Squat review

[Espen Lund]

Hi,

Please comment on my squat below. I'm male, 28y, 110 kg, and on novice LP. I started at about 40 kg. The weight is 155 kg (342 lbs). I'm increasing 2.5 kg each session.

Second set:
YouTube

Third set:
YouTube

Thank you for your time.

[Tom Campitelli]

Video links don't work. As I am SURE you know having studied the sticky closely, only post one video here. Also, having studied the sticky, I am sure you will provide the requested angle, too.

[Espen Lund]

Doh! Not sure why those didnt work for you. But I have to admit, the videos was not quite 45 degrees, so here's another one

YouTube

I also have a programming question, if you could be so kind.

1) Age / sex?

28 male

2) Current Body Weight?

110 kg

3) Current programming (what program are you using).

I'm currently on the standard novice program (with the latest weight lifted):

Squat (152.5 kg x 5 x 3)
Bench/press (109kg/69kg x 5 x 3)
Deadlift/power clean (165kg x 5 / 75 kg x 3 x 5)

4) How long have you been on current programming?

For about 6 months, but I've started over 2 times due to longer travels.

5) Starting body weight (what was your body weight when you started lifting? Started current program?).
95 kg

6) Increment you are using on the lift in question. When did you switch to this increment? What was the previous Increment for the lift in question?
1 kg on upper body and 2.5 kg on lower body.

7) Caloric intake (in calories-ish. The answer "sufficient caloric intake" is totally insufficient).
I dont count, sorry.

8) Protien Intake (gr/day)
I dont count, sorry.

9) Amount of rest between sets (work sets).
3 min upper body, 7-8 lower body

10) What weight you started the program at (weight on the bar for the lift in question) and a detailed description of how long, what increments were used, and what kind of breaks / vacations / etc caused a disruption in the programming).

I started training 2 years ago. My lifts were squat ~40 kg, deadlift ~60 kg, bench 50 kg, press 25 kg. I wasted time with advanced training programs. Switched to starting strength novice program ~6 months ago. Squat was at 100 kg, deadlfit 120 kg, bench 85 kg, press 55 kg, power clean 50 kg. I've had a good increase since then with 2.5 kg on deadlift and squat, and 1 kg on press after 60 kg, and 1 kg on bench after 95 kg. Before that, those were also at 2.5 kg increments. My training has been reset several times due to travel with work, but I've never stagnated before now. I might add that I usually dont sleep more than 5-6 hours because I cant.

11) Other activity that you are engaging in (sports, hobbies, job that causes physical exertion).
No, not currently.

Programming question:
I've felt extremely fatigued in my lower back from the last training sessions. I can feel my lower back flexing when I try to push my hips up during my squats. It also feels like a massive strain in my glutes. I dont know if it's form creep causing the fatigue, or if it's my deadlift session from ~10 days ago, where my form was awful, and my lower back was rounding on the last reps - and that I havent recovered from that. Because every training session from then on has been giving me back ache, and I had to reduce to 140 kg on my deadlifts because my back was so fatigued.

I am wondering if I should start introducing a light squat day, and switch to deadlifting 1x/week, and start subbing for back extensions. Do you think I'm perhaps at that advancement yet, or should I first just try and deload and see if that helps together with your form critique?

Thank you for your time, and sorry for the wall of text.

[Tom Campitelli]

I appreciate the completeness here, but can you boil this down slightly for me? The reason being there are only so many words I can read on the Internet before my head explodes. Also, it looks like you have a form check here, too. I do this for free. One thing at a time. Small, bite size things that don't require lots of effort on my part. Because: free.

[Espen Lund]

Completely understandable.

Form check:

YouTube

[Tom Campitelli]

You are trying to squat with a vertical shin. Let your knees come further forward earlier in your descent. This will make you slightly more upright. That's okay.

[Espen Lund]

You are trying to squat with a vertical shin. Let your knees come further forward earlier in your descent. This will make you slightly more upright. That's okay.

Ok, thanks, I will try and work on this. In today's session, my back felt really straight, so was a bit awkward. How do I know how far forward my knees should come?

[Tom Campitelli]

Ok, thanks, I will try and work on this. In today's session, my back felt really straight, so was a bit awkward. How do I know how far forward my knees should come?

This differs from person to person. I will quote the Honorable Justice Potter Stewart here: I know it when I see it. All kidding aside, because your segment lengths differ from others, how far your knees travel forward and what their relationship to your toes should be will be somewhat unique to you. For most people, the knees come slightly in front of the toes. How much is slightly? I will reference Justice Stewart again.

[Matt Stacks]

Sir Tom,

In watching the video, I noticed that the lifter in question has a fairly duck-footed stance. If he were to turn his toes in more, I think this would have a profound impact on how far his knees travel forward. My supposition is that turning the toes into more of a 30 degree angle will help him get his knees more forward. What sayeth you?

[Tom Campitelli]

Yeah, that could be. Sometimes angles can be tough to evaluate in wide angle video, especially near the outskirts of the frame. However, toes out too far isn't ideal.