Another squat check

[Kostas]

As Spar said to me, this is the internet, there is no shame.

Quick recap: I did SS (sort of) for about six months 2008-2009. I could never get my squat form right (not even tolerable). I could never maintain the arch in my lower back and I have never felt the hamstring bounce. Since then I have fucked around and attempted re-starts and so on.

Stats

BW - 70kgs / 156lbs (I had reached 75kgs from a starting weight of 58kgs by the 4th month of SS, 3 years ago, and I dropped slowly back to 70 since then)
Height - 1m72 / 5ft8
Age - 33

Squat - around 70kgs now. (Heaviest I ever got to was 90kgs / 200lbs)
Deadlift - 90kgs (Heaviest was 105kgs)

I've decided to post another few videos for advice and comments. Today I tried putting the bar much lower on my back than I ever have, to the point where I feel it will roll off if it goes any further. Weight back down to 60kgs to get used to new bar placement.

http://vimeo.com/30595601 - front view (just noticed that I cut the video off at the 4th rep)
http://vimeo.com/30595980 - rear view

Watching the videos I would say that:

I am dropping down too fast (which gives me some bounce off my knees).

My knees sometimes come forward at the bottom as the bar moves away from being over the centre of my foot.

I seem to "cock" my hips on some reps before starting to descend instead of making it one smooth motion.

I am losing tightness and the arch down in the hole.

What else am I doing wrong?

[MikeC1]

Well you pretty much already know the main things that you need to stop doing. 60kg is light, so there is no need to drop down so fast. That will not be sustainable when the weights become challenging, and you could end up injuring yourself, either your back, or knee, or groin, etc. Go down slower, way slower. For you, even that will probably still be too fast, so you might want to exaggerate it and treat the descent like a negative, resisting the weight all the way down.

For you, I would also suggest not trying to use the stretch reflex during your warmups and while the workset weights are so light. Just go down all the way to the bottom and pause, find a stable position, then squat it back up in a controlled and balanced fashion. This might help provide a stronger stimulus for you, which you seem to need.

There's no reason to 'cock' your hips like you do before your reps. You need to learn to feel out your body position throughout the squatting motion, and slowing everything down will make this easier to do.

Best of luck.

[DutchPancakes]

I think you're going way deeper than you need too. That won't be helping you keep lower back tightness.

Speaking of tightness, you seem pretty loose under the bar generally. Tighten up your whole body.

If you do what MikeC1 said and go down really slowly, you'll soon find exactly where you should start coming up again.

Don't expect the hamstring bounce to feel like the knee bounce. It's not like rebounding off a rubber band or something. It's a very slight stretch feeling, nothing intense.

Do some hamstring stretches too, after your workout.

[Simma Park]

You have the right idea re: extending and locking your lumbar before you start each rep, but you’re doing it wrong. You’re not actually moving the correct part of your back. The movement should be a slight pelvic tilt and a tightening of the erectors, but because (I’m guessing) you don’t know how to do this or what it should feel like, you end up with the movement you see in the video, which, you will note, mostly happens in the lower t-spine, NOT in the lumbar. This is causing way too much movement and overall back extension, and this will endanger your back as the weights get higher.
http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...sition_control

Try the “drop your dick between your legs” cue. It’s crude, but it works for a lot of men.

Re: bar position: it’s not about getting it as low as possible. It’s about getting it in the “groove ” where it’s supposed to sit.

http://startingstrength.com/resource...039#post337039

[Kostas]

MikeC1, going down really slowly seems to be helping a lot.

Spar, I think I have also finally understood what arching my back means, after watching the video.

The weight doesn't feel easier to lift, but it's definitely more controlled, and my lower back doesn't hurt.

I think my technique still needs improvement, but hopefully I am on the right track. I'll work on it a bit more and add some weight to the bar and then post another video.

Thanks.