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Originally Posted by
Scaldrew
If you're paranoid, know that the most important variable I've found is position of the bar on the back. If it's too low, your elbows will know.
Width is the second most important variable. I squatted in a different gym the penultimate workout of January last year, my first true run of the Novice LP, and inadvertently narrowed my grip by a hand's width. I didn't realise it until 6 months later, so my squat LP went down the toilet and my squat has only been "up there" for about several months. Find a grip that works, narrow a finger, maybe half, every time, try the stretch Coach Horn showed you, and see how far you can go. It's ok to not have the hands immediately outside of your shoulders.
Third is tightness. Don't overdo the "elbows up" cue; the cue is most important for those that drop their elbows, not for those who raise them already. It's good to keep the elbows in mind when you're 3 reps in and starting to drop elbows, but not at the start if your elbows are already raised. Raising them even more will cause your shoulders to over-extend, big ow ow for shoulders and elbows and they'll definitely know when you're doing that. Additional tightness is achieved through a conscious squeezing of the upper back: erectors (chest up, slightly forward helps raise the chest up more), lats, rear delts (lumbar during the lift, but that doesn't contribute to a good grip necessarily), and the tiny muscles in between that I don't even know about will contract, too.
Get comfortable in the uncomfortable. Done right, the squat grip can feel very uncomfortable because it's tight and because you're not holding the weight with your hands. It's not going to feel like a deadlift, secured in the palms of your hands near the digits. It's a completely unique feeling and "grip". Film yourself setting up and lifting and look at your wrists and elbows because they tell the whole tale.
If you're still paranoid, there's lots of resources out there on this topic. Look/ask me for those or get a "cooch". (Is that how you spell that?)