Squat Depth

[David Lee]

Finally had someone video my squats on his camera phone last Saturday & I'm a good 4-6 inches below parallel--hardly any of the much maligned buttwink. It's on his phone so I can't post.

This is probably why my squat has progressed so slowly.

Until now, I've just gone down until my hamstrings tightened & bounced up from there. This morning I worked on cutting them off just below parallel & ended up looking in the fucking mirror to judge the depth & of course my form got funky--got too upright & lost hip drive.

My question is what cues or other stuff should I be using to rectify the situation without looking in the mirror?

I train at 4:30 a.m., so I don't have the option of a training partner.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You have to have some feedback to correct this problem, and it needs to be real-time, so that you can feel the differences in the depths as you adjust them. You'll have to feel it correctly while you're relearning the movement. I guess this means that you'll have to train once in the afternoon.

[King_mob]

I dont have a training partner either (although in my case its my hard line misanthropy, not the time i train) and iv found using a short box can help as a physical cue on occasion.

Things to remember though - dont box squat. I'll repeat that bit, DONT BOX SQUAT.
So no sitting back or any of that jazz. Just touch your ass to the surface, or even the edge so you can feel what its like to be at the correct height, like you i use the tightness of my hams as a measure.
Secondly, ditch the box as quickly as humanly possible. One work set tops.
If you feel the need to try it again, wait till your next workout.
Its only a cue, not a method.
Couple to this i actually found it off putting having the thing in the way, so again it only functions as a measuring stick.
Finally, make sure its actually at the right height. I found my parallel was the exact height of a bench. Go figure. A low box and 25kg bumper plate is only a few mill shorter so thats what i use, find something suitable. I remember a post where someone suggested stretched tubing, so anything can work really. Just remember to get rid of it likes its a smoking gun and your half drunk over the body of dead hobo and the sirens just keep getting louder. Or whatever, you get the idea.

[grubinski]

Perhaps you could construct or find a box of the proper height, and do enough box squats using that to get a feel for where to stop.

[cjangelo]

Someone else mentioned stringing a bungee cord up as a tactile cue.

Can you set the pins a little below where you the bar needs to be, so if you squat too low, you'll smack into the pins?

How about you bring your own camera to the gym, set it up, and video tape your own sets, and watch them while you rest? If you videotape your warm-ups and make alterations accordingly you might be doing them right by the time you hit your work sets.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Just come to a seminar. It's time for you to do that.