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Thread: Squat form check

  1. #1
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    Default Squat form check

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    Hello.

    I have been on the SS for 6 weeks ago and keep struggling with my squat form.

    Here is my own perception:
    -Don't feel any hip drive.
    -Bar is unstable on the shoulders and i can feel it rolling up and down, which is evidenced by rotation of the plates.
    -On the last 2 reps form deteriorates completly due to bar rolling up, the squat turns into goodmorning.

    I currently have no idea how to fix it. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.



  2. #2
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    Your last two reps look better than your first two reps (if slower). You're not doing a good morning, because your chest is still rising at a proportional rate to the hips.

    The hip drive is good on the last two reps. On the first two reps, it's not hip drivey enough.

    Your biggest problem, as I see it, is that your wrists are extremely bent, which may be causing the rolling action. That and not having an extended upper back.
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  3. #3
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    AndrewLewis, thanks for reply.

    Today I corrected the wrist problem as best as I could. It added stability to the bar, althougth it stills moves slightly during the last reps.

    I think I am beginning to understand - during the ascent the hips need to shoot slightly ahead of the chest, leading to slightly horizontal back angle. The trick is to maintain extended upper back and correct grip to prevent the bar form rolling.

    I got some problem with upper back extension though. I squeze back as hard as I could but it stills rounds.


  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by DmitryN View Post
    during the ascent the hips need to shoot slightly ahead of the chest, leading to slightly horizontal back angle. The trick is to maintain extended upper back and correct grip to prevent the bar form rolling.

    That's correct. Your wrists still aren't positioned correctly. They should be fixed before you even get under the bar and shouldn't move after. The fact that you can flex/extend them while under the bar (but not squatting) indicates that your grip is too wide. This also contributes to the bar rolling forward.

    Also, you need to fix your knee slide. Look up "TUBOW" and learn how to use it. Basically, you need to shove your ass backward more as you near the bottom of the squat.

    These do look pretty nice though.
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  5. #5
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    AndrewLewis, many thanks for your advice. It was very helpful for me.

    I ended up deloading and doing like 1000 sets with 40 kilos until I felt some imrovement with knee slide, then went back up to my current 5PR. I focused on shoving knees out as hard as I can and keeping them in place. Kind of forgot about wrists, so bar rolled slightly again. Will adress it on next workout.

    Please take a look at vids below, is there any actual impovement?

    80kg - YouTube

    97.5kg - YouTube

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by DmitryN View Post
    AndrewLewis, many thanks for your advice. It was very helpful for me.

    I ended up deloading and doing like 1000 sets with 40 kilos until I felt some imrovement with knee slide, then went back up to my current 5PR. I focused on shoving knees out as hard as I can and keeping them in place. Kind of forgot about wrists, so bar rolled slightly again. Will adress it on next workout.

    Please take a look at vids below, is there any actual impovement?

    80kg - YouTube

    97.5kg - YouTube
    Andrew is taking you in the right direction. Your left wrist looks ok, but your right is still cranked back. Aim for wedging yourself under the bar. Have just the meat at the base of your thumb holding the bar in place when you stand up -- almost 100% of the weight needs to be on your contracted back. Right when you un-rack, if there is someone available, have them try to rotate the bar a little so you can feel that happening without other movement going on. Resist the rotation by gripping tighter, not flexing your wrists. If you have wrist wraps, they can provide resistance to wrist flexion.

    Your depth is variable. Video for yourself a warmup set ~60kg with a two count pause at the bottom. Feel knees back and your balance, then drive hips up, keeping knees in place. Review video for depth.

    Can you get a belt that's 10cm all the way around?

  7. #7
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    It's better, but now you're not getting deep enough. You're also not keep your upper back extended which is important in preventing the bar from rolling forward when you hip drive.

    The wrists are still bad. Get those suckers straight. PM me and we'll do an iPhone/skype call next time you work out.
    Last edited by AndrewLewis; 06-26-2018 at 11:21 AM.
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  8. #8
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    As it turns out, I am incredibly slow learner. I still can't get stable postion of the bar.

    By now I tried: taking grip as close as I can get, taking wider grip, proud chest, squeezing shoulder blades together, elbows up, elbows down. The damn thing just won't stay in place and just keeps rolling and jumping.

    Here vids form today's workout:

    Close-up of grip setup


    Side view


    As I understand it, I loose upper back tightness, which is evidenced by rotation of shoulders and elbows. But I am truly at loss at how to correct it.

  9. #9
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    It's hard to tell from that angle, and your second video isn't working for some reason, but your bar path looks a little loopy. It looks like it's kind of moving in an arc towards your front side as you come out of the hole. I may be off base, but I'd imagine horizontal movement in the bar path might contribute to some instability. The bar seems to roll most as you stand up and move it back over the midfoot. It's also hard to tell if you're really extending the thoracic spine with the "proud chest" cue before you unrack it. I've recently started focusing on this as the very last thing I think about before unracking, and when I video myself it's quite visible (I think). I found setting the J hooks a notch lower helped me with this, but that doesn't seem to be an option with the type of rack you're working in.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by DillonS View Post
    It's hard to tell from that angle, and your second video isn't working for some reason, but your bar path looks a little loopy. It looks like it's kind of moving in an arc towards your front side as you come out of the hole. I may be off base, but I'd imagine horizontal movement in the bar path might contribute to some instability. The bar seems to roll most as you stand up and move it back over the midfoot. It's also hard to tell if you're really extending the thoracic spine with the "proud chest" cue before you unrack it. I've recently started focusing on this as the very last thing I think about before unracking, and when I video myself it's quite visible (I think). I found setting the J hooks a notch lower helped me with this, but that doesn't seem to be an option with the type of rack you're working in.
    Thanks, Dilon.

    I fixed second video, now it should be working.

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