Squat form check please.

[SgtChili]

Hi everyone.
I've been doing the novice linear programming for like six months now. I've taken so long because I've been learning all the lifts by myself by reading and watching a lot of videos by many coaches. There are no strength gyms in my city (I live in Mexico) and obviously no SSCs either so I have no choice.

I think I've made a decent job on all the lifts except the squat, that has given me so many problems in theese months, specially the last month and a half or so.
I was feeling awful TFL pain when coming close to my 5 reps max. I couldn't put on shoes or bend over or get in or out of my car so I did a big deload and made some more research to try and fix my squat.
I applied some changes. I was told on the internet, to push my knees out hard. I watched a video by Alan Thrall with Leah Lutz and I learned that I have to tighten my back real hard when putting myself on the bar and when unracking. My squat is slowly getting back up to my last 5reps max and my TFL pain is pretty much gone now, except the very moment when I start doing my sets of squats, I start to feel it again but it is gone by the next day at much. Also, I can tell I don't go deep enough and I just can't go deeper and I notice I have an ugly case of butt wink. My hip drip just looks weird, too.

So here are some videos:

This is me on April 13th
YouTube
YouTube I think this set is the best
YouTube

This is me on April 16th
YouTube
YouTube

I am very sorry for the awful angles but as you can see that gym is just awful. I couldn't get better angles without stepping in the "mma" area or bumping into the weights stand.
I have no money for Squat shoes, but I am currently saving to eventually, at some point, get a pair. I don't have money for a SSOC either, hell I don't even have money for protein powder right now so yeah... Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot.

[Stefan Theimer]

None of these videos will play for me.

[SgtChili]

You should be able to play the videos now.

[Stefan Theimer]

Okay. Although I'm not an SSC, here are a few suggestions:

First, I can't be sure that the bar isn't too high on your back. Try your best to get your whole body in the shot and take the video from an angle slightly further to the back (I know, limitations). If it is too high, and you shift it lower, you'll want to play around with the "master cue" as you warm up. I like 3-0-3 tempo squats for this as it really allows you think mid-foot the whole time.

Second, your weight is forward on your toes in the descent and shifts back as you drive up. While you're saving up for squat shoes, you'll need to think about getting a bit back on your heels as you descend. Again, some tempo work could help.

Depth looks okay to me.

Your knees move forward for much of the descent on most reps, some more than others. I would try the TUBOW treatment as you do the heels cue and master cue (mid-foot!) and see where that gets you. Others around here will use the "stop the forward knee travel by the time you're half-way down and then sit your hips back and down" cue. But for me, once I took care of the knees and didn't let them shoot forward, my hips just took care of themselves as I got down to depth.

Keep on working!

[SgtChili]

Hi Laughing_paddler. Thanks for replying.

I haven't thought about where the bar is for a good while. It was one of the first issues I had. I felt pain on my right shoulder or arm for like two weeks, when descending for the squat. Did some research and watched some videos and I found out I was putting the bar too low on my back. Now I think I place the bar correctly but still, I'll check it out.

Same thing, I haven't thought much about the weight going forward. I'll do as you say and try to go back to my heels a little more.
Warming up feels weird, specially with the empty bar. It feels uncomfortable and even painful to do. And I just can't reach proper depth with an empty bar or without a bar.

Same thing, I don't think much about my knees, except for "pushing them out" when descending. I'll check out the TUBOW treatment and what it is about. Also i'll try to focus a little more on the master cue. I know what it is about but I usually just don't think about it. Hope it works because I really am not sure how to stop the forward knee travel by when I'm half-way down. It seems like I don't have enough mobility and I can't reach proper depth.

I'll try to fix all of this but in case I can't, I hope it can be fixed when I eventually get a pair of squat shoes.

Thanks a lot!