Tall Person with Major Squat Problems

[Wyatt]

Ok. These are a little better.

First of all, we do sets of five around here. Eventually you may want to change this up for various reasons, but not for a long time. 3x5. Tattoo it in your forehead.

I'd like to see a video taken from a higher viewpoint. I can't tell for sure, but I think your bar placement is still a little high. But it's definitely better.

1. STAND UP STRAIGHT. Why is this so hard for some people? It is literally the easiest part of a squat by far. Just stand up! All the way! See how your knees are bent? If you're standing on the corner waiting to cross the street, is that how you stand up? Of course it isn't.
2. Narrow your stance. Shoulder/hip width. I don't think you narrowed it from last time, but if you did, narrow it more.
3. Shove your knees out. They come in when you start the ascent. This isn't easy, you have to consciously think about it. Narrowing your stance will help.
4. Your knees come out over your toes too much, mostly because you're not shoving them out.
5. Don't fall into the hole like that. You're not an accordion and the bar is not Joan from Mad Men. Control your descent. Don't just crumple.

There's a general problem here, which is that you don't have very good control over your body. The bar is having its way with you. The point of a squat is not to sort of half-fall down with a loaded bar on your back and then stand back up; it's to lower yourself into a squat and then power out of the hole in one controlled, smooth movement.

Were you/are you an athlete?

Once you've fixed all this, we'll move on to hip drive.

Oh, and you really need to gain some weight, comrade.

1. I'll work on standing up straight. I'm not sure why I don't do that.
2. In your first post, you said to "widen your stance 2-3. This will tighten everything up" but you seem to want me to narrow it now? Please clarify this as I'm still not sure what stance width is ideal for my proportions.
3 & 4. Thanks for pointing this out. I didn't notice that for some reason but I'll work on it for next time.
5. I guess I went to the other extreme from the first videos I posted where I was going down very slowly and pausing during the descent. I suck.

I was an athlete in high school and before but not since I've been in college. I used to play soccer on a team and basketball recreationally. I guess I'm just kind of uncoordinated although I can do a 720 backflip on a trampoline so I'm not completely worthless.

I realize I'm not achieving hip drive but I figured we'd get to that eventually.

I've been trying to gain weight but it's obviously not going very well. I spent the month of July just lifting, eating as much as I could, and resting but gained only a few pounds. Also, I drank a lot of milk as per Starting Strength. I'm just not really sure how to go about doing this.

Once again, thank you for all your help.

-Wyatt

[John Bono]

The bar is having its way with you.

Just trying to get the mental image of that out of my head.

[Wyatt]

Recent videos:

Set 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh-br...=youtu.be&t=45

Set 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwNhn...=youtu.be&t=35

[Edge]

Just trying to get the mental image of that out of my head.

wish the bar would have it's way with me.... shit, ppl pay for that!

[Edge]

k, actually watched your vids....

sorry man, im drunk as fuck right now......... not gonna comment on form till next week..............

however.. in my drunken state... i will say... dear lord man... EAT SOME FOOOOOOOOOD

...... rips so gonna ban me.......

[boot29342342]

Recent videos:

Set 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vh-br...=youtu.be&t=45

Set 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwNhn...=youtu.be&t=35

Milo's Ghost will probably be here shortly, and Edge will sober up eventually. I will comment on one thing--you should probably adjust your rack so the hooks are lower. You got up on your tippy toes to unrack, which is potentially dangerous. It is better for the bar to be too low than too high.

k, actually watched your vids....

sorry man, im drunk as fuck right now......... not gonna comment on form till next week..............

however.. in my drunken state... i will say... dear lord man... EAT SOME FOOOOOOOOOD

...... rips so gonna ban me.......

You so mean, Edge! What are you drinking, anyway?

[Wyatt]

I'll lower the hooks for next time. That does seem dangerous now that I think about it, thanks for the advice!

[Wyatt]

About my weight: I spent the month of July lifting and force feeding myself and gained a only a couple of pounds. Now I'm at school and can't devote as much time to making sure I eat a bunch. Does anyone have advice as to how to gain weight? I wish I had a machine that would just pump blended food into my stomach or something. I hate trying to force myself to eat, it's more difficult than I anticipated.

[boot29342342]

About my weight: I spent the month of July lifting and force feeding myself and gained a only a couple of pounds. Now I'm at school and can't devote as much time to making sure I eat a bunch. Does anyone have advice as to how to gain weight? I wish I had a machine that would just pump blended food into my stomach or something. I hate trying to force myself to eat, it's more difficult than I anticipated.

Yes.

You seem to be one of the so-called "hard gainers" (people who tend to stay thin and report having a hard time gaining weight). Your appetite likely downregulates when you try to eat more--that is, you eat more one day, then the next day you are not as hungry, or you are actually eating less than you think. The solution I would use is to get scientific about it and track your intake. Literally count calories--use MyFitnessPal, or LoseIt, or weigh and write everything down if you are old school. At least that way you will know how much or how little you are eating. It is usually possible to estimate what your expenditure is (e.g., take your weight in lb and multiply by 15 or 16, which gives you approximately how much you should be eating to maintain your weight). Obviously, this varies by individual and depends on your level of activity and many other things. Once you know how much you need to eat to maintain your weight, add 200 to 500 calories a day to gain weight. Possibly more as you get used to eating more.

The other part of the process is to eat better so that you are not bursting at the seams from the volume of food you are consuming. If you are trying to *gain* weight, then find calorie-rich, less bulky foods. Beef will get you there sooner than chicken breasts and steamed veggies. A simple protein shake with milk will increase your daily intake by 200 to 300 calories, depending on the brand, and will get your protein levels up. This is important because gaining muscle requires eating protein, and some people have a hard time getting enough protein from dietary sources alone.

And of course the simplest method to gain a ton of weight is to do GOMAD. But I assume you already tried that, and it didn't work.

There is a nutrition subforum where you can get specific advice on your intake, and I strongly recommend looking at Lyle McDonald's website, http://bodyrecomposition.com . His articles are sensible and informed and cover a lot of ground.

[carson]

This is still a high bar squat and it looks like its rolling up on your spine. I know because I had/have the same problem. The bar needs to be about two inches lower. I know it hurts, but to do this correctly the bar needs to be lower. Follow all of Milo's advice. Reread Rip's book. If possible get a coach.