Form check, squat @ 345 lbs

[Jr_Geezer]

So, I had a session with SSC Robert Santana two months ago, he told me my squat depth was good and even though I thought my back was maybe too vertical, he said for my anthropometry, the angle was correct. I’ve been meaning to video myself for a while and finally today there was a buddy at the gym who was resting while I was squatting so I asked him to video me. I would really appreciate some trained eyes.

This is my third set of three at 345 lbs, getting heavy for me. I’m still thinking my depth is iffy (hopefully the angle is misleading :-) ) but I don’t really feel I can get deeper. I’m also thinking my back is too upright and my knees too far forward.

RJP 345 x 3 04 07 2017 on Vimeo

Thanks!

-Rob

[Tom Campitelli]

Your knees are going too far forward, your spine is in overextension, you are looking forward, you are lifting your chest, and you are likely above parallel. So, with that in mind, here are my suggestions.

Find a spot on the floor to look at. Probably the seem of the wall and the floor, or somewhere on the squat rack's crossbar on the floor.
Lean over more and don't let your knees go so far forward. Think "chest down."
Your first rep was almost definitely high. Cannot say for sure on the rest of them since this was filmed from standing. You may need to go deeper. Turning your toes out slightly and driving your knees out harder may be the only things you need to do in this regard.
Drive your ass up out of the bottom while making sure to keep your chin down. Stop lifting your chest. Hips. Hips are what drive this squat.

[Jr_Geezer]

Tom, thanks for the feedback. I'll work on implementing your suggestions. Where exactly do I start lifting my chest? I've watched the video several times and I can't pick out where exactly that's happening. I mean, at some point I have to stand up and extend the hips so the chest has to go up. I'm not disagreeing with your analysis, I just don't see where that particular flaw is happening (the rest are pretty obvious though, now that you point them out).

Thanks again.

[Jr_Geezer]

Last night was my light day so the squats were not a challenging weight, but I did do them with a ever so slightly wider stance and toes definitely pointed out more, knees aggressively out. Felt very different, in a good way. Also concentrated on hip drive and realized that yeah, maybe before I wasn't thinking about that quite enough. Spine was definitely not as extended (I had read that recent article on thoracic extension and I think I mis-read, mis-interpreted, and/or mis-applied the concept in my previous attempt) and I leaned over more. No video because the lighting at night in the gym is terrible. I'll continue down this path and get another video out in a bit.
Thanks.

[Tom Campitelli]

Tom, thanks for the feedback. I'll work on implementing your suggestions. Where exactly do I start lifting my chest?

You lift it immediately out of the bottom and for the duration of the lift in that video. Obviously, your hips must extend, but how the back angle changes when someone is driving with their hips vs. lifting the chest is fairly distinct. As you can attest, thinking about the hips while squatting makes the movement feel differently.

[Jr_Geezer]

Hopefully this a step in the right direction: 355 x 3 04172017 on Vimeo. Set of 3 at 355.

[Tom Campitelli]

Definitely better. Watch on reps one and three how you overextend your low back early in the descent. Don't do that. Think "chest down." Your second rep was your best one. No overextension. Better hip drive. How old are you? 355 is moving pretty quickly.

[Jr_Geezer]

Definitely better. Watch on reps one and three how you overextend your low back early in the descent. Don't do that. Think "chest down." Your second rep was your best one. No overextension. Better hip drive. How old are you? 355 is moving pretty quickly.

Yeah, when I first watched the video, I thought, "What are you doing with your back!" Now that I am really aware of the issue, I think I took care of it during my workout last night (no video though) and will continue to be conscious of it. Amazing how complicated the simple process of squatting down and standing back up again can be, so much to think about.

Thanks for the input. Really helpful. I still can't get over that you guys do this for free.

Since you asked, I'm turning 56 in a couple of weeks.