Squat check

[kublaire]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73IQ-k9fJKY

Thanks everyone.
Things ive noticed include:
-Keep back more upright/sit back more less forward lean
-Bit deeper on some of the reps

Sorry about the last rep cutting out. My phone only has a certain time length for videos

This is my second set of 3x5 295lbs
I'm 6 foot 195lbs 20 y/o

[jillingworth]

You seem to have caught the issues. Work on keeping your shoulders back and your chest up - this may help the forward lean.

[Tom Campitelli]

The only problem I see with those is that you need to get deeper.

[mcclamic]

I thought the head was supposed to be down a little more? He's looking at himself in the mirror instead of a spot 5-6 feet out in front.

[jillingworth]

I thought the head was supposed to be down a little more? He's looking at himself in the mirror instead of a spot 5-6 feet out in front.

Good observation. If kublaire can fix his gaze, it will probably help with the lean and maybe with the depth, too.

[savage]

OP, the downward gaze might work for you, but it is not necessary. Rip insists on it. Dave Tate suggests looking up. Jim Wendler even laughs about this in his interview with Rip when talking about people nitpicking form.

I've personally had better success looking slightly upward.

[Gunnhild Bruno]

The only problem I see with those is that you need to get deeper.

I agree. The forward lean is about what you need to keep the bar over midfoot, and I think trying to keep the back more upright will mess up your form.

Kublaire, get us a rear view. Maybe we'll see something from that angle that is contributing to problems reaching correct depth. But from this angle, it looks to me like it's just a matter of sucking it up and making yourself go deeper.

OP, the downward gaze might work for you, but it is not necessary. Rip insists on it. Dave Tate suggests looking up. Jim Wendler even laughs about this in his interview with Rip when talking about people nitpicking form.

I've personally had better success looking slightly upward.

I would try looking down, if I were Kublaire. FYI, Rip sometimes recommends looking as far down as right in front of the toes, although I don't think this situation calls for it.

I find that the biggest plus to looking down, other than better hip drive, is that it keeps the upper back very stable and makes the bar position/grip situation something that you need to think about less. Notice that, with almost every person who looks straight ahead or up, the flesh on the upper back gets looser at the bottom and has a tendency to "scrunch". This does not happen if you look down. I think that, if you're a really big guy who is relatively lean in that area, this happens less, which is why a lot of competitive powerlifters find an upward gaze fine. But for the rest of us, the slack in the skin at the bottom makes keeping the bar in position something that we need to actively think about. And, in my experience, the fewer things you need to think about, the easier it is to squat with a heavy weight on your back.

I don't think it is "wrong" in any absolute sense to look up or ahead. But it is not the way Rip teaches it, and he has some compelling reasons for that. As a result, I think it's worth the effort to give his way a good-faith try and see whether it works for you.