Squat Form Check - 112.5kg on 2nd Round of NLP

Good Morning Coaches,

Please form check please these most recent squats.

Set 2, 112.5kg:
2nd set @ 112.5kg - 9/12/21 - YouTube

3rd set, from the Left, 112.5kg:
3rd set @ 112.5kg-from LEFT - 9/12/21 - YouTube

Previous form checks, from 2019-20:
https://startingstrength.com/resourc...nightmare.html

About me:

Age: 37 yrs old
Height: 5'9"
Weight: Don't know but smthg like 235lbs
Duration: 1.5 months into 2nd round of NLP after 16-month layoff; on previous round I was already doing TM on my squats and had gotten up to 127.5kg.

Seems like I need to work on:

1. Bar placement on back, I think I see the plates rolling forward on the way down (though I was happy to see a red line across my back after this workout, as I recall reading that this is one of the signs of correct bar position)

2. Stance width & resultant knee path
I've been trying to narrow it up lately, but a month ago it felt like a wider stance was the best way to hit depth. My left leg looks like it's way more diagonal (placed out to the side) than the right, but this is due, I think, to the injury mentioned in the next point.

3. Unequally coming out of the hole
Not much I can do about this as it's related to the head injury I suffered as a kid, which gave me stroke-like weakness on the left side of my body; just wondering if I should adapt the movement patterns in any special way due to this - I imagine over the years you've had experience coaching people who recovered from strokes/head injuries, and who had residual weaknesses on one side of the body.

--Rip, the doctors in '92 told my parents I only had a ninety-day "window" to re-learn motor function on my left side!! But after your podcasts on the dude who fell off the roof, was told he'd never walk again, and went on to get his squat pretty high, I wonder how lazy and simply status-quo that advice was!!--

I know these shoes are awful & I need weightlifting shoes; once the budget allows I will buy a pair.

Thanks.

Last 4 reps were high. And you be better off squatting in your dress shoes than those pieces of shit you're wearing. Watch them as you squat.

Thanks Rip, you're absolutely right about those shit shoes, and after the long layoff I'd forgotten about this tip. I dusted off the dress shoes (very blessed to have been working for myself the past four years) and consciously pushed myself to go lower:

Set 3 @ 115kg, from the LEFT:
set 3 @ 115kg, from LEFT- 9/14/21 - YouTube

Set 2 @ 115kg, from the RIGHT:
Set 2, RIGHT, @ 115kg - 9/14/21 - YouTube

It feels like the weight moves forward of midfoot when I go down those few extra inches in the hole and I'm wondering if that's due to incorrect (too narrow) stance width that forces me to push my butt back in order to reach depth.

Esteemed coaches, how do these squats look otherwise? I'm hopeful that I can stretch the NLP beyond 120kg this time around, with better diet, more sleep, and tighter form, albeit a year closer to 40 😂! 🤞

It seems to be that your stance is too wide, and the weight goes forward because you are not keeping your upper back tight past the descent (wait for an actual coach to confirm this). I have NLPed my squat to 160 kg at the same age and weight as you and have only stopped because my legs are too big, so I don't see a reason why 120 kg should be a pertinent point to pass, shoot for at least 140.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nicholas Laureys

Thanks Rip, you're absolutely right about those shit shoes, and after the long layoff I'd forgotten about this tip. I dusted off the dress shoes (very blessed to have been working for myself the past four years) and consciously pushed myself to go lower:

Set 3 @ 115kg, from the LEFT:
set 3 @ 115kg, from LEFT- 9/14/21 - YouTube

Set 2 @ 115kg, from the RIGHT:
Set 2, RIGHT, @ 115kg - 9/14/21 - YouTube

It feels like the weight moves forward of midfoot when I go down those few extra inches in the hole and I'm wondering if that's due to incorrect (too narrow) stance width that forces me to push my butt back in order to reach depth.

Esteemed coaches, how do these squats look otherwise? I'm hopeful that I can stretch the NLP beyond 120kg this time around, with better diet, more sleep, and tighter form, albeit a year closer to 40 ��! ��

---

Haha, you actually rocked some dress shoes that's awesome.
I sure as shit don't know anything about recovering from a stroke, but it would seem to me that since you clearly do have the strength to eventually lift the weight the challenge is more of an exercise in coordination and stability.

To that end, having a more stable platform for the bar to sit on and bracing hard might assist, your elbows looks high to me.
Fangman did an awesome recent video on bar position if you haven't seen it
How to Fix Elbow Pain from Squatting with Improper Grip with Adam Fangman - YouTube

I don't know if you can expect that asymmetry to improve given your situation, but if possible would be nice to fix ASAP.

Hello again coaches,


Please form check these latest sets of squats:

Set 3 @ 120kg :
120kg set 3 9/22/21 - YouTube

Set 2 @ 120kg:
120kg set 2 - 9/22/21 - YouTube


Here's set 2 @120kg from the LEFT:

(I didn't hit depth enough at the previous workout, so yesterday I repeated 120kg)

Thank you for the feedback last time. Jovan, I immediately started focusing on tightening the shoulder blades together and lifting the chest before unracking the bar, with what I think were pretty good results. I also tried to follow the grip advice from the SS video shared by Frankie (& Rip's older one from on the platform), and place the wrists at such an angle that you feel a line of tightness from the bar to the elbows.


I was so excited that these sets didn't beat me down, like 120 did last year!
Looks to me like bar placement and maybe stance width might still be issues, but with some hard work and more helpful feedback from y'all I'm hoping to drive the NLP much further this time around, like you said, Jovan. Thanks again for the continued critique.

Take a narrower stance for sure. Heels should be at shoulder width. Don't do the rocking motion before each rep. As preparation for the descent, just stand up straight and lift your chest (think proud chest). This will put the low back in the proper position. Do not rock. The rocking creates an ununiform position for the low back before every rep, which you have to compensate for by extraneous movement. Stand straight, take a deep breath and bear down on your abs. You are also not keeping the back tight during the entire movement. Look at your video, see how the entire lifter-barbell center of mass moves forward in the final third of the descent. This is because you are not keeping your back completely tight, so it kills your hip drive a little. Doing the proper setup with a proud chest and a big breath should take care of this. Good work with the 120, let's see 122,5 next time.

Good Afternoon Coaches and Fellow Lifters,

Here's set three @ 122.5kg from yesterday:
Set 3 122.5kg - YouTube

Rep 3 felt the best, like it was smooth and over midfoot, FWIW.

Wondering about bar position because you can see how my skin is all bunched up above the bar in the middle, and I now have (since 117.5kg) that red line and soreness to the touch that many experience. I searched the forums for this situation and there are as many posts, going all the way back to 2010, about it just being part of the game as there are about it signifying a too-low bar placement or bar movement (sliding), so I'm still not sure. The search results also gave me the interesting thread about Rip being racist(!!) for noticing differences, but, like so many other social science and government things, that's something my fellow Americans won't fully understand until they spend some time outside our Western bubble! 😉

Jovan, that chest up que for the set-up was key; thanks. Also an SSC on here last year (Pete Troupos, I think) told me to quit with the rocking (which I thought was helping me set my lower back), but I forgot about that after my CoVid layoff, so awesome reminder- thank you.

Also tried to bring the heels in some.

My left wrist I can see is in some extension, but this feels better than the flexion I had it in before 10kg ago, as it seems to hold than tension from bar to hand to elbow that Rip talks about in one of his vids. I also can't seem to maintain it fully neutral after unracking the bar. I don't feel any elbow or wrist pain, so is it serving or hurting me here?

Many thanks for the critique and feedback - thanks to y'all I think I've come a long way from the "most excruciating to watch I've seen" set of squats that Rip first saw me post here in 2019.

Actually rep one was by far your best. You need to keep your upper back tight during the entire movement, not just the initial descent, and you only did this on the first rep properly. You are still rocking a little bit on setting the back before the descent. This causes a little bit of back overextention. When you get to the bottom of the squat, your low back goes into its normal position, so this is lost energy. Try this. Get up from your keyboard and stand straight with your chest held high. Notice how at the very moment you do this, your low back goes into the normal anatomical position, giving you the greatest stability possible. This is the position of both the lower and the upper back that you want to achieve with the barbell on your back. it will also distribute the weight to the middle of the foot. Then getting to this position with the barbell on your back, take a breath, bear down and squat. But remember, do not loose the upper back tightness during the entire movement.

I got the same red line along my back. The bar is in the proper position. Slight wrist extension is preferable to flexion. Let's see 125 next.