10/07/2017 Squat Check

[Daniel Cavallari]

Hey coaches,

Been working on my squat form since the September Wichita Falls Seminar/coaching session with Nick. Just for reference, my squat feedback was I was going way below parallel and not bending over/sitting back enough. Today I squatted 129kg/284lbs and, reviewing the footage, it seems that I just went below parallel, but it seems very, very close. I wanted the opinion of a SSC just to be sure (note: mute the video, the gym music is horrible and loud).

2017/10/07 129kg Squat

I also video'd myself from the side on the prior set, and from that angle it seemed much clearer that I hit depth, but from this angle it's kinda iffy for me. I know my head is not completely in the frame all the time, which goes against the sticky, and I apologize, but I only realized this after the fact.

Thanks for your time.

[Tom Campitelli]

Your stance could be a touch wider and you need to drive your knees out harder. This will probably drop you a little lower and fix your depth issue. You are correct, you are slightly above parallel. Other than that, they don't look bad.

[Daniel Cavallari]

Noted. I'm also actively cutting them short, since I was going too deep, so I'll focus on going a little deeper. Thanks Tom.

[Tom Campitelli]

My pleasure, man. Good to hear from you.

[Daniel Cavallari]

Tom, hope it's ok to post a follow-up video. If it isn't, just delete this post.

Here is my 131kg set for today. It appears to me that reps 1, 2 and 3 hit depth, while 4 and 5 did not. What's your veredict?

2017/10/12 131kg Squat

[Tom Campitelli]

Agreed. Four may have been high and five was above parallel. Looks like you are getting a better feel for depth. Work to keep your elbows down. Your upper back is rounding and the bar looks like it is rolling up on you. Elbows down as you descend and ascend should help.

[Daniel Cavallari]

Right. Thanks again Tom. Damn shame there are no SSCs in Brazil, really could use one.
I did feel the bar rolling upwards for some of those, will take extra care with back tightness and elbow position.

One last thing before I let the thread close, just so I can more efficiently coach myself from now on: I've been having problems figuring out the correct proprioceptive cue for depth. On the picture below, featuring me squatting from the side, depth is reached when the red line, starting on the apex of my hip crease, goes below the blue line, which is the top of my knee, correct? If so, I'll keep filming myself until I figure out the correct feeling for depth.

Squat Depth.jpg

Once again, many thanks. I really appreciate the work you guys do here in this forums.

[Tom Campitelli]

Not quite. Depth is reached when the crease of your hip goes below the superior aspect of the patella. Your squat there is above parallel. The "top of the knee" could be the superior aspect of the vastus medialis, which is more or less what you have drawn there. In your photo, your knees are too far forward. This makes the top of the knee cap even lower than it would be with a more vertical shin. Don't let your knees go so far forward. This will help with many things, including attaining depth.

[obelix]

Just to clarify, the red line in the photo is still above the actual top of the patella?

[Tom Campitelli]

Just to clarify, the red line in the photo is still above the actual top of the patella?

The blue line above the the top of the patella. The red line is closer to correct when we are talking about the patella. Tough to say with absolute certainty where that is from the picture provided.