Squat form check

[JCR]

Hi all.

The basic stats:

Age: 41
Gender: M
BW: 187 lbs
Height: 5'-10".
BF% ~ 22% (I get this estimate by the "photograph" method I found here
Began SS: 8/5/15 (with a one-month hiatus 9-11 to 10-10 while recovering from surgery and building a basement gym)

Before SS, I had never done any serious lifting work. I am a true rank novice.

Working sets (lbs) as of 10/29/15:
SQ: 180
Press: 90
Bench: 130
DL: 235
PwrClean: 85

Since this post is about the Squat, here is a cool plot of the work weight for this lift as a function of time since starting SS.

Anyway; here is the video for the form check. The only DOMS I ever get since starting SS is in the lower back. It sometimes lingers for two days. Sometimes I think it is a lower back ache. Perhaps its related to something I'm doing:
https://youtu.be/hs_NJo5wcyE

After looking at the video, I realized my head rotates a little upwards as I go down. This is because I'm looking at a fixed spot on the wall. I marked this spot with a piece of tape. With simple geometry, I figured out the height on the wall to mark the spot that would result in the same neck position if the point were actually on the floor but 5 feet away. Since it is a fixed spot, I guess the head has to rotate to keep the eyes looking at the spot while head height changes.

Thanks beforehand for any advice, tips, and observations.

[Jugrock]

1. Knee travel: they need to come forward several inches and be just past your toes. Your shins are vertical, causing your back angle to be very closed. I suspect that's why you have a sore back. See figure 2-42 in SSBBT3. The figure is technically showing somebody whose hips shifted back during ascent, but your hips are there to begin with.

2. You're a couple of inches shallow, but fixing knee travel will go a long way toward fixing this. Fix your knees and then check depth.

3. I'd suggest weightlifting shoes now, and a belt soon. The shoes will help support the correct knee travel.

Keep it up.

[Scott Hanson]

JCR,

In addition to Jugrock's comments, your two biggest issues are knees out, much harder, and head down, much more. This looked like a pretty tough set for you, so you might consider a deload of 10% to 20% or so to iron out these issues.

[JCR]

1. Knee travel: they need to come forward several inches and be just past your toes. Your shins are vertical, causing your back angle to be very closed. I suspect that's why you have a sore back. See figure 2-42 in SSBBT3. The figure is technically showing somebody whose hips shifted back during ascent, but your hips are there to begin with.

2. You're a couple of inches shallow, but fixing knee travel will go a long way toward fixing this. Fix your knees and then check depth.

3. I'd suggest weightlifting shoes now, and a belt soon. The shoes will help support the correct knee travel.

Keep it up.

Thanks, Jugrock!. Do you know if the shoes marketed for the crossfit crowd are any good for our purposes?

Also, in the figure: The left side is the correct deep point, but the man in the photo starts the ascent by driving the chest up hence getting in the position on the right. But what you're saying is that my ascent begins already like the right side. Correct?

Thanks!!!

[JCR]

JCR,

In addition to Jugrock's comments, your two biggest issues are knees out, much harder, and head down, much more. This looked like a pretty tough set for you, so you might consider a deload of 10% to 20% or so to iron out these issues.

Thanks, Scott!

The blue lines on the floor in the "V" shape are at 60 degrees to each other. I set my feet parallel to those, hence making them 60 degrees from each other (or 30 degrees from the symmetry axis of the "V" shape) as in Figure 2-12a and b in SS:BBT3. Is it that I'm not getting my thighs parallel to the feet?

Thanks!!!

[Jugrock]

Thanks, Jugrock!. Do you know if the shoes marketed for the crossfit crowd are any good for our purposes?

Also, in the figure: The left side is the correct deep point, but the man in the photo starts the ascent by driving the chest up hence getting in the position on the right. But what you're saying is that my ascent begins already like the right side. Correct?

Thanks!!!

I wear the Inov-8 shoes personally (which are marketed to Crossfitters). They fit the hard sole + heel lift requirements, but I'm a novice too, so take my experience for what it is. The flat sole shoes (Nanos and the like) don't have the heel lift and are compressible.

Fig 2-42 right side was meant to show what happens if you don't keep hamstrings tight and let your hips shoot back instead of up (I know that figure well because it's my biggest problem). Notice how vertical his shins are. That's you, but from the beginning. Your hips are too far back because your knees aren't out over your feet. Try TUBOW to get your knees forward and out.

[JCR]

I wear the Inov-8 shoes personally (which are marketed to Crossfitters). They fit the hard sole + heel lift requirements, but I'm a novice too, so take my experience for what it is. The flat sole shoes (Nanos and the like) don't have the heel lift and are compressible.

Fig 2-42 right side was meant to show what happens if you don't keep hamstrings tight and let your hips shoot back instead of up (I know that figure well because it's my biggest problem). Notice how vertical his shins are. That's you, but from the beginning. Your hips are too far back because your knees aren't out over your feet. Try TUBOW to get your knees forward and out.

Oh, right. When I wrote about the figure, I was actually looking at 2-41. You actually refer to 2-42. Got it. Sorry for the confusion.

I work out alone in my basement. So I'll use the TUBOW on the empty bar and first couple of warm-ups. Navigating around it with a heavy load sounds like a bad idea.

[Jugrock]

No problem. Check out Fig 2-49 for another look at knees-forward. Look at the shin angle to the floor and the closed knee angle.

Yeah, do this with warmups and drop your worksets to ~150 so you can get it dialed in. Work back up with a couple 10 lb jumps if it goes well. I just strained my back badly trying to fix a form issue without dropping weight.

[MBasic]

to me your lumbar looks rounded, It should have the same amount of inward curvature as if your standing.
You need to think about keeping that lower back tight throughout the whole lift.
(and that doesn't mean overextend at the top either)

[JCR]

to me your lumbar looks rounded, It should have the same amount of inward curvature as if your standing.

Yep. Yep. I see it. Thanks, MBasic!

I will be conscious of that.