Low Bar Back Squat Form Check

[Praetorian]

This is my fourth week low bar back squatting (switched from high bar). This is set 5 of 5, for 5x265:



Low bar back squat 5x265lbs, set 5 - YouTube

[marcf]

Super hard to tell from this angle, but I think your back might be going into flexion. You're not very tight, and each rep looks different from the last. You're raising/leading with your chest out of the hole with every rep, and your knees don't look like they're tracking out wide enough. Also, did you breathe between your first and second rep?

I think you should get tighter and get your knees out more and think of leading with your hips instead of your chest. Take a deep breath before every rep and brace your torso/abs/back hard. Keep that tightness all the way down to the bottom and then lead up out of the bounce with your hips, not your chest.

[Praetorian]

Super hard to tell from this angle, but I think your back might be going into flexion. You're not very tight, and each rep looks different from the last. You're raising/leading with your chest out of the hole with every rep, and your knees don't look like they're tracking out wide enough. Also, did you breathe between your first and second rep?

I think you should get tighter and get your knees out more and think of leading with your hips instead of your chest. Take a deep breath before every rep and brace your torso/abs/back hard. Keep that tightness all the way down to the bottom and then lead up out of the bounce with your hips, not your chest.

Thanks, it's like learning to squat all over again! Here are today's (light) squats:



Low bar back squat 5x215lbs. - YouTube

Does this look better? I'm on HLM so thankfully have light and medium days to practice.

[David Geiger]

Looks like you're dive bombing a bit, which leads to be loose at the bottom, which is going to be a problem when it is not a light weight. You also seem to be a bit deep on most of the reps, which is also going to negatively affect your squat at heavier weights. A minor issue: your wrists are bent under the bar. There's at least one video on this site about proper grip for squats.

[Praetorian]

Thanks to both of you for the feedback. I'm going to work on it for a couple of weeks and post another form check.

[marcf]

You do look a little more in control in that second video, and a little tighter than the first video. Keep that tightness when you hit depth. Are you pushing your knees out?

Like AtlantaDave said, you're kinda dive bombing a little. That's gonna be hard to do when the weights get heavy, again like AtlantaDave said. Control the weight going down.

Lastly, you're still raising your chest a bit instead of driving your hips. Use YouTube's speed control and slow it down to 0.25x and you'll see that you're still leading with your chest. Drive harder with your hips.

[Praetorian]

Alright guys, here is today's heavy day, set 5 of 5 at 270lbs.:



Low bar back squat 5x270lbs, set 5 of 5 - YouTube

I was really struggling on this last set for lack of energy (currently cutting). I think this might be worse than least week on heavy day. I'm trying to focus on staying tight, pushing my knees out, and my ass back.

[Peter Dempster]

I would appreciate hearing whether you guys think his knee position is ok through the lift and whether the bar path needs to be more vertical. To my eye it looks like his knees slide forward a bit on the way down and the bar strays forward on the way up, especially on the last rep.

[Praetorian]

Medium day, 5x245lbs, set 3:



Low bar back squat 5x245lbs. - YouTube

I think these are significantly better than heavy day this week.