Form check, low bar squat. Low back hyper extended?

[opf]

Hi,

Here's a vid of me squatting. I hope the angle is OK. I've had some trouble with stressing my lower back - I think I might be hyper extending it a bit due to some APT, but I can't seem to figure out how to push back the hip without over arching. How does it look?




Thanks in advance

[Mia Inman]

Yeah, there's too much movement in your spine as you squat. The solution: take a much bigger breath, squeeze/brace your abs and erectors as hard as you can to build up lots of pressure in your diaphragm, then HOLD that as you squat down and up.

Your torso should be rigid from hips to shoulder, so that when your hips go back, your chest/nipples are pointed at the floor.

[andrew9977]

It might just be me but the rack hooks look a little high I notice to unrack it you aren't using very much leg and to rerack you are bringing heel off ground.

[opf]

Thanks a lot Mia. So that's all? Bigger breath, brace hard and hold the position all the way through?

This is the first time I've actually posted a form check. Is everything else OK - bar position, feet width and so on?

Edit: Andrew - Yeah, you might very well be right about that. I just started at this gym, so I am still getting used to their racks. I'm at an akward height where the rack hooks on most racks are either too high or too low. But I suppose too low is better.

[andrew9977]

I agree on what Mia said too, tighter. Ya i think lower hooks is better because look at the motion you do just before unracking it's like to push it up you kinda move your hips forward and so your lower back isn't extended as you push the bar off the hooks. One hole down should be enough

Also you may want to step forward an inch or so just make sure the bar is over midfoot even before you unrack that will help

[Satch12879]

Just a bit of nitpicking, and I can't remember who said this, maybe Hill up in Q&A, but hyperextension is an injury. So yes, over extension is what we try to keep away from.

[Mia Inman]

Thanks a lot Mia. So that's all? Bigger breath, brace hard and hold the position all the way through?

This is the first time I've actually posted a form check. Is everything else OK - bar position, feet width and so on?

You've got a little knee slide at the bottom. Make sure that you set your knees halfway down then sit back and down.

One correction at a time, however. Focus on the tightness/bracing first and get that right. Next, work on knee slide.

[opf]

Hi Mia,

I'm back with some new videos.

This first one is me bracing harder but also making a conscious effort to point nipples at the floor while keeping a straight bar path like you told me. In my opinion, it does look a bit better with the spine (less movement), but like I told you in another thread, whenever I follow a cue to "point nippes at floor" or "lean forward", I feel like I am coming onto the front of the feet, and I can't press through the middle of the foot. I also felt that during this set:




This other set I pretty much did what I did the last time, but I just took a bigger breath and braced harder. It felt better than the other one, as in I stayed on midfoot, but I still felt a bit of strain in the lower back. But maybe that's okay? How does it look?




Thanks!

[Mia Inman]

These look a bit better. There's still some movement, so work to nullify that as much as possible. Think about really squeezing hard as you hit the turnaround at the bottom of the squat. It's tempting to "let go" a little as you bounce from down to up.

Lastly, if you feel like you're moving onto your toes, think about pointing your chest to the floor by hips back, rather than bending over.

Keep working at it!

[opf]

Alright, thanks! Yeah, it's really the "letting go" part at the bottom I think I have a problem with. Do you think the forward lean in the second video (the one called "Low bar Squat 3") is sufficient?

Also, when correcting this, do you think I should follow my linear programming and keep adding weight every workout, or should I wait till all spinal movement is gone before attempting to add more weight? As you may have noticed, I've stayed at 85 kg so far because I want to make sure that form is perfect before moving on, but I am not sure if this is critical enough that I should keep holding back