Squat form check - 75kg - low bar

[Llamaaa]

G'day,

I'm 186cm, 83 to 85kg and 16.

All my other lifts are progressing well and I'm really happy about that, but my squat form is severely holding me back. I've been up to an 80kg squat for 3 sets of 5, got sick, had to deload and I'm stuck at 75kg, but at both weights my form hasn't been too good.

I feel like I'm losing tightness around half way down and dropping, which is producing a bit of a vertical back angle and then during hip drive my knees shoot back a bit causing the bar path to sway. I'm not sure if this is exactly what's going on, but thats what I see.

I'm pretty certain my technique is the thing holding my squat back, as all my other lifts are progressing just fine and my squat has hovered around 70-80kg for quite a long time.

Any advice on how to improve is really appreciated!

(The first set is of working weight, which I failed at, the second is at a lower weight with form that I believe is right, or somewhat)

Squat 75kg - YouTube

[David Geiger]

You are correct that you are dropping into the hole and losing tightness. You also overextend your back as a result. The solution is to slow down the descent. For now, slow it down quite a bit until you can learn to stay tight for the entire rep; then you can start speeding things up again (but only to a speed where you remain tight).

You are holding your knees back too much (notice your nearly vertical shins?); and your toes seem to be pointed out too far (they look like 45 degrees). Bring your toes in to 30 degrees. Get your knees out over your toes by 1/3 to 1/2 way down and set them there.

Can you put the j hooks on the other side of the rack so you are not looking at the wall while squatting? You are looking straight down, when you should be looking out 3-5 feet in front of you (this is taking your neck into flexion and also could interfere with your balance).

Less important for now is your grip and elbow position. You have your hands on top of the bar, your wrists are bent and your elbows flared up a little. Rotate your hands back behind the bar so your wrists can be straight while your elbows are held down closer to your sides. On this one, just set them while the bar is still in the rack, then forget about it and focus on controlling your descent.

In sum, toes in a bit, knees forward, and control the descent.