Just starting out - squat form check

[rt2726]

I'm a total beginner so I'm starting out with very light weight just trying to get my form right. I set up my video at a 45 degree angle per the sticky and trimmed the beginning and end to make it as short as possible. I really appreciate any tips you guys have for me.

I read about 'TUBOW' so I tried putting a 4x4 touching the toe of my left shoe. I noticed that I am moving it a bit so I'll have to keep an eye on that.

Thanks for taking the time to help a newb!

Here's the video:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=99308...FsVuZ70JQkUJr0

[Austin Baraki]

I set up my video at a 45 degree angle per the sticky and trimmed the beginning and end to make it as short as possible. I really appreciate any tips you guys have for me.

You're a good newb, I like you already. You do have a few things to work on, so I'll give a few "big" ones to start with.

1) Keep your eyes (and head) down in the same position throughout the rep (i.e., don't lift your head up as you ascend). Pick a point on the floor 4-6 feet in front of you and stare at it. Don't look away. Put an actual object there if you need something to focus on.

2) Your first movement as you descend appears to be breaking at the knees first and sending them forward. Were I coaching you in person, I'd cue you break at the hips/sit back earlier.

3) Partially as a consequence of your not doing #1, you are lifting your chest a lot on the descent, rather than using your hips to drive out of the bottom. Instead, think about "pointing your nipples at the floor" and driving up hard with your ass, and then stand up straight at the top.

Using the TUBOW for now is a good idea too.

[rt2726]

Thank you Austin! I really appreciate the feedback. I'm really going to focus on these tips during my training tomorrow.

I watched the video several times before I posted it and I never even noticed breaking at the knees until you pointed it out.

Thanks again,
-Rich

[David A. Rowe]

To sort of combine Austin's points... it's all about keeping your spine, from tail bone to C1, locked in a neutral alignment. You must tighten down isometrically and hold it there. Your upper back and your spinal erectors will be bearing the brunt of the work. Can't relax OR hyperextend.

If the "nipples at the floor" doesn't work I've got another that worked on my wife with her squat issues.

[Jonathan Sutton]

Even if you're just starting out, you should use weights that are somewhat challenging - i.e. that feel heavy but don't have to straining to finish the set. You can get away with all kinds of form problems using very light weights that you wouldn't be able to with something heavier.

A lot of people around here spend ages 'working on their form' but never lifting anything heavy. As a consequence, you can end up making mistakes that will limit your performance every time you try to increase the weight, which is a sure recipe for stalls. As an example, it's pretty hard to figure out what hip drive feels like if you're self-coaching because it doesn't really do anything at very sub-maximal weights. They have to get heavier before you'll notice the difference between pushing with the legs only and actually engaging your posterior chain to do the bulk of the work.

[Austin Baraki]

As an example, it's pretty hard to figure out what hip drive feels like if you're self-coaching because it doesn't really do anything at very sub-maximal weights. They have to get heavier before you'll notice the difference between pushing with the legs only and actually engaging your posterior chain to do the bulk of the work.

An excellent point. Put some weight on the bar, OP!

[Jacobnorton]

If the "nipples at the floor" doesn't work I've got another that worked on my wife with her squat issues.

What was the cue you used? Is it too crude to include in this forum?

[rt2726]

Thanks guys. I'll get some more weight on the bar today and try working on these issues.

I wonder if trying to hold a tennis ball between my chin and collar bone would be a good way to keep my neck in alignment. The feedback would be instant but I'm not sure if a tennis ball is the right diameter to achieve proper alignment. The ball thing isn't an original idea. I can't remember where I heard about it. I think I saw it on one of the forums a while ago.

I'll start with the nipples at the floor cue and give myself an object to focus on today in case the ball thing is a bad idea. Speaking of cues, darowe has piqued my curiosity.

[Jacobnorton]

Just put something on the ground 4 to 5 feet in front of you to look at. Some kind of target. It could be a 5lb weight plate, a lamp, an x marked in tape, something to keep your eyes on for the entirety of the set. Then don't look away from this until your done squatting.

[David A. Rowe]

What was the cue you used? Is it too crude to include in this forum?

Not crude at all, actually, I just didn't want to offer a bunch of solutions that could cloud the issue. Forest for the trees, and such...

But, since someone is interested:

My wife was having a lot of problems getting back into the hips (in my opinion due largely to her lack of kinesthetic awareness). A big part was psychological because she was mortally afraid she was going to fall backward if she got back in the hips more. I told her not to worry about it... she was inside of a very solid power rack. This encouragement and lots and lots of "hips! HIPS! GET IN YOUR HIPS! GET BACK IN YOUR FUCKING HIPS! NO, I DON'T WANT A DIVORCE!" I decided to try and be a better coach instead of a louder coach (and one remarkably less prone to enjoying carnal pleasures).

When working on air squats with a pause for the stretch position presented in the book I told her:

"Let your chest fall to the floor between your feet." She had been lifting for a while, so keeping her spine in alignment wasn't a problem with this cue. The first couple were fast so I told her to "control the descent with your glutes." This produced a workable, hip-driven squat that I could then polish off by fixing heel distance and active hip work by shoving the knees out harder.

Once she got grooved in on the technique her attitude (at my chances at getting laid) improved dramatically... along with her squat technique and weight.