Squat form check - parallel? Bar position?

[micheline2490]

Hello!

First of all thank you to all the coaches who run these boards and offer so much to help to all of us who post. As you can see in my video, I'm on my own in a messy garage gym so I really appreciate the ability to get some outside input!

Please have a look at my squat form. In the video is my last work set of 120# for 5 reps. Prior to this video I was squatting 145# but unfortunately realized I was not below parallel. From now on I will use lots of video feedback for myself! I am squatting to a med ball until I've trained myself to "feel" where the bottom of my squat should be. Is this an ok thing to do? It is not a box squat, I'm simply touching the ball.

My own critiques here are that perhaps the bar could be slightly lower on my back? And I need to keep my head more neutral as I'm looking up as I squat down.

Thanks coaches!

Back Squat 120# 5 reps - YouTube

[micheline2490]

Also, sorry it's not the best camera angle. Did my best with what I could! I had my 2 yr old in the gym with me as well which means I had to place it somewhere she wouldn't grab it!

[Speedygonzales12]

Your grip is too wide meaning that the bar is not secure on your back. As a result you lift the elbows too high and flex your upper back to keep the bar from rolling off. A Clarification on the Squat Grip | On the Platform - YouTube

Shove your knees out further and keep them there. Keep your chin down (use a tennis ball as outlined in SSBBT-3 if neccesary) and stare at the bottom of that yellow matt in front of you.

Avoid squatting down to a box/med ball if you can. We need to learn where the bottom is based on how our body feels rather than the touch of the box so we can replicate the correct movement without it. Shoving your knees out will help with depth.

[micheline2490]

Thank you! I forgot to mention I have a wrist injury. Which is why my grip is so wide- I can't have it any narrower without pain. I am having surgery in 2 weeks so hopefully after recovery my grip will improve. Having said that, I will play around as much as I can and see if I can get a better position.

Do you think the bar is low enough on my back?

I will try the tennis ball trick if trying to focus on the yellow mat doesn't help enough.

My plan with the med ball was to use it only for a few sessions until I can feel where parallel is. I tried figuring it out on my own without it and ended up squatting 145#, but above parallel.

Thanks for the tips, I'll see what I can do!

[Jeff Leonard]

Something that has helped me a tremendous amount is to really focus on each rep and concentrate on a vertical bar path. If you get a good "feel" of where the bar is at any given point in the squat, you are then able to self diagnose what issues you may be having (at least it works for me). For example, a 1/4 of the way down on every one of your reps, the bar travels forward. So what would cause that, it looks to me like your knees are not traveling out over your toes. When your knees don't travel out, your torso wont clear the thighs and you don't hit depth. So how do you fix that, maybe point the toes out more and see how that works for you (I think it will take care of it).

So if the bar stays in line until you hit the bottom of the squat (3/4 of the way), that would tell me the same thing, I am not clearing room by getting the knees out. That in turn will allow the torso to collapse into a more horizontal plane (as if we are trying to attain depth with the bar and not the hips) and cause the bar to go forward even more-resulting in a heck of a lot tougher lift.

If the bar leaves vertical early-at the top- it usually means my hips are not getting back first. Again, now I know what to correct on my next rep.

Something else I would suggest for you, if you are working on getting that tactile response with the med ball, get rid of it and get something not as rigid. It looked like it stopped your depth on a couple of these squats and forced your torso to collapse. I use bands stretched across the safety pins on my rack, but you could use seat cushions or something else with some give to it. This will also keep you from "looking" for the ball with your butt like it looks like you did with your last rep.

Bar position looked good to me.

[David Geiger]

You are putting you back into over extension by trying to maintain an upright torso; see how your chest stays up pointing ahead, and you keep your head upright? Instead, as soon as you break your knees and hips to begin the descent, lean your torso over by pointing your chest to the ground. This will be in conjunction with the previously mentioned cue of keeping your chin down/directing your eye gaze to the floor 3-5 feet in front of you. Brace your abs and erectors hard, and lean over at your hips.