Squat form check

[mstringer06]

So I have been doing SS for about four months. I just took my squat to 300lb before stalling (again). The first video is 1x5 @ 300lb. I have been really beat up and was having moderately severe knee pain and couldn't manage another set. So I decided to listen to my body and take another de load week and ask you good people for a form check. The second video is the frist day of the deload week doing 1x5 @ 185. I had a very slight knee pain that didn't appear until the third set and dissapated after 10 - 15 min. On the deload set I tried to open my groin up a little to get depth and focus on not letting my knees track to far forward on the bottom part of the squat. Any help is greatly appreciated.

3 9 17@300 - YouTube
3 11 17@185 - YouTube

[Joe Jaloszynski]

Those reps at 185 were too deep.

300*5 had lots of knee slide and not enough depth.

[mstringer06]

Those reps at 185 were too deep.

300*5 had lots of knee slide and not enough depth.

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any advice for knowing when you have hit the appropriate depth?

[Joe Jaloszynski]

Thanks for your reply. Do you have any advice for knowing when you have hit the appropriate depth?

Somewhere between the depth of 185 and 300 videos.

Hips below knees. Getting your knees under control will help greatly.

[Tuuling]

I'm also struggling with keeping my knees not going forward that much. At one point I also got knee pain.

What I have been trying to focus on is shoving my hips as far back as possible when going down. Because the hips are further back the knees don't go that far forward. But that means your chest has to go lower to keep the bar in the center.

I have managed to avoid knee pain so far, but I really have to focus on shoving my hips back, especially with a heavy weight on my back.

Good luck!

[mstringer06]

Somewhere between the depth of 185 and 300 videos.

Hips below knees. Getting your knees under control will help greatly.

ok how about this?

3 14 17@225 2 - YouTube

[Ryan Arnold]

Your squats all look kinda different. But going on the last vid(which is a good camera angle), your stance is too wide - which can contribute to knee pain if you are unable to keep your knees out in line with your toes. So bring it in so you're heels are at shoulder width and see if that helps. Stand straight at the top. Drive your hips up the whole rep and don't lift your chest. Nipples at the floor

[mstringer06]

Your squats all look kinda different. But going on the last vid(which is a good camera angle), your stance is too wide - which can contribute to knee pain if you are unable to keep your knees out in line with your toes. So bring it in so you're heels are at shoulder width and see if that helps. Stand straight at the top. Drive your hips up the whole rep and don't lift your chest. Nipples at the floor

Ok thanks for the tip. Will try that out next session and post update.

[mstringer06]

Your squats all look kinda different. But going on the last vid(which is a good camera angle), your stance is too wide - which can contribute to knee pain if you are unable to keep your knees out in line with your toes. So bring it in so you're heels are at shoulder width and see if that helps. Stand straight at the top. Drive your hips up the whole rep and don't lift your chest. Nipples at the floor

Ok,
3 21 17@265 - YouTube
3 21 17@265 - YouTube

The first video is the first set and the last video is the 5th of 5 sets. I focused on using a narrower stance. My knees felt a lot better. I was also trying to stay tight in my legs on the decent and not bounce around so much (thinking that might be contributing to me knee pain) and the pain was now in my lower quads instead of my knees (which is definetly an improvement). I am aware that I wasn't quite at depth on the fith set.

[Ryan Arnold]

Work on getting the bar in a tighter position on your back. Get your hands over the bar more and keep your wrists straight - widen your grip if necessary. Once you are tight - think about squeezing your chest up(in the setup not on the ascent) to achieve better thoracic extension. You want the upper back tight and solid. This article will help:

Identifying and Correcting Thoracic Spinal Flexion in the Squat | Bill Hannon

Also point your toes out a little bit more and continue to focus on shoving the knees out hard the whole time. This will help you hit depth easier. Nice work so far. Oh and Rip on bar position here:

The Squat - Bar Position with Mark Rippetoe - YouTube