squat check - leaning forward

[franz]

Hi there,

I have difficulties progressing my squats. As you can see in the videos at my last reps I'm almost doing good mornings instead of squats.





Am I doing any obvious mistakes here?
I'm 6'2", weigh 91 kb // 200 lb and I'm currently using the 3x5 Stronglifts workout.

Thanks in advance!

[BareSteel]

1. Are these high bar or low bar? SS style is a low bar back squat.
2. Drive your hips UP, not back. See your knees going backwards as you come out of the hole? Drive hips UP.
3. What is your perception of a good squat? These is going to be some forward lean necessary to do these correctly - for some lifters more than others depending on factors such as bodily proportions, bar position and stance. I see what you're looking at on the last rep of video 1, but it's caused by the hips moving back instead of just up. Fix that. Your back will not be vertical on a low bar squat. This is not a front squat.

[franz]

Yeah, These are supposed to be low bar squats.

I'll upload a video from behind, but it will be too dark, because I need to film against the sun.

So you are saying I'm not leaning forward that much and the form looks okay-ish?

[BareSteel]

I'd like to see a back and a 45* camera view to see other things, but you don't have a forward lean issue right now. Think about it this way:

If your stance is good, you set the knees in the correct position, your hips are doing their job, and the bar is over the middle of the foot, then guess what? The back is probably in the right position. If you try to make it artifically more vertical, then you alter the mechanics of the movement.

The squat is a geometrical system that must be in balance. Alter the length or angle of one component and the others have to move, too.

I see hips moving back instead of up out of the bottom. That's the first thing that strikes me as needing a correction. I'd like to see your stance, too. And I want to know if your knees are staying out, which I can't see from this angle.

Have you ever tried oly shoes? I like squatting with a small heel.

[franz]

I have one from the back, but like I said it's way too dark:



Maybe I can get someone to film me from those windows next time, so that I'm not recording against the sun.

I never tried any weightlifting shoes, lest you count Chucks as that

Too bad it's not an form issue, because now I've no idea why I keep stalling
I think I sleep and eat enough...

[BareSteel]

You're right on the lighting.

I don't see anything so major that it would totally stunt progress (even though I stand by what I said about your hip drive) but at this BW and this bar weight it would be atypical for you to be stalled out with good recovery.

I see a slightly tilted bar (see it?) and a position that I *think* is high bar, but can't see enough on video. And that's fine if you want high bar. If not, review that chapter in SS.

[franz]

I got a friend to record me from the back:



The tilt of the bar is more extreme than I ever thought! It surely doesn't feel unbalanced on my back.

[BareSteel]

It's present, but you are now aware enough to fix it. It's common for something like this to be hard to detect.

Knees out harder!

[boot29342342]

Yep, I'm with BareSteel re: the knees. They are caving in on the way up--either make an effort to push them out harder or reduce the weight to allow your adductors to catch up in strength. The bar seems kind of high on your back, too.

[BitinKain]

@op
you are one flexible dude. Your thumbs are in contact w/ your shoulders. Maybe that flexibility has something to do w/ your bar tilt.