Squat check- hip shift and preventing valgus

[Kmay76]

I apologize ahead of time for this long winded post! I've had trouble with squats recently, progression has been tough as well as some knee pain.

I posted a ton of videos below to try and help figure out what is wrong. The first is a set at 275 which just looked and felt awful. I started doing research into how to fix the valgus and the hips shifting.

I came across a couple articles/videos about really focusing on external rotation of the hips, "torqueing the hip", "spreading your feet apart" cues. So I dropped the weight to 255 and really tried keeping that torque/tightness the whole time. Is that going to fix the problem, or is there more to it? Thanks for any help! Its very appreciated!

275 45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I6252FH-bQ

255 45 degree angle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acRFbOXynjY

255 from behind
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6BVPEJDwdY

255 from the side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3Ik5RBEqUg

[Nick Delgadillo]

You'll have to practice keeping your knees out. I think the bigger problem is the hip shift, though. There's a possible leg length discrepancy going on or it could be a number of other things. IF that's the case, a shim will solve the hip shift problem.

[Kmay76]

Thanks for the reply Nick! I haven't done any tests to see if there is a discrepancy yet, are there any reliable ways to check at home? I found a few youtube videos but i'm not sure how good they are.

During my last squat session I did try putting a piece of wood under the leg I was shifting towards (I assume that's the possible shorter one), and there didn't seem to be much difference. I'll try and get a video soon!

I've googled the problem and I've found tons of possible reasons... Honestly I'm not even sure where to start if it isn't a leg length problem

[Nick Delgadillo]

Go to a chiropractor and have them check. If things are where they should be, you may have to just decide that you'll not shift your hips until you don't have to think about it anymore. I've dealt with a couple of folks who's hips shifted who just needed to work on pushing more with one side for a couple of workouts.