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Thread: Corey's squat form check

  1. #1
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    Default Corey's squat form check

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    I tried posting something similar in the Staff Coaches Q&A section, but it said I needed permission (or similar, I missed the content of the message). Oops. Trying again here instead.

    Here's my squat at 245 lbs: (3rd set of 3)

    YouTube

    I'm picking up increasing back pain that persists almost constantly over the past couple of weeks. Not debilitating, but it makes me question if I'm doing something wrong. I think my main issue is a lack of consistency. I see:
    - Knees/hips sliding back on a few reps. Struggling to stop this.
    - Looking up. Glad I recorded it as I wasn't conscious of doing that.
    - Bent wrists. Thinking about it, can't keep them straight. Getting elbow pain recently too.

    I'm sure there's lots more, but what would be the first one or two things you'd fix if you were my coach? No SS coaches in the Canadian Prairies, can't swing online coaching right now.

    Thanks for any feedback you can offer!
    Corey

  2. #2
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    If your intent is to do a low bar squat, the bar is riding too high. Get it lower - it will help if you can get your stand further from the wall. You may need to widen your grip to initially get a better handle on the bar. Don't over extend your back and stop jumping before each rep. Get tighter and break at the hips and knees simultaneously. Bend over sooner.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Illingworth View Post
    If your intent is to do a low bar squat, the bar is riding too high. Get it lower - it will help if you can get your stand further from the wall.
    I'm definitely going for a low-bar squat. Crap. I thought I had it low enough, as the next step lower has it riding on my shoulder blades with my hands supporting most of the weight. Note that I don't have much upper body muscle mass yet, so maybe I just need to keep with the rows and deadlifts to build more back muscle? I'll experiment with bar position before my next training session.

    I can move the rack back, but I'm not concerned with hitting my head on the wall. The camera angle (or my poor form ) may be exaggerating how it looks. My toes are probably 18-20" from the wall.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Illingworth View Post
    You may need to widen your grip to initially get a better handle on the bar. Don't over extend your back and stop jumping before each rep. Get tighter and break at the hips and knees simultaneously. Bend over sooner.
    Great stuff, thanks a bunch for the feedback Jeff! I'll try to pick one or two of those to work on per warm up set and watch the video immediately after.

  4. #4
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    I've found that the further away from the wall a squat stand/rack is, the easier it is to get under it and positioned right. Just a trick that helps sometimes. If you haven't be sure to read the thoracic extension article and watch the squat grip clarification video.

  5. #5
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    Nice! I read that article a while ago, but it didn't sink in. Now it makes more sense. I'll reduce my weights 10% and focus on my form while working back up. Thanks for the advice!

  6. #6
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    I dropped to 225 to focus on all the items recommended above. I'm still doing the little rise before dropping into the lift in the last set. Also really struggling to keep my wrists straight. This arm position feels really unnatural, per what Rip said in that video.

    YouTube

    Any suggestions?

  7. #7
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    You are still too vertical. At the start of each rep, break at the knees and hips at the same time and immediately aim your chest at the ground. Stop your knees' forward movement just at or a hair past your toes. They should get there by the time you're halfway down and should stay there until you're halfway back up (use a tubow). Don't lift your head on the way up. At the top, make sure you are standing all the way up and your knees are locked.

  8. #8
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    I've been working on this over the last few sessions - any additional bending over leads to the bar rolling up my back/shoulders. I saw Rip's older video (YouTube) that helps clarify the bar position. I had misunderstood and was doing the bar high-bar style.

    So I'm trying to put the bar on the muscle 'shelf' just under the spine of the scapula. Problem: I don't have enough of a muscle shelf to support an empty bar, let alone any weight. Quick video: (Ignore the red hockey tape; that was simulating center knurling. Not enough.)

    YouTube

    Without my hands holding the bar up, it just slides/rolls down my back freely no matter how tight or loose I make my back/shoulders. I'm not strong enough to hold the bar in that position, and believe the intent is for the weight to be 90% carried with the back/delts with the arms only stabilizing it. Am I missing something obvious?

    My squats/deadlifts are ahead of my upper body development; is this a matter of developing more back muscle before I can properly low-bar squat? Am I the mythical special snowflake that can't low-bar squat?

    3x5 lifts: Squat 235, bench 135, row 135, press 90.
    1x5 lift: Deadlift 295 lbs.
    Me: 42 years old, 184 lbs (up from 170).

  9. #9
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    Without seeing what you are now doing, it's hard to say. It is, however, unlikely that you are special. Rather, it is much more likely that the bar is not in the right place and/or your grip or tightness remain insufficient in their application.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Illingworth View Post
    Without seeing what you are now doing, it's hard to say. It is, however, unlikely that you are special. Rather, it is much more likely that the bar is not in the right place and/or your grip or tightness remain insufficient in their application.
    But my mom told me I am special! Humor aside, I don't get it; this should be simple. Should the hands be holding the bar up, with the back providing only resistance to the bar moving forward? I believe not. My elbows hurt just thinking about that.

    Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training talks about this fairly briefly in comparison with the other details. Before making the video above I tried a number of hand placements, from hands near the ring marks to just barely outside my shoulders, all while pulling my arms back to do the Superman-chest hard enough to be exhausted in short order. The bar's weight is simply held by my hands with my shoulders preventing it from moving forwards.

    Any suggestions? I'm disappointed to learn that I've been doing this wrong all this time and would love to learn a better way. Would a longer video of me trying bar placement and grip width options help?

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