Squat technique I would appreciate your advice

[Mario4717]

I would appreciate your advice on my squat technique.

Please check it out in the following YouTube video:

YouTube

Thank you.

[Jeff Illingworth]

You're too upright and loose in this set. Get yourself set tighter and then break at the knees and hips simultaneously. Get your chest and face aimed at the ground right away and then stop your knees' forward movement by the time you're halfway down. Don't lift your head on the way up.

[BBB]

I don't like that you're dive-bombing the squat. It makes things inconsistent, you lose tightness, etc. In the first few reps, your toes are coming up... you don't look like you're balanced over the mid-foot.

[AndrewLewis]

Easy fixes:
Slow down the descent a lot.
Heels need to be closer together.
Look at the ground where the wall meets the floor.

Harder fixes, in order of importance (fix one, get it solid, then fix the next one):
Too upright and knees are coming forward too late. Think "knees forward fast, sit hips back and down, point belly-button at the ground"
Don't fall back on your heels. Think "pressure on heels and toes"

[Mario4717]

Thank you, I would try. In order to understand your advice:

- How do you know I am loosing tightness, I didn't feel like that.. I try to be solid and compact.

- Regarding balance, I stop the video in the deepest position and I draw a straight line from the bar to the floor and It falls over mid foot.. I have tried to lean forward a bit more but then I feel that I lose stability and have more difficulties to get the bar up (harder to keep neutral spine), heels don't be glued to floor, etc. I thought that my anatomy didn't get me a more horizontal back position. Moreover, last months I felt a disconfort in my right arm after squatting heavy (It comes from upper back) and I am thinking that maybe It is due to horizontal back angle and the bar making pressure over my posterior deltoid while I cannot have my elbows just under the bar (in the low bar position).

- How do you notice that my knees and hips didn't break simultaneously? is it needed that my knees go more forward? When you told me that my heels need to be closer together you mean that I need to have a narrower stance?

Thank you.

[AndrewLewis]

- Regarding balance, I stop the video in the deepest position and I draw a straight line from the bar to the floor and It falls over mid foot.. I have tried to lean forward a bit more but then I feel that I lose stability and have more difficulties to get the bar up (harder to keep neutral spine), heels don't be glued to floor, etc. I thought that my anatomy didn't get me a more horizontal back position.

Your toes come off the ground one of the reps. Could be a fluke.
You are mistaken about the bar being over your midfoot. Look at the bar position at the top of the squat and look at your midfoot. Then watch the bar in the video as you descend, and you will see it travel forward. This is very common in people who try to high bar the low bar.

Moreover, last months I felt a disconfort in my right arm after squatting heavy (It comes from upper back) and I am thinking that maybe It is due to horizontal back angle and the bar making pressure over my posterior deltoid while I cannot have my elbows just under the bar (in the low bar position).

That is an arm/hand positioning/contraction problem. Your hand may be too far "up" on top of the bar. It should be against the bar, not on it or underneath it.

- How do you notice that my knees and hips didn't break simultaneously?
is it needed that my knees go more forward?

I didn't say your knees and hips don't break simultaneously. I said "get your knees forward earlier". I can tell because if you watch your knee horizontal displacement, it changes pretty much constantly which it should not. The knees should shove forward and be in their final horizontal location by about a half squat. Then the hips go back and down.

When you told me that my heels need to be closer together you mean that I need to have a narrower stance?

Yes, but without moving your toes. Your feet are too parallel from this angle and your stance is too wide. Thinking "bring heels closer together" before you even do your first squat will fix both things simultaneously.

[Mario4717]

Thank you, I have tried to practice your advice, again with 120 Kilograms:

YouTube

[AndrewLewis]

This is an improvement.

Your knees are still not forward early enough. Shove your knees forward right away, then leave them there until you stand back up. Remember, the knees should be in their final location about half way down, and then they don't move at all.

Make sure you're look at the same spot on the ground the entire time. When you step back, look at one spot on the ground and don't look anywhere else until your last squat is done. Only then, look away and rack your bar.

[Mario4717]

Thank you very much, I have never been told about it and it is very useful. Now i am aware. The question about knees movement is crucial. I think that everything comes from a more horizontal back angle: If your back is more horizontal your knees don't move forward so much (not needed to be stabilized), shins are more vertical with less ankle dorsiflexion and heels are glued to floor more easily.

As a consequence, the bar path is vertical along the entire movement, without forward displacement (I have checked in the two videos - the result is amazing -). The only question is: to get a vertical bar path, it is needed that, at the beginning of the movement, hips are a little bit behind shoulders (body can't be completely straight) so I guess hips can't be locked 100%, otherwise the bar would go forward a little, at least at the beginning of the movement.

[AndrewLewis]

The only question is: to get a vertical bar path, it is needed that, at the beginning of the movement, hips are a little bit behind shoulders (body can't be completely straight) so I guess hips can't be locked 100%, otherwise the bar would go forward a little, at least at the beginning of the movement.

That's technically correct, but you don't need to think about that. Just start with the bar on your back in the correct place, and your feet on the ground in the correct place. Don't overthink that part of it.