the hooks in the past, but I have a real hard time getting set up under the bar properly when using them because it puts my feet way to close to the base of the rack where the bench is bolted to the frame. Since this is going to be my workout space for the foreseeable future, would it be safer for me to high bar squat and forget trying to get my low bar squats down? I'm trying to avoid having to dump the bar, but if I ever get there, I'd rather not die doing it.

[Brackish]

I'm attempting to low bar squat, for what it's worth.

Why? Can you do full depth squats with no weight keeping your lower back in extension (wearing your lifters)? If so, why not try high bar? Maybe film a couple of sets using say 95#, then 135#. Have a look and see what you think.

Because I drank the SS kool aid. I'm relatively sure I can, but I do have some weird issues with my knees (e.g. intermittent pain, constant noises, feeling like they're full of pebbles while squatting, etc.) that might become a problem as the weight increases squatting high bar. You can actually hear my knees in one of the videos I posted, possibly both. I was under the impression that low bar was better for using more muscle mass, and it was also easier on your knees. Not the case?

[mettkeks]

Because I drank the SS kool aid. I'm relatively sure I can, but I do have some weird issues with my knees (e.g. intermittent pain, constant noises, feeling like they're full of pebbles while squatting, etc.) that might become a problem as the weight increases squatting high bar. You can actually hear my knees in one of the videos I posted, possibly both. I was under the impression that low bar was better for using more muscle mass, and it was also easier on your knees. Not the case?

Nocebo. You might just forget what Rippetoe said about anything training related. Just squat like you would LBBS and you'll be fine (don't push the knees forward at the the bottom). Regarding the knee: I had an accident and had a bunch of trouble with it for a year, long story short, mine sounds worse than yours and I'm fine.

[asdf]

I was under the impression that low bar was better for using more muscle mass

That might be true, but I don't think it's relevant in the context of a complete program. Why should I strive to train my posterior chain with squats, when I also deadlift? Instead, I prefer to engage my quads as much as possible and also to move through as full a range of motion as possible, rather than artificially stopping the squat in order to keep my hamstrings tight.

and it was also easier on your knees.

I don't think that's true in general, but it might be for some individuals. Of course there are trade-offs, and many people have joint problems with low-bar that they don't have with high. Elbow, shoulder, and wrist issues. Adductors.

Ultimately, I think you should use whichever style of squat you like. You mentioned that you've had trouble finding the right low-bar placement and to me, your current mechanics look more high-bar than low-bar. Hence the suggestion to give high-bar a try.

Personally, I find Greg Everett's and Max Aita's squat models, methods, and ques better than Rippetoe's. Here are a couple of links to get you started. Both coaches have tons of free videos and articles.

[ChasingCurls69]

I think the main things here are getting a better bar position for low-bar, and getting better thoracic extension which kinda goes along with it.

When you go under the bar, keep your chest out the entire time by pulling your shoulder blades together+down. You may want to exaggerate your hand position by putting them more on top of the bar, so when you slide the bar down your back by an inch, you wrists don't roll under. Slightly wider grip may also help, and then when you can get a good bar position/hand position, you can make it narrower again.

I wouldn't worry about any lumbar rounding right now, and depth was good after rep 1.

[Brackish]

Tried to forget everything I’d ‘learned’ so far. Put the bar on my back where it felt comfortable, squatted down, and then stood back up. Only thing I really focused on was keeping my back as straight as possible. I know my neck is still leaning forward, and I plan on working on that on Friday. Do these look any better?

https://youtu.be/j9aDw8ataMg

Thanks for all the input so far. It’s greatly appreciated!

[DanCR]

I have little business commenting, in that I recently started my squat over from scratch, but I think those look great. My only comment is that it may help to push your head back into your traps and tuck your chin, versus having your neck forward as you’re looking down. I think that might help in pulling everything else into place.

[DanCR]

Deleted for accidental double post.

[asdf]

I think those look good.

On the later reps your hips and knees shift back coming out of the hole, and on the last rep (maybe last two) your hips rose faster than your chest during the middle portion of your ascent. (You can see these things for yourself by pausing the video at the bottom of each squat and then using the period (.) key on your keyboard to advance one frame at a time.)

Also, you might want to narrow your grip. I think that will allow you keep your upper back tighter.