squat form check 3

[foosion]

My latest attempts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dNIVLEhtbY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA6NGG9FEqA

A main goal was to stop knees from moving forward and to make bar path vertical. Using lower weight to help with these goals. I'm thinking of staying at this low weight until I have the form dialed in.

[Carlos Daniel]

You seem to "shift forward" at the bottom. Hip drive, my friend!

[foosion]

You seem to "shift forward" at the bottom.

Do you mean something different than my continuing inability to keep my knees from moving forward beyond the top 1/3?

Any better than last week?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxCZ46v01Dc

I'm trying to focus on keeping my knees still from 1/3 down until back to that point and on sitting back (which seems basicallly the same thing), but apparently it isn't working.

I've tried practicing with a TUBOW (without weight) and looking at my knees throughout (with weight). Any other ideas?

[confuzzl3don3]

I agree with Carlos. From my less than experienced point of view, you are shifting forward at the bottom both in terms of knees sliding forward, and even your hips. It seems like your whole body moves forward slightly before coming back up. I think if you can really fix those knees sliding forward, the whole forward body shifting would fix itself as well. Try practising TUBOW with at least a bar on your back if you aren't already (you said without weight so i'm not sure if you mean just bodyweight squats). I feel that squatting with the bar would always transpose better than just bodyweight squats. Your depth was good, so keep it up.

PS. i only looked at your first vid.

[foosion]

From my less than experienced point of view, you are shifting forward at the bottom both in terms of knees sliding forward, and even your hips.

The knee bone's connected to the hip bone, so if knees slide forward, so would the hips

Try practising TUBOW with at least a bar on your back if you aren't already (you said without weight so i'm not sure if you mean just bodyweight squats).

I don't have a TUBOW at the gym, but I've tried using one of the gym's taller step stools as a TUBOW with a bar and minimal weight. Whenever I do this, I can stop my knee at, or just before, the stool. Take the stool away, and you see the results.

This may be because my kinesthetic sense is very poor, or maybe just general weakness. The heavier the weight, the worse I seem to shift forward. Perhaps my body is trying to shift to quads rather than posterior chain?

[Carlos Daniel]

In comparison to last week's video, your descent is good on the second video, you are "sitting back" , however when you start going up there is a weird forward wobble that hasn't changed that is probably caused by relaxed hamstrings.

Maybe squatting slowly with a lighter weight for a week would help. That would enable you to pay close attention to the form, something that is hard to do when the whole movement takes less that 3 seconds.

Maybe the TUBOW with weights?

[Carlos Daniel]

This may sound silly, but have you tried imagining the TUBOW? It helped me a little bit, maybe it can help you too.

[foosion]

In comparison to last week's video, your descent is good on the second video, you are "sitting back" , however when you start going up there is a weird forward wobble that hasn't changed that is probably caused by relaxed hamstrings.

I'm guessing the foward wobble is because my body wants to rely on quads rather than posterior chain to get me up. This may be why I have an easier time keeping knees in position at bodyweight or very light weights - my body doesn't feel it has to tip into quad mode.

Does this make sense?

Maybe squatting slowly with a lighter weight for a week would help. That would enable you to pay close attention to the form, something that is hard to do when the whole movement takes less that 3 seconds.

I've been thinking of doing light weights, but maybe should try even lighter and go slowly. This would let me practice more frequently.

Maybe the TUBOW with weights?

Hard to do logistically

This may sound silly, but have you tried imagining the TUBOW?

My main cues have been (1) move knees out (sideways) quickly, then don't move them at all, (2) sit back and (3) look down to watch knees. I'll try adding an imaginary TUBOW to 3.

[Carlos Daniel]

I'm guessing the foward wobble is because my body wants to rely on quads rather than posterior chain to get me up. This may be why I have an easier time keeping knees in position at bodyweight or very light weights - my body doesn't feel it has to tip into quad mode.

Does this make sense?

I don't know if it's true but it does makes sense.

I've been thinking of doing light weights, but maybe should try even lighter and go slowly. This would let me practice more frequently.

The light weights part is because you can't squat taking ~4 seconds on the descent and ~4 more seconds on the ascent with a lot of weight on your back. Doing it slowly might help you because it allows you to receive feedback and make appriopriate adjustments in real time, rather than watching your form during a rep and trying to correct it in the next one.

Hard to do logistically

Thought so.

My main cues have been (1) move knees out (sideways) quickly, then don't move them at all, (2) sit back and (3) look down to watch knees. I'll try adding an imaginary TUBOW to 3.

Seems solid. Remember, hip drive, drive your ass up. Good luck!

[LudwigVan]

I think these look better than they did before. I only saw one rep in the 1st video than I thought was really bad in terms of knees forward. The other reps had a little bit, but it wasn't terrible.

It looks to me like at the moment you're bouncing out of the hole you might be driving up with your shoulders a little bit and trying to open up the hip angle a little prematurely, maybe in an attempt to stay upright, and that contributes to the knee slide. You might try thinking about your gaze direction and work on maintaining the back angle as you come out of the bottom of the movement, and driving up with the hips, not the shoulders.