squat form check appreciated

[danlightbulb]

Hi guys,

I've had a squat form check from the coaches in coaches q&a and the advice was very valuable. I know they are busy so I don't think they have had chance to approve and comment on my latest video, so I thought I'd post it here instead.

Basically my first 2 squat checks I was not tight enough and was relaxing into the hole and going too deep.

This was my first set of 5 done on sunday. Is it ok?

http://youtu.be/Agcygs-C-18

I've got to admit, its bloody tiring trying to getting everything really tight, makes it so much more taxing. I'm still not sure I have complete control but I don't know what else to do. I'm squeezing every muscle I have.

Thanks
Dan

[BareSteel]

This is a fundamentally good squat, Dan. Yes, it is taxing, but keep thinking about tightness. Big air, brace abs, etc.

I would like to see straighter wrists (you're flexed) and kick that habit of rocking on your feet between reps before it gets ingrained into your head, making it a harder habit to break.

Finally, I see you racking the bar on your toes just a bit. Consider trying the bar on the next lower notch in the rack to assist you. Try it next time with an empty bar to see how it feels different. You want it to be at mid sternum level if you're standing up and facing the bar in the rack.

[danlightbulb]

kick that habit of rocking on your feet between reps before it gets ingrained into your head, making it a harder habit to break.

Thanks baresteel. This habit I have, its weird. After a squat I get very figitty, like sort of restless legs. I don't know if you know what that feels like, but I like to vibrate and wobble my legs around to ease the feeling. I have restless legs in general as well, when im sitting in a chair or whatever, my legs are always wobbling.

[BareSteel]

Hmm. Maybe it's related. I've never heard of that specific complain before. I'll admit that I'm guilty of fidgeting my feet between reps sometimes. I get this notion in my head that one foot's angle is a little off and I feel the urge to adjust it. It's probably a mental thing on my end, but yours sounds like it has a physical origin.

[danlightbulb]

Baresteel, the coaches here think I'm going too deep still.

http://startingstrength.com/resource...731#post923731

Ive tried to explain that I'm having great difficulty trying to cut them off any higher because I feel if i try and do this that it is not a natural place for me to do the turnaround, which kills my hip drive and I get no stretch reflex either. Since I have been trying to squat slower and more controlled, tighter and shallower I have also started to get some pain in my right hip joint.

I don't know what to do now.

Thanks

[BareSteel]

Hi Dan,

You are a bit deep on these. You say that it doesn't feel natural to cut them off higher. The reason you feel this way is probably because you've been doing 'em deep for a while and it's starting to be second nature. It's an interesting problem to have since it actually makes you do more work with the same weight that someone using protocol depth.

Unfortunately, I can't speak intelligently on the hip pain. If we were training together, I might have you try a slightly narrower stance. I think one of the SS coaches mentioned that earlier in your thread.

Here is today's squat, again at 85kg. I have been practicing tightening my lower back using cues rip describes in one of his videos. During this set I'm squeezing my lower back so hard initially but when I begin the descent I lose the feeling.
Dan

Be careful not to get yourself into over extension. I did that without realizing it until I was corrected. It felt 'locked in' but it was actually over extension. Video it from the side to verify. Be sure to squeeze your abs really hard to prevent this from occurring. The low back is not arched like you might do in the bench press. You want flat back / neutral spine for the whole set. It only looks arched on super skinny guys.

[danlightbulb]

Hi again,

Here are today's squats at 90kg. I have included all three sets this time. I tried very hard to cut the depth but I simply can't do it. I do however think my back tension has improved? On the second and third sets I have tucked in my t shirt so hopefully this shows my back more effectively.

Set 1: http://youtu.be/pqGEuUmOVmE
Set 2: http://youtu.be/Qsqx4SxtgbY
Set 3: http://youtu.be/ci1ckg4c7Is

[BareSteel]

I tried very hard to cut the depth but I simply can't do it.

Yet. You will. Cut 'em off a little higher than you'd like so you stay tight at the bottom. It's hard and it'll be uncomfortable, but you can do it.

Don't forget to keep your chest up while you drive with the hips. The hips drive up, but the chest stays tight to maintain torso angle.

[danlightbulb]

Cutting them off a 'little higher' is difficult for two reasons. 1. I don't know how deep I am going until I review my videos after the set - I can't judge it during a set. These felt shallower today but then the video proves otherwise still. 2. If I try and kill the bar momentum any sooner I end up doing a bigger good morning. I.e my hips stop moving but my torso doesn't.

[BareSteel]

This reminds me of when Mac Ward taught me how to deadlift. I had been using an over extended back position without knowing it. It felt correct at the time.

When he coached me into the correct position, my hips felt high and my back felt rounded. He insisted that my new form was correct. Only later, when I videoed myself for the first time, did I get to compare old footage to new footage and learn what I had been doing wrong.

You're right, Dan. Cutting them off will feel weird at first. But if you do it right, the video will show you, and you'll be able to calibrate from there. It's the next best thing to coaching in-person.