My squats sucks

[Chris76]

My squat sucks, it's just that simple.This shit is not that complicated but somehow I just ended up with really sore knees after training for a couple months. I use to lift years ago but honestly squats and deads were not lifts I ever trained. Back in the day it was all bench press( barbelll, dumbell) weighted dips , barbell and dumbell rows and of course overhead barbell press starting from the floor with the first rep being a power clean with one of the biggest arm pulls anyone ever seen lol. Barbell curls with the old arm blaster. Come on remember the old arm blaster wedge that you stuck between your body and the back of your arms so you couldn't swing your arms and cheat curl. A tricep press and once in a while leg press and sit-ups maybe even some shrugs . I never squatted or really deadlifted till a few months ago. I am ok with deads I mean I am ok with the lift. But my squats sucks. When I got over 200lbs I felt like I was fucking up my knees. My knees are still sore. My squat just sucks.

[Kyle Stevens]

Find the nearest SS coach and arrange a session....or don't...and die.

[Nockian]

Mine are even more Sucky, so think youself lucky, I can barely lift 130 with good form and I can bench that much. I can DL almost twice that amount and even my press is catching up. Like you I am frustrated and don't know what's wrong. Hopefully, if I can scrape the pennies together I can book a session with the SS coach in London sometime this year, but for now, I'm just keeping the safe side of loading up with bad form and ending up out of the gym with an injury.

[Barry Charles]

Squats have a psychological component too. Its been discussed in these forums. The weight is on your back - potentially crushing the life out of you. Squats are also inherently "unstable" or "meta stable" at best (unlike deadlifts with are always stable at all points in the lift, although some people still manage to fall over despite this). My suspicions are that the instability and fear create a feedback loop. Some people overcome the instability and fear of squatting very quickly. Many do not. Form is very important, but as the coaches have warned, do not let the pursuit of perfection impede the progress of strength. Be assured you are not unique.

The best way to achieve all this is a SS coach.

[Nockian]

Squats have a psychological component too. Its been discussed in these forums. The weight is on your back - potentially crushing the life out of you. Squats are also inherently "unstable" or "meta stable" at best (unlike deadlifts with are always stable at all points in the lift, although some people still manage to fall over despite this). My suspicions are that the instability and fear create a feedback loop. Some people overcome the instability and fear of squatting very quickly. Many do not. Form is very important, but as the coaches have warned, do not let the pursuit of perfection impede the progress of strength. Be assured you are not unique.

The best way to achieve all this is a SS coach.

I've not heard that before. I don't know about the OP, but a mere 130 is folding me in two. It doesn't seem psychological and it started hurting my lower back. One of the gym coaches actually came over to the stand quite concerned that I was 'snapping my neck' and told me to stay more upright-which is contradictory to the advice given in the book/videos. I must be doing something wrong, or I have some skeletal/muscular issue which needs a work around. It did make me wonder if I should work the leg press alongside keeping squats going as best I can.

Thanks for the input though.

[John Weaver]

I've not heard that before. I don't know about the OP, but a mere 130 is folding me in two. It doesn't seem psychological and it started hurting my lower back. One of the gym coaches actually came over to the stand quite concerned that I was 'snapping my neck' and told me to stay more upright-which is contradictory to the advice given in the book/videos. I must be doing something wrong, or I have some skeletal/muscular issue which needs a work around. It did make me wonder if I should work the leg press alongside keeping squats going as best I can.

Thanks for the input though.

No way to put up a video that shields your anonymity enough to get a form check?

[Mark E. Hurling]

He could put a hood over his head.

[Nockian]

No way to put up a video that shields your anonymity enough to get a form check?

I won't even sign up to YouTube. From the many form check videos I've watched, one thing stands out, that most often they just don't give sufficient 'coach eye' information anyway. With a bit of luck I can scrape enough cash together to see the London SS coach sometime later in the year. Half the battle is paying to travel and stay over in London-it's like the golden city compared to the rest of Britain and because of that everything is twice the price. Cheaper to go on holiday in Europe for a week-flights included-than stay over a night in London plus the cost of the coach.

[John Weaver]

I won't even sign up to YouTube. From the many form check videos I've watched, one thing stands out, that most often they just don't give sufficient 'coach eye' information anyway. With a bit of luck I can scrape enough cash together to see the London SS coach sometime later in the year. Half the battle is paying to travel and stay over in London-it's like the golden city compared to the rest of Britain and because of that everything is twice the price. Cheaper to go on holiday in Europe for a week-flights included-than stay over a night in London plus the cost of the coach.

I suppose if you found someone trustworthy in your eyes, you could privately share a video with them via dropbox or similar where it's never really published. One in person session would surely be helpful, but may not entirely fix a really bad squat.

Do you video yourself for your own review?

[Nockian]

I suppose if you found someone trustworthy in your eyes, you could privately share a video with them via dropbox or similar where it's never really published. One in person session would surely be helpful, but may not entirely fix a really bad squat.

Do you video yourself for your own review?

No problem with dropping a video privately, pretty much happy with any coach that way. No, I never video myself. I'm not sure exactly how I would do it ? It's very busy near the stands with a lot of traffic and various bits of gym equipment being carelessly thrown about. I don't have one of those fancy phones either, so whether my camera would be wide angle enough to sit close to the stand is one thing, then there is the little matter of what might be necessary on the PC to obscure the face ?