Not being able to go low on the squat (lower back round aka buttwink)

[Tamara Reynolds]

If you mention what you do during an unweighted squat one more time, I am going to hunt you down and beat you with a broomstick. Then, I will take the broomstick and hit you in the head until you stop looking up.

[skipbeat]

Dont mean to derail your thread: but is there a consensus on buttwink yet? Is it bad? I do it, but it feels completely natural and not like my lower back is coming out of extension, or anything serious that I should focus on fixing. Just feels like my ass has to rotate baby.

[Tamara Reynolds]

Dont mean to derail your thread: but is there a consensus on buttwink yet? Is it bad? I do it, but it feels completely natural and not like my lower back is coming out of extension, or anything serious that I should focus on fixing. Just feels like my ass has to rotate baby.

The consensus is that I will beat you with a broomstick if you use the term "buttwink" again.

[skipbeat]

Buttwink sure sounds a hell of a lot better than ass rolling, refusing a doggystyle, poop&scoop.

[MattJ.D.]

Didn't rip say people need to stop using butt wink and just understand its the spine going into a neutral perfectly safe anatomical position..like its not in flexion or extension just neutral

IIRC call me a polak if im wrong

[Tom Campitelli]

The consensus is that I will beat you with a broomstick if you use the term "buttwink" again.

Agreed.

[Gunnhild Bruno]

The consensus is that I will beat you with a broomstick if you use the term "buttwink" again.

But only if you videotape it and post it to the technique form. We'll have to make it a sticky.

[Chango99]

I can't tell for sure, since you're wearing a black t-shirt, but your horrible head position and some other indicators suggest that you're either shrugging your scapulas up toward your head in order to stabilize the bar, or you're pushing on the bar with your hands and making it slide toward your neck as you descend. This is wrong and will throw off your whole body. Scapulas together, chest up (think about pushing your sternum out and up), and elbows up. Your entire upper back should not shrug up, and you should not be pushing the bar with your arms.

If you fix the way you're supporting the bar, you'll not only be able to keep your head down during the lift, but get rid of a really big distraction that's keeping you from concentrating on keeping your hip active and shoving your knees out http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.gifproperly.

Yeah head position I keep forgetting to tell myself to look down. I think i did better yesterday. I don't think i'm shrugging to stabilize. I really do keep a tight back and chest up and focus about that. Elbows up? That's new? The most I do I feel is just hold the bar against my back so it doesn't fall. I mean, thumbless grip means i'm not supporting it much with hands right?

If you mention what you do during an unweighted squat one more time, I am going to hunt you down and beat you with a broomstick. Then, I will take the broomstick and hit you in the head until you stop looking up.

Sorry, it's just the only way I can observe myself.

Here's my most recent vid. Look better?

[Gunnhild Bruno]

Did you do that first set on a different day? Because the sets in the shorts look better than the ones in the pants. It looks like you’re getting your knees out better in the sets in the shorts.

1) KEEP YOUR CHEST UP when you descend into the hole and come back up out of it. Find someone to yell this at you if you can.

2) HEAD DOWN. Like look at a point about 6 inches to a foot in front of your toes. Yes, that far down. Try holding a tennis ball under your chin if you can’t find someone to yell at you about this. This really isn’t a minor point. You’ll be surprised at how much this fixes things.

3) TIGHT AT BOTTOM. TIGHT TIGHT. When you get tight enough, your depth should be good--right now, you’re going too deep. Imagine there is one giant muscle running from the outside of one knee around your ass and lower back and out to the outside of the other knee. And imagine that you are trying to make this band of muscle as tight as possible, especially as you get down in the bottom of the movement and come back up.

Elbows up? That's new?

No. It’s in the book.

The most I do I feel is just hold the bar against my back so it doesn't fall. I mean, thumbless grip means i'm not supporting it much with hands right?

It means you’re not supporting it with your wrists. But you can still push upwards inappropriately on the bar, even with a thumbless grip. That said, it now seems to me that the bar is coming forward at the bottom because you’re failing to keep your chest up. It also looks like you’re using your head and neck to try to push the bar back in balance or something. It gives me neck pain to watch it. Please stop that.

Your squat mantra:
Head down. Chest up. Stay tight tight tight.
Head down. Chest up. Stay tight tight tight.
Head down. Chest up. Stay tight tight tight.

[Chango99]

No, it was my first set. I pulled my pants up to get more comfortable. I started focusing more on my 2nd and 3rd, but I was still hurrying because I had homework due in 2 hours for a class and hadn't finished it.

I don't remember reading elbows up, guess I skimmed that part.

I will see how well I fare on my next work out.