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Thread: Nikola's Squat Form Check

  1. #1
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    Default Nikola's Squat Form Check

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    Hello there SS team!

    I'm 32 years old and I have been doing SS for a little more than a month with no prior gym training (actually I lifted for a few months in high school but that doesn't count ) I lost a few weeks finding my form and then I strained my quadriceps when I was around 105 kg so I spent two weeks just squatting light weight and this is my first 100 kg squat after a while.

    I really struggled on all three sets. Hitting the bar against the safety bars a few times didn't help at all but this is the only height that is good for me on this rack and I think that it accommodates for a good squat depth. While doing lots of reps with light weight I tried to fix my form but I'm still not sure about it. I don't know really how forward should my knees go (I sometimes shift forward in the bottom position and I want to avoid that by fixing my knees early on). I also have a sideways video if you wish to see it. Also, I've been told I have no hip dhrive.

    I'm looking forward to your thoughts and advice. Thanks a lot for sharing your knowledge on this forum for free. It means a lot to us who cannot afford a good coach. Cheers!


  2. #2
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    Mar 2008
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    Здраво, Nikola. Narrow your stance a little. Lower the safeties by one notch. If you are hitting them, they are too high. Stay off your toes. As your set proceeds, the weight goes forward and you lift your chest. Stay back and keep the weight over the middle of your foot. Drive your butt up. Don't lift the chest. Do your best to get a hold of some weightlifting shoes. You will like them.

  3. #3
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    Thank you Tom!
    I thought my stance was a bit wider here than it should be.

    I'm not sure if I can get weightlifting shoes right now since I don't have any money and they are pretty difficult to find here so I'll have to stick to Chuck's for the time being. There are a lot of strong squatters using them. Do you think it's the case of them squatting heavy weights in spite of using inferior shoes or that it depends on person's anthropometry?

    I frequently try to focus on keeping the bar over my mid foot but I'm not sure if that does the trick. I sometimes feel I have no clue about my depth/knee angle/back angle and what is the biggest problem.
    I failed 105 kg last time (I have sideways videos of two sets). I'll record my second attempt next time and post it here. I'll try to narrow my stance and focus on keeping the bar over my mid foot and driving the hips up.

    Thanks for the help again!

    Поздрав! :Д

  4. #4
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    Here is today's fail. This is the second time I fail 105 kg (5, 4, 3) but I'm pretty sure it's due to my awful form that starts showing above 100 kg. At least my quad is fine and nothing hurts so it's just about fixing my form now.

    I lowered the safeties and they did a good job so there was no need to be afraid they are too low. I also tried to narrow my stance.

    I had a lot of problems out of the bottom. I was shooting forward all the time and it seems I'm also twisting my back in strange ways or maybe it's just the angle of the camera. I have the first two sets recorded form sideways angle if you want to see it. I use it to analyse my form but it seems I just can recognize there is a problem but I'm not sure what is the cause and how to get it fixed. Again, I'm not sure how forward should my knees go and what should be my back angle.

    I think about deloading to 100 kg and trying to get it right there and then continuing with progression or maybe I should go even lower?

    Sorry for not waiting for a reply on my previous post but I think it would be easier if you answered both posts together. If it's a problem I will not do it again.


  5. #5
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    Yeah, you really need to stop lifting your chest. The reason these feel so bad is that you are doing a poor job of staying with your hips. Lean over a little more and send your weight back a bit. This will keep you in balance. Instead of immediately lifting your chest out of the bottom, drive your ass up. See if that helps.

  6. #6
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    Thanks, I tried that today but it's still hard for me to stop myself from going forward and up from the bottom. Thinking about driving my hips back seems to help. Here is a video from today's practice. I hope things are getting better. I also notice on a lot of sideways videos that my right shin is going a little in front of left shin after starting out from the bottom. I don't know if it's a big problem. Next Saturday I will try with 102.5 kg and also record it.


  7. #7
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    Those are better. Your first three were pretty good with the exception of your tendency to change your back angle to become more upright immediately upon reaching the bottom of the squat. You tried to counter this on four and five by sitting back more, to the point your shins were almost vertical, and this exacerabated the shift forward as you tried to come back into balance at the bottom. Here is what you need to do: squat like you did in those first two or three reps, but keep your chest down at the bottom instead of becoming more upright. We'll see how that goes.

  8. #8
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    Yeah, I figured out that it may be even before reaching the bottom. I'm afraid I'm not hitting depth (I had that problem before) so I drop my hips but not my chest and my back angle increases.

    So, today I tried what you suggested. I did 3x5x102.5 with no problems. I will share my first set (sideways because I usually record it from that angle because it's more convenient in my gym) and my third set since my third recording was cut short because of phone memory. My second set was the worst since after the first one i thought that maybe I need to keep my chest higher and that set was a total disaster when it comes to forward lean at the bottom and also lacking hip drive.

    I hope it's getting better. We'll see next time when I try 105 kg. I've been stuck on it for like more than a month.




  9. #9
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    Let your knees come further forward early. Part of your shift forward comes from trying to squat with a vertical shin. Knees forward early then think "heels" on the ascent. Drive your knees out harder, too.

  10. #10
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    starting strength coach development program
    Thanks! I will try to focus on that the next time. Last time I did 110 kg two sets of five and then six reps because I lost count and wasn't sure if it was four or five.

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