Squat Form Check

[JohnO'Brien]

This is my third set of 235 x 5. I think my head may be up too high and I am not sure I am holding my lower back in extension hard enough. It seems as if I have some butt wink going on at the bottom of my reps and I am not sure if this is bad or just a result of getting a good bounce at the bottom.

Thank you for all your help and all the hard work you put into this. It does a lot of good.

[Pete Troupos]

Hey John

Get leaned over sooner and cut your depth off a couple inches. That will clean up the knees and help you hold them in place at the bottom.
Keep your head and eyes down, and emphasize your hips out of the hole. You're lifting your chest out of the bottom now, and the drive needs to be from the hips.
Lastly, descend with a bit more control so you can keep everything tight, rather than slamming into the bottom.
Work on those things and you should be ok.

[JohnO'Brien]

Pete,

Thanks for your cues. Here is my last set of 245x5 from today. Hopefully it is a better angle for you. I think I did better keeping the head down and leading with the hips. Not so sure about my depth or control.

Also, do you think I should switch to 5lb increases now and focus more on form or stick with 10lb until I fail? I'm 23, 5'8", and 200lbs.

Thanks again

[Pete Troupos]

Hey John

The lean over looks a bit better from the first set you submitted. This angle is not very good to see everything that I'd like. Further back and a bit higher next time.
Your other issue is that you're not setting your back at all, as far as I can tell. The upper and lower back need to be set in extension and kept there for duration of the rep. There's a few videos on our youtube channel on getting the back set. Getting this rigid will help you to get more confident in the lean over and allows the back to be a better force transmitter.
I'd get a belt if you don't already have one.
I'd like to see more emphasis on the hip drive out of the bottom still. It looks like on some of these you're lifting your chest too soon.
Lastly, get your knees out to the sides a bit harder and keep them there.
I'd take 5lb jumps and keep hammering the things mentioned above.
Work on it for a week or two and let us know how it goes.
Good luck.