Chasing after the Bounce in new shoes and macaroni pie

[drecar]

I've discovered 6 months worth of various ways not to squat. Still trying to figure out the bounce and rein in some wild knees. What a difference 5lbs makes. I welcome all help in getting this squat thing right. Thanks in advance.

Will using a wider stance help to bounce and control knees?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQiTKYyMfHc

[Nauticus]

I've discovered 6 months worth of various ways not to squat. Still trying to figure out the bounce and rein in some wild knees. What a difference 5lbs makes. I welcome all help in getting this squat thing right. Thanks in advance.

Will using a wider stance help to bounce and control knees?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQiTKYyMfHc

"No, seriously, where'd you put it?" Oh man, what a warm way to end a brutal set.

Personally, I've found that too wide of a stance kills my bounce out of the hole. I'd been using a stance wider than shoulders for a while, but in my last workout I tried narrower than I've ever gone. The bounce came easily then. Not sure if this will be the same for you, but there always has to be some experimentation before you find the right form.

[mcsquared]

I guess one observation that I had is that you're maybe taking too much time in between reps? Standing there with the weight on your back is exhausting, and I usually take 3-5 seconds to catch my breath and get set up for my next rep between squat reps. Is this your first time failing on a weight?

[Tom Campitelli]

I can't tell if your knees are caving inwards from that angle, but on the plus side, they are not sliding forward at the bottom. Your first rep looked pretty good. Thereafter, the bar started to get in front of the midfoot as you came out of the hole. This got progressively worse until it caused you to fail on the last rep.

When the weight gets heavy, think about driving your traps aggressively against the bar as you ascend. You want to keep your back angle as constant as you can while still powering the movement with the hips. For you, the cue will not be hip drive, however. It will be chest up, or driving against the bar with the shoulders. You want to transmit the power to the ground through the midfoot/heel and not the toes.

Also, as previously mentioned, don't spend overly long resting at the top. Get a little more pissed and move through the set with more aggression. If music helps, use it. Also tell your children to stay quiet during your work sets.

[Force Production]

Have you tried thinking "UP! UP! UP!" on the descent? Explode straight up with your ass.

[GdMisfits]

3-5 seconds between reps??? Wow, squats just got a lot easier.

[drecar]

Ive gotta reread the entire squat section of bbt. I have never experienced this bounce and stretch that you all talk about. I also need to learn how to control my knees. If I can nail down this form I gotta be able to move more weight. From rip's post i am under the impression that a guy of my size and weight should not be having any trouble squatting 230lbs.

[misspelledgeoff]

drecar, I never experienced the stretch or bounce off the hamstrings until I switched from a heeled weightlifting shoe to a flat shoe (converse chuck taylors). For me the difference was 315x3x5 solid with good form, stretch and big hip drive (flat shoe) versus 320 miserable phail getting stuck in the hole or getting thrown forward unable to get more than one rep (Rogue Do Win).

you might try a pair of chuck taylors to see if they work--you can pick some up for $40 or less.