After 2 months of No Training: Squat Form Check 95kg

[Amos famous]

Hey, coaches! Been away from strength training for 2 months and finally back at it! I was at a 2-month army camp where I was paid to participate. Kinda regret it though... I lost ~6kg of my body weight (from 175 to 158lbs / 22.5 to 15% body fat @ 5 feet 8.5 inch) and only ate somewhere less than ~2100kcal a day (had minimum 4-5 hours of sleep per night, 3 meals per day with only 15 minutes to eat).

My squat form is a little rusty though. But still, I would love to get some feedback on my squat form. Thanks!



On the side note, my metabolic rate must be rather screwed up by this point as well from all the calorie deprivation and lack of sleep. I'm now maintaining my bodyweight on 2000kcal a day and have no appetite whatsoever. Should I titrate my calories up slowly (reverse dieting) to the point where I gain anywhere from 0.5-1lb a week? Most probably I'll be doing the advanced novice template for the squat and deadlift, and switch to HLM when I start stalling.

Thanks!

[Tom Campitelli]

Cannot tell if your stance is too wide, or not. Looks like your back may be rounding on the ascent a touch. I would probably lose the belt, stay tight, and do the normal linear progression and eat some more food. I suspect you will be fine.

[Amos famous]

Yes, you are right, as I slowly progress, my lower back rounds especially on the last few reps. Only managed to get 102.5kg for 5,4,4 on the squat today (got 5,4,2 on the last session my lower back was rounding horribly!). This would be considered my first stall on squats.

Here's a clip of my 2nd set of 102.5kg today (My 3rd set wasn't filmed as the camera suddenly cut off before I even started squatting. Still got 4 reps on those but it felt better than the 2nd set although I had to grind pretty hard on the 4th rep). I knew I couldn't get one more rep without rounding a whole lot on my lower back. So I decided to consider it a set.



I only used the belt once I got to the 95kg mark for squats. I can manage 90kg for 3x5 without a belt. When I tried to squat 92.5kg for 3x5 without a belt, the first 1-2 sets are okay, but especially at the last set, it's really hard to brace as I would feel out of breath. If I stop to breathe between reps when squatting, I lose tightness in my thoracic and stomach region as I inhale and exhale. So, trying to brace after taking those breaths becomes super hard as my body feels rather compressed after taking a breather. My lower back also starts rounding as well. But when I started to put on a belt, this problem goes away. I get a better feel of bracing my core properly, even after taking a short breather.

Nevertheless, I feel that the limiting factor for me right now on my squats and deadlifts are my lower back. The last time I stalled on my novice progression was 100kg because my torso keeps on collapsing on the ascent at the lower back, which causes me to fail the set. Even after a 15-20% reset (I resisted 3x previously @100kg, even after I gained an additional 10lbs during that reset period), I still stalled at 100kg because of my lower back rounding. Transitioning to advance novice was worst because surprisingly I detrained my squats. The same goes for my deadlifts as well (During that time, my squats almost caught up with my deadlift weight). I tried front squatting a day before I went camping and surprisingly I can front squat 85kg for 3x5 without much difficulty. I'm now thinking that my leg strength is actually still progressing except my lower back strength.

After two months of not lifting, here I am rerunning the novice progression (but with a belt this time) hoping to see a breakthrough this time. Should I still keep the belt or lose it and reset? And any advice on how should I overcome my lower back weakness? Thanks!

[Tom Campitelli]

Go deeper. Descend more quickly. Turn things around more quickly at the bottom. You are going too slowly as you transition between descending and ascending. Bounce back up without getting loose. You need to breathe between every rep. If you cannot get tight between reps, that is something you need to work on. I am well aware that the belt makes things easier. Belts are amazing. However, you do not need a belt to squat 90 kg. This is especially true if you cannot figure out how to get tight on your own.