Squatting with a belt

[sika]

Form check anyone? I've just started squatting with a belt. It feels really good, although I'm not sure if it should be tighter. This belt is provided by the gym and I'm already on the tightest holes. I widened the stance a bit compared to beltless since it looked like I failed on depth during warmups.

I rotate a bit when I go up, as you can see the left side travels forward. The reason could be that my left side is a lot more loose than my right. My right upper arm is crooked and I have troubles getting to the bar on the warmups.

Set 2, from the side:
http://youtu.be/ka2Mm521u1k?t=25s

Set 3, from the back:
http://youtu.be/cyZzq1ekAVM?t=45s

[BareSteel]

Sika,

I didn't see you warm up sets, so I don't know how narrow your stance was on those. From the back view though, I see a squat that could benefit from just a little bit narrower stance. It'll give you just a bit more oomph for keeping the knees out. With that said, you are a taller guy and you do manage to get depth with this stance. I'd experiment with finding middle ground between this stance and what you called a 'too narrow' warm up stance.

Is your wide grip related to the upper arm issue? You could get a bit of a tighter upper back with a slightly narrower grip, but only if it's feasible with your current flexibility. You get a bit horizontal on some reps, but I think more firmly set upper back could help. At least we know you're using hip drive.

I think I can pick up on that little rotation you speak about. Make sure both knees are out hard and symmetrically - no caving on one side.

[Gunnhild Bruno]

Typically, a wider stance makes it harder to achieve depth. People who have more problems achieving depth in a shoulder-width stance usually aren't getting their knees out.

[Brian Jones]

I notice that you have also captured the not so elusive "Row in the Squat Rack" guy with your video. Well done.

[sika]

Sika,

I didn't see you warm up sets, so I don't know how narrow your stance was on those. From the back view though, I see a squat that could benefit from just a little bit narrower stance. It'll give you just a bit more oomph for keeping the knees out. With that said, you are a taller guy and you do manage to get depth with this stance. I'd experiment with finding middle ground between this stance and what you called a 'too narrow' warm up stance.

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't film either, I looked in the mirror. I know that's bad, but with the belt on I wanted to see what was going on. From what you're writing I might have misunderstood the relation beween depth and stance. I'll try to narrow it and get the knees out more. I have to admit I haven't put much thought on the knees lately.

Is your wide grip related to the upper arm issue? You could get a bit of a tighter upper back with a slightly narrower grip, but only if it's feasible with your current flexibility. You get a bit horizontal on some reps, but I think more firmly set upper back could help. At least we know you're using hip drive.

I think I can pick up on that little rotation you speak about. Make sure both knees are out hard and symmetrically - no caving on one side.

Yeah, my right side is very tight and I developed golfer's elbow when trying to get narrower. I'm working on flexibility though so I hope to get things tighter as the weight goes up.

Typically, a wider stance makes it harder to achieve depth. People who have more problems achieving depth in a shoulder-width stance usually aren't getting their knees out.

Thanks Simma, I got this wrong.

I notice that you have also captured the not so elusive "Row in the Squat Rack" guy with your video. Well done.

Yeah, he started deadlifting with a crazy layback, 10 reps no warmup. Went to front squats with straps, rowing, and then incline leg presses. I felt weird cause he had the same shoes as me.