Should I deload my squats a bit?

[pantsaregood]

I just finished out 5x5 200 lbs, but I realized my knees were looking rough:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeEbF7DzHjY

Newly conscious of how terrible my form is, I thought maybe I should deload a bit. I tried out 135x10, and my form looked like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhNP2-_ur04

I can't seem to keep my knees out with heavy loads. Maybe it's time to drop the weight and correct the form. Anyone want to give some input?

[tescott]

Looks to me that your stance to too wide. Try narrowing it to heels at shoulder width..

[Force Production]

Why are you doing 5 sets of fives...across...as a novice...when you don't have the technique down...when you have made 3 form check threads...in the last month...? 3 form check threads...should have plenty of advice given to you there, apply it, deload, go back to 3x5 or advanced novice.

[Dastardly]

Dont ever waste your time with doing higher rep sets. I made this mistake and indeed wasted time with lack of progress.

Keep warm ups with very few reps and make sure not to add extra sets when you deload.

If you take weight off, stick to the same protocol such as 3x5 or 5x5 coming back up even if it feels too easy.

I think I have seen you on the stronglifts board, so am assuming your are doing that programming. I came to realise, regrettably very late that it is a poorly designed programme which is full of contradictions. It doesnt really suit a novice OR a intermediate very well. Not many people progress on it well, I got very very stuck with it.

I whole heartedly recommend starting strength, at least buy the book and you will probably switch of your own accord.

[Benthic]

When your knees pull inward like that it's a sign that your adductors are weak. The knee movement is a result of your body trying to engage the quads more. This is in the squat chapter of SS:BBT, so you can read all about it there.

This was a problem that I had when I was new to squatting. My solution was to concentrate on keeping my knees out at the bottom of the squat all the time. It was easy during the 'bar only' warm ups, but it got harder as the weight went up. After a couple weeks of forcing myself into that position, I found that my knees tended to stay in the right place. I don't know if that's because my adductors got stronger, if I developed a correct habit, or both. But regardless, the problem seems to have mostly gone away.

Brian

[mrRed]

I've been fighting through a similar type of form problem, although not as severe. You really have to consciously think and exert effort to get your knees out. The problem, for me at least, is that since I didn't start really pushing knees out in the beginning, when I tried to add that in 2 months down the road, i strained my left adductor and couldn't walk normally for almost 2 weeks.

I deloaded from 225 to 135 and really focused on chest up, knees out and back position really locked in as much as possible and this week I should be back at 225, with no adductor issues to speak of right now.

I'm no expert, but a deload to get your form back on track doesn't seem like a bad thing at all, especially if you don't have a meat-space coach and if you're in this for the long run and not just a short term gain.

[imnotbncre8ive]

When your knees pull inward like that it's a sign that your adductors are weak. The knee movement is a result of your body trying to engage the quads more. This is in the squat chapter of SS:BBT, so you can read all about it there.

Adductors or abductors? Aren't the abductors responsible for keeping your thighs apart? Correct me if i'm wrong.

[PVC]

Adductors or abductors? Aren't the abductors responsible for keeping your thighs apart? Correct me if i'm wrong.

This is covered in the squat chapter of SS.

[gzt]

The argument that it's a matter of weak adductors is made in the book. Essentially, the book argues that when you keep your knees out on the squat, your adductors contribute to getting the weight up, but when your knees cave in, they do not. The argument then is that your knees cave in because they are not strong enough to contribute to getting the weight up, so they collapse and let other muscles do the work. You can buy that or not.

[TrackJunkie]

alternately, you might be able to convince yourself with another physical argument. Consider that "shoving your knees out" isn't as simple as raising your leg to the side from a standing position. Anyone who's actually familiar with biomechanics can pick this apart if I'm wrong, but my suspicion is that shoving the knees out requires some twisting of the leg around the planted feet, rather than a sort of leg raise. If you sit down and try to rotate your lower leg towards the other leg keeping the thigh stationary, I think you'll find that the adductors are the muscle that creates this movement.