Squat Check with a couple of questions

[samuraimilkman]

Hi there,

Appreciate all the feedback so far.

Current stats are 80.8kg, 179cm (178lb, 5"9" I believe) 42y.o.

Squat 90kg
Dead 90kg
Press 39kg
Bench 57.5 kg

I'm posting another squat video, my heaviest sets to date which I did tonight, and as you'll see my form is really breaking down. The bar is feeling very heavy. My right knee in particular is caving in and I fee like I'm using my left leg too much to support myself. I concentrate on pushing my knees out on warm up sets but just can't seem to get it when it gets heavy. It's like I'm in a rush to get the bar up. I've also had seriously sore shoulders/biceps/elbows after squats the last couple sessions so tried brining my hands in a little tonight. Will go back to the book SS3 about this, I remember reading something about it in there.

After viewing this would you suggest dropping the weight and spending a few sessions focusing on form? I'm also thinking of going to a 4 day program as a complete workout is taking too long to get through. I'm resting 5 minutes between sets. Current increments are 2.5kg but I can drop this to 1.25kg. Gonna keep eating heaps and sleep as much as possible but would appreciate some input.

Here's my third and ugliest set from tonight.


Thanks,
Matt

[Michael Cotter]

It seems like your grip could be more secure coming out of the rack. You're moving the bar an awful lot before you start your first rep, and it looks like you may be intercepting the weight with your hands. Could be the reason for your discomfort. As for the squats themselves, the bar path is forward of the midfoot, watch your heels rise off the floor. Think about the master cue. Your upper back seems to round as well, possibly from not having it racked securely, or just from you not thinking about keeping your chest up.

[Hunter Jones]

I agree with the previous poster. And, generally, pain in the upper ext from squats is an issue with grip (as is probably obvious). I have found that a thumb around approach to the grip has helped me, along with trying to keep the elbows "in-line" with the torso. Austin Baraki has a video on this:

YouTube

As far as weight vs form. Here is good discussion on the SSC Q/A;

Form vs. Increasing Weight

[samuraimilkman]

Thanks to both of you for replying and your helpful comments. Hunter,The links you provided were just what I needed to read. There was some good info in there that is very applicable to me now.

I record all my sets including warm ups and have noticed that as they get heavier, they look better than what they did when I was lifting them as my main sets. That said, these 90kg squats were not B’s, in fact they were far from it, probably D minus. It’s time to drop a bit of weight and spend a few sessions getting form a bit better. I have a few days off work so can afford some time to really try and sort it out without rushing through sets to to get into dinner!

Thanks both for your feedback.
Matt

[samuraimilkman]

Hi again,

I watched and rewatched Austin's video above, as well as a couple of Rip's video last night on correct hand set up on the bar and bar position on the shoulders. I was off work today and though it was a rest day from training, I spent a bit of time working on my squat form with the video camera building up from just the bar to 75kg, 15kg less than my last working set a couple of days ago.

I focused on:
1. trying to get my back really tight when I loaded the bar with a superman chest

2. getting correct hand position on the bar (I don't think I did this too well. Something still looks a bit off, I'll have to review the video)

3. staying tight throughout the whole squat

4. keeping my knees pushed out on the right path and

5. keeping my weight balanced over mid foot given my tendency to come forward onto my toes

I still felt a bit of pain in the shoulders, especially when I go to rack the bar at the end of the set. I think I might be too upright and end up resting the weight on arms a bit much. Anyway, the last two sets I have posted below. Any brief comments on how well or poorly I have achieved what I set out to do would be welcome. They seemed OK to me, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow's workout. I'm still tossing up whether to drop a bit of weight - back to 80kg perhaps - and reset from there.

70 kg - set of 5


75kg - set of 4
YouTube

Wish I had the cash to hop on a plane and join a seminar in the US. Maybe some day a coach will visit Japan...

Thanks again
Matt

[Jeff Illingworth]

Wish I had the cash to hop on a plane and join a seminar in the US. Maybe some day a coach will visit Japan...


Matt

There are coaches closer to you in Korea, Malaysia, and Australia: SSCA : Coaching

[Michael Cotter]

There's definitely improvement here. I used to experience pain after the set that was caused by unintentionally intercepting the weight while racking the bar back on the hooks. Being sure to not let my hands get involved, despite the urgent need to get a heavy bar off my back by any means necessary, is what helped me.

[samuraimilkman]

Hi there,

I'm just posting a couple of videos of my most recent sets from last night at 92.5kg. Making steady progress on LP and still constantly looking to improve form. Any comments from eyes from eyes more experienced would be much appreciated.

My main issues have been staying tight and over the mid foot. I've been working on setting up really tight and with a superman chest. The bar has felt more comfortable on back recently and no pain in my arms which I was experiencing a few weeks back. I also have problems with my knees caving in on heavier sets and have been using a rubber band to keep them forced out on my warm up sets. Last night I left the bands on for the main sets and the videos are below.

rear view


rear oblique - set 3
YouTube

Many thanks.

[carson]

Welcome. The only real problem I saw in the 95 kg. lifts was a slight knee cave. Your instinct to deload seems to have been a good one. You had little or no knee cave in the 75 kg. lifts but some knee cave in the 92.5 kg. lifts.

I've never seen someone use bands. What were they designed to help?

[samuraimilkman]

Thanks Carson. Yeah, deloading was the right thing to do. I don’t really want to keep adding weight till I can really manage with little to no knee cave. I’m going to take my time adding weight - today will be a lighter session to work on form and give my legs a break. Still a little sore.

The band is just an exercise band I picked up in a sports store. People do all sorts of exercises with them.