Squat Form Check

[mun.1010]

Here is my squat session 7

Back view warm up set (140 lbs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvXNV1o1_kw&t=25
Back angled vew first work set (155 lbs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnTxY...=youtu.be&t=30 (This set felt bad, because my right foot was standing on sweat and slowly slid off balanced)
Side view second work set (155 lbs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7aCi...=youtu.be&t=33 (This set felt better, though I busted a nut trying to get the last rep)
Front angled view last work set ( 155 lbs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4nqP...=youtu.be&t=26 (This set felt hard, I think I rested too much in between reps)

Summary:
-Ab tightness needs a bit more work
-Rest in between reps should be cut to one breath
-My weight should be in the heels, sometimes my toes gets in on the action, especially when I am moving forward
-I need to be more aware of my surroundings before starting a set

Questions:
-What else should I improve upon?
-Is my depth enough this time around?
-Am I sufficiently fast in my reps?
-Is the bar in the right place?
-Are the views good enough?
-How do I keep tight during a set?

[Simma Park]

When you descend, you have to be thinking about driving UP with commitment after you feel the stretch at the bottom. Right now, you're letting yourself hang out a bit too long at the bottom and, as a result, you lose a lot of tension right as you're supposed to be powering back up. I think if you fix this, you'll have fewer problems with the bar path drifting and messing up your balance.

-Rest in between reps should be cut to one breath

There's nothing wrong with taking more than one breath. Just don't hang out too long in between.

-My weight should be in the heels, sometimes my toes gets in on the action, especially when I am moving forward

No, the weight should be in the middle of the foot.

-I need to be more aware of my surroundings before starting a set

Not sure what you mean here. You do need to stop looking around and taking too long to walk the bar out. You're not in the middle of Grand Central Station or being attacked by birds or anything--I don't see why you can't just walk the bar out faster and focus better and more quickly.

-Is my depth enough this time around?

A couple reps looked borderline, but most were fine.

-Am I sufficiently fast in my reps?

It's not about speed as about making sure you don't squander the stretch reflex. Drive up immediately when you reverse direction. Even on the way down, you should be thinking UP UP UP.

-Is the bar in the right place?

Placement looks OK, but you generally need to tighten things up. One thing that may help is to not let your head fall forward. Yes, the head should be angled down, but tuck your chin in slightly to make sure your neck stays in line with your spine.

-Are the views good enough?

They're adequate, except for the rear view, which does not show anything below the knee.

-How do I keep tight during a set?

You might start with taking a deeper breath and really squeezing down/clamping down hard with your abs throughout. A little grunt as you reverse or to get past a sticking point is fine, but you have to have enough air in you to begin with to maintain adequate pressure in your trunk.

[SoulySpoken]

This is my latest Squat Session Could Someone check if I am going Deep enough or other technique flaws, Thanks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxOcM...=youtu.be&t=34

Stick your butt out more. Keeps those shoulder blades retracted and push your chest up. Take a deep breath and really push your abs out, that will keep you tight and make sure you explode from the hole. Don't lift slow.

[Simma Park]

Take a deep breath and really push your abs out

You do not "push the abs out" during Valsalva. You take a very deep breath, which does result in expansion of the abdomen, then you isometrically contract the abs very hard. If you PUSH out, you actually defeat the purpose of Valsalva, not to mention potentionally create all kinds of funky, distracting sensations.

[veryhrm]

Don't have much to add on this round. I think they look pretty good and that they'll look more "solid" as you do more of them. On the depth, i agree that most are ok. I'd pick out the 4th rep on the side set and the 4th on the front set as being maybe too shallow. Since your back shape looks good it prob won't cause you problems to go a LITTLE lower.

Also, on both the back and front sets you somehow pick up, out of the rack, one side of the bar significantly before the other. That means either you had one foot forward of the other (which doesn't look like the case in the other sets) or the bar isn't centered on your back or some other strange thing. Aim for setting up under the bar and picking it up evenly. If you're too close to the hooks when you walk it out/in just put the hooks one hole lower. You have to squat a little more to get under the bar, but you don't have to worry about snagging them.

[mun.1010]

Here is my squat session 8

Back angled view first workset (160 lbs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daG41...=youtu.be&t=20 (The set felt suspiciously light, and lost count during the set that is why I did 6)
Side view second workset (160 lbs) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI8EX...=youtu.be&t=24 (The set also felt suspiciously light, struggled a bit in my last rep)
Front angled view third workset (160 lbs): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ5Ou...=youtu.be&t=21 (This set felt easy compared to second set, got a bit distracted by my sister)

Summary:
-Tightening things up with a deep breath helps a lot in keeping tightness, thanks for the tip.
-Depth seems to come if you dont overly think about it.
-Sets feel easier when thinking about going up instead of the bottom part of the squat.

Questions:
-What else can I improve upon?

[veryhrm]

Those look alright to me. Depth was plenty deep this time around too. On the front angled view i keep thinking that your knees aren't out enough, but they looked fine ok on the wu set from last time so as long as you're doing it the same as that should be ok.

The next step is to keep doing the program and and add another 150lbs w/o any form degradation.
Also, get your sister to train with you.

[mun.1010]

Thanks veryhrm and spar your tips and cues really helped me correct my form issues.
I will try to get my sister to workout too :-)

[mun.1010]

Edit: Double post

Recently I have been experiencing nagging pains on my left shoulder after back squatting, which affects my press, but does nothing to my bench.
I also backed the weight off my squat, because I was not hitting proper depth at weights higher than 180, I was too eager to squat heavy, so here is another form check.

Set 1 (back angled view): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXDvf...e=youtu.be&t=9
Set 2 (Side view): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sPuV...=youtu.be&t=23
Set 3 (Front angled view): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxGH0...=youtu.be&t=14

Summary
-Squats felt surprisingly hard, considering I already passed this weight.
-Nagging pains on the left shoulder after racking.

Questions
-Is my form still OK?
-Is the shoulder pain related to my form problems?

[mun.1010]

bump and here are my press workouts for reference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge_00...=youtu.be&t=28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBE44...=youtu.be&t=46