Squat Form Checks

[Squat1]

Rear View
Squatting with the typical stance that I use. Should I utilize a wider stance to ensure the heels don't come off the ground. I have rather poor flexibility with my right ankle flexibility being greater than the left side.


Side View


I plan on posting 45 degree angle view of my squats within a few days.
Any feedback accepted

[Justin Smale]

The width of your stance seems fine, the bigger problem are your toes are pointed out to the side way more than the 30 degrees recommended in the book. Fix the setup error first then see what it does to your movement because it might fix things downstream.

That said, you're going down 2 inches too far and losing the lumbar extension because of that (at least on the video from the side) and when you do that you're sinking forward into your knees and you end up pushing these from your toes instead of mid-foot. Look at when your heels come off the ground. I think you could also review the master cue, because it doesn't seem like you have the bar over mid-foot in the side video.

[Squat1]

My stance angle is approximately 45 (maybe 50) degrees and I will make the change to an approximate angle of 30 degrees.

[muellerd]

The width of your stance seems fine, the bigger problem are your toes are pointed out to the side way more than the 30 degrees recommended in the book. Fix the setup error first then see what it does to your movement because it might fix things downstream.

That said, you're going down 2 inches too far and losing the lumbar extension because of that (at least on the video from the side) and when you do that you're sinking forward into your knees and you end up pushing these from your toes instead of mid-foot. Look at when your heels come off the ground. I think you could also review the master cue, because it doesn't seem like you have the bar over mid-foot in the side video.

"...going down 2 inches too far..." ?? Rip's book says to go down, all the way down. He comments below that a video shows a squat that's not below parallel; "don't post these videos". What's up

[Squat1]

Another rear view squat with a slightly wider stance.
I think the wider stance will resolve this issue.
YouTube

[Mark Rippetoe]

"...going down 2 inches too far..." ?? Rip's book says to go down, all the way down. He comments below that a video shows a squat that's not below parallel; "don't post these videos". What's up

He meant "... 1 inch too far..." You understand that excessive depth is not good, right?

[Justin Smale]

Another rear view squat with a slightly wider stance.
I think the wider stance will resolve this issue.
YouTube

Your heels are still coming off the ground because your feet are pointed too far apart and as a result you're pushing these from the insides of your feet instead of from a point of balance in the middle of the mid-foot. The wider stance is also causing you a bit of knee cave. What evidence do you have that your anthropometry is such that your feet should be pointed excessively out instead of the 30 degrees suggested everywhere here?

[muellerd]

He meant "... 1 inch too far..." You understand that excessive depth is not good, right?

Apparently not. "...DO NOT accept anything less than full depth, ever, from this point on." Seems pretty clear. Missing something...

[Mark Rippetoe]

Missing this: Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training | The Aasgaard Company

[muellerd]

Missing this: Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training | The Aasgaard Company

Hey, NOT missing that. I have the book, which is source of the quote.