Squat Form Check

[James Mountain]

Hi, this is my first time posting a form check. I am continuing to go through novice LP and all my lifts are still progressing nicely. I have been meaning to get a form check for a long time, but better late than never I guess.

Here is my 3rd set of 5 at 280lbs from this evening:


Sorry for the poor lighting (I lift in my garage at night) and the low angle. I am going to try to improve these next time, but hopefully this video is still useful.

[Jeff Illingworth]

Youv'e got a couple of things going on. First, you're way too loose generally and you are sort of just flopping into the bottom of the squat. You need to exhibit much more control on the descent so that you're tight at the bottom. You also need to adjust your grip. Now, you look like a guy who may actually have problems getting your hands in as close to you as they should be, but that doesn't mean you should be lifting your elbows so high. In conjunction with this, you need to tighten up your upper back.

[James Mountain]

Thanks for the input, especially for the links which very specifically address the issues I'm having. My upper back and my grip issues are likely related, so I am hoping I can fix both at the same time by finding a better grip and bar position. I think I am too low most of the time; I have a lot of fat back there and I've had a hard time finding the correct spot above the spine of the scapula where the bar is supposed to sit. My upper back is also super tight and I often require 2-3 warmup sets with the empty bar to be able to get my hands in anywhere near the rings, so that has been its own problem as well.

As for the eccentric portion of my squat, that is probably a combination of fatigue (my first and second sets are a little slower) and just overdoing my descent in an effort to try and get a good rebound up. It honestly doesn't feel that fast to me as I am doing it, but on video I can see what you're saying and it's something I'll definitely be cognizant of from now on.

[Jeff Illingworth]

Where do you train? An in-person session would clear these up pretty quickly.

[James Mountain]

I'm just outside of Raleigh, NC. The coaches over at Crystal Coast Strength & Conditioning in Newport are the closest to me, although I think there's a coach in Charlotte now too.

Getting an in-person evaluation is something I have been wanting to do but it is mainly a time/money issue at the moment. I desperately need some more plates and a power rack (hopefully at the end of this month), but an evaluation is absolutely next on the list after those.

[Jeff Illingworth]

Check out the Garage Gym thread in the Training section for equipment recommendations. I can personally recommend both the Titan T-3 power rack and the Titan T-3 squat rack (get the spotter arms for the squat rack). I have and use both and they're great pieces of equipment. I actually kind of like the squat rack better than the power rack most of the time.