Squat check

[JCavin]

8.7.17 - YouTube

I posted in the starting strength coaches Q & A by accident. If any of you guys have access to that post feel free to delete it. I don't feel like I need to bother most of those guys.

This is 195. Last set. Angle sucks, but I'm trying to figure out a way to get a better one.

[Peter Nathan]

Looks pretty easy. Drive your hips straight up out of the bottom. Yours went back a little. It's hard to see much else from a distance.

[Nick Klemetson]

I agree with Peter.

Your hips go back because you are drastically changing your back angle on the way up. At these light weights it doesn't matter much, but it will later, and that isn't a fault that necessarily fixes itself when things get heavier. During your next session, make sure you're very conscious of keeping your back angle constant as you drive out of the hole.

[Mia Inman]

A few issues to clear up:

You're overextending a bit from the onset of the rep, i.e., you're trying to keep your chest vertical initially. As you continue to descend, you eventually point your chest to the floor, but that late movement results in the bar moving forward. It's hard to recover from this, and your ascent turns into a bit of a good morning. In addition, you've got some knee travel at the bottom of the squat.

As for fixing this, let's start with your setup.

Drop your elbows down towards your torso and lift your chest slightly. See Identifying and Correcting Thoracic Spinal Flexion in the Squat | Bill Hannon for learning how to stay tight throughout the rep.

Next, bring your head up a bit. Look a few feet ahead of you, not straight down. Your head/neck should be in line with your spine.

Before each rep, take a bigger breath and brace your abs MUCH harder (so that your torso is like a steel rod). You're going to HOLD this tension throughout your rep.

Now, from the outset, shove your knees forward/out and reach your hips back towards the wall behind you. This will immediately point your chest/nipples to the floor. About 1/3 to 1/2 way down your knees should stop moving forward (How to use the TUBOW), and your back angle should be set. Hold your knees tight, and just sit back and down.

Lastly, drive the hips back up with a tight torso and upper back. The shoulders will rise at the same rate as the hips, but the drive comes from the hips.In other words, I agree with Peter and Nick.

Summary.
1. Elbows down/chest lifted/head in line with spine
2. Big breath, brace harder
3. Chest to the floor (via knees forward/out + hips back)
4. Stop knee travel halfway down and sit down, then drive back up

[JCavin]

Wow! Thanks guys.

I will try to remember all that lol

[Mia Inman]

It is a lot to think about so, one correction at a time, get it cemented in, then more onto the next correction. Don't try and fix everything in one rep.

[JCavin]

Actual set posted below. Posted first set of five on accident.

Here is 200 with hopefully some improvements. Mia, your cue to keep elbows down made an ENORMOUS difference in how it felt. This is the first time it felt like I wasn't hunched over and was actually using some hip drive. Made the whole thing a much easier movement.

[JCavin]

200x5 - YouTube

[Mia Inman]

That looks considerably better. Nice work!

Little bit of knee slide on the 3rd rep, but the rest looked pretty good.

Hint of overextension in your lower back as you start the rep. Brace harder and hold.

Keep working on cranking those elbows down. Not that you have elbow pain, but the following article from Nick Delgadillo will show you how to achieve that good grip/elbows down from the start Preventing Elbow Pain in the Squat | Nick Delgadillo

You're right there on depth, so don't get any higher. If you ever have trouble hitting depth, you might want to think about widening your stance just a bit.

Good job. Keep going up in weight.

[JCavin]

Thanks Mia! You're the best.