Squat Form Check

[The Solution]

Hi folks!

Could you please check my technique and give me some advice?

Side view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loCOGk-hDZs

Back view: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FQ6TpvRgD4

Do I possess the infamous butt wink? Does my lower back tuck in? :|

Thanks in advance for every good advice.

[misspelledgeoff]

You are doing high bar squats. And they are high. The bottom of a high bar squat occurs when your hams hit your calves and you physically cannot go lower. Your squats are much higher than this.

You should where a cotton t-shirt so the bar won't slip on your back.

Oh and decent weightlifting shoes.

[Tom Campitelli]

You are also pausing at the bottom of the squat. I highly recommend you purchase and read Starting Strength. Many of your questions will be answered there.

[misspelledgeoff]

Yeah I think he's pausing on the pins, Tom.

Lower the pins, Solution.

You are also pausing at the bottom of the squat. I highly recommend you purchase and read Starting Strength. Many of your questions will be answered there.

[Tom Campitelli]

Wow. I didn't even notice that because I watch these things without sound most of the time. Definitely lower the pins. Definitely get Starting Strength. No, not the wiki is not the same. Get the book.

[The Solution]

Thanks for the quick answers!

You are doing high bar squats. And they are high. The bottom of a high bar squat occurs when your hams hit your calves and you physically cannot go lower. Your squats are much higher than this.

You should where a cotton t-shirt so the bar won't slip on your back.

Oh and decent weightlifting shoes.

I will lower the bar down to my posterior deltoids. Then I can do a low bar squat and the depth which would be a little bit lower than parallel would be ok I guess.

I did not wear a t-shirt on occasion to present a better view of my lower back. But if you say that it is better for the barbell control I will do it like that.

What do you mean by decent weightlifting shoes? Is this meant to be ironic? If not, do not mind. The sole problem is that English is not my mother tongue which makes it harder for me to figure out what is meant exactly.

You are also pausing at the bottom of the squat. I highly recommend you purchase and read Starting Strength. Many of your questions will be answered there.

I set the safety pins so that I have the right depth for a low bar squat when I touch them.

I will try to bounce off the safety pins and get up immediately rather than pausing on them.

For now I read the copy of my mate. But I also ordered my own copy which I will get soon. After reading the squat chapter I realized that this book is much better than all the training books I have read so far. If one is serious about strength training this book is his source for technique.

[Tom Campitelli]

I set the safety pins so that I have the right depth for a low bar squat when I touch them.

I will try to bounce off the safety pins and get up immediately rather than pausing on them.

If you actually have the book, you will note that nowhere does it talk about using a squat rack in such a manner. Safety pins are not supposed to be used to judge depth, nor should the bar contact them at any point unless you fail. Only when you cannot stand up with the bar do you lower it to the safety pins. There are some squat variants where you start with the bar on the pins, but you are not doing that, nor is there a need for you to do that.

[Jawlz]

quick note. always squat with a shirt and widen ur stance to the shoulder.