Squat Form Check – 255 lbs

[scott.myers]

Deloaded from 275 to work on my knee slide and back tightness. Here is today's top set with 255#. Any advice is much appreciated.

[I_iz_a_fatass]

Slow your descent. Try to sit back a little further in the hole.

[Jeff Illingworth]

You're not keeping your back locked in extension. You also don't have very good control of the bar. You need to bring your grip in closer/narrower and lock the bar against your upper back. Get your thoracic spine into extension as well. Tighten up before each descent. These aren't train wrecks, but they can be a lot better.

[scott.myers]

You're not keeping your back locked in extension. You also don't have very good control of the bar. You need to bring your grip in closer/narrower and lock the bar against your upper back. Get your thoracic spine into extension as well. Tighten up before each descent. These aren't train wrecks, but they can be a lot better.

Thanks for the feedback! I saw you post some links on another form check that had a similar issue. I will check them out and keep working on my back.

[scott.myers]

Slow your descent. Try to sit back a little further in the hole.

Yeah I definitely have a habit of staying on my toes instead of sitting back. Will work on this. Thanks!!

[scott.myers]

Alright, gang. I brought my grip in about 3 finger widths. Definitely felt much tighter back there. Here's today's top set with 260. Got a little thrown off because I whacked the rack with the plates when I took the bar out, but I still felt pretty good about this set. Anyways...are these better? Worse?

[Jeff Illingworth]

Those look better. You can still get tighter - it's more an issue of just squeezing everything. Check out the thoracic extension video on there, that will help. I'd like to see some of your feet in these - I think you could probably adjust your stance and knee positioning some more to help make your hip drive more consistent.

On that rack, does the bar just sit on those top bars? Is there no hook or anything?

[scott.myers]

Those look better. You can still get tighter - it's more an issue of just squeezing everything. Check out the thoracic extension video on there, that will help. I'd like to see some of your feet in these - I think you could probably adjust your stance and knee positioning some more to help make your hip drive more consistent.

On that rack, does the bar just sit on those top bars? Is there no hook or anything?

Thanks! Will do. Now that I've started paying attention to this, I'm pretty sure that I've been squatting with a loose upper back for years now. Guess it will take some getting used to!

Yeah, the bar just sits on top of this rack. There are two small protrusions that keep the bar from rolling off onto the lower portion. There are 2 other racks in the gym that are a bit newer with better support for the bar. Unfortunately, people LOVE to curl in them, so I've been using this one out of habit since it's always open haha

[Jeff Illingworth]

Yeah, I think a lot of people have loose upper backs. We get so fixated on low back control and driving the hips that it's easy to forget that the rest of the back needs to stay tight and locked.

You may want to fight to get into a better rack for a few sessions. I think it might be easier to lock your back up if the bar is in a j-hook or something like that where it can't roll away from you. That should make it easier to jam yourself tight into it. A person should be able to get tight regardless, but it may help to get used to the process.

[scott.myers]

Yeah, I think a lot of people have loose upper backs. We get so fixated on low back control and driving the hips that it's easy to forget that the rest of the back needs to stay tight and locked.

You may want to fight to get into a better rack for a few sessions. I think it might be easier to lock your back up if the bar is in a j-hook or something like that where it can't roll away from you. That should make it easier to jam yourself tight into it. A person should be able to get tight regardless, but it may help to get used to the process.

That makes sense. I'll do it next session! Thanks for all your help!