Squat Form Check

[Patrick Bacon]

Hey guys,

I just posted this in the section which is only for verified users, and I realized I don’t think I’m verified for it. Whoops!

I recently switched over from front squats and I feel like my squat is decent, but it could use some improvement.

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Thanks in advance for the feedback!

[Nikki Burman]

Hi Broverload!

Main thing is you need to lean over sooner and keep your chin down. You are keeping your eyes down which is great, but your chin needs to stay down too. These will help you not want to fall forward at the bottom and have a stronger hip drive out of the bottom.

[Patrick Bacon]

Hi Broverload!

Main thing is you need to lean over sooner and keep your chin down. You are keeping your eyes down which is great, but your chin needs to stay down too. These will help you not want to fall forward at the bottom and have a stronger hip drive out of the bottom.

Nikki, thank you so much for responding. I have a few follow up questions.

I’ve been told that I break at the knees too much, and that I should break more at the hips instead. However, I believe that your assessment is more accurate; that I must lean forward sooner. Do you have any tips on how I can cue myself into doing so?

Lastly, I was told by a user on the Starting Strength Forum on Reddit that my technique is poor enough to the point where I should deload and focus on technique. Do you think this is accurate; is my form really that bad? Or do you think I should merely try to tweak the form while continuing to add 5 lbs per session?

[Nikki Burman]

Honestly, just practice keeping your chin down on your warm ups. You'll be amazed at what that does. It really doesn't look that heavy. If you can't do it correctly though then take some weight off or just repeat this weight before adding 5lbs. It's not horrible. Pretend like you have a tennis ball under your chin.

[Patrick Bacon]

Yeah, that was what I thought as well. It is 1.5X BW but I am a fairly experienced lifter and I feel like I’m not all that close to failure.

Thanks so much for the help; I can’t wait to hit my next workout on Friday and see what the chin down cue does! I’ll try and update this thread when I get the chance.

[Dillon Spencer]

Might want to try to get those wrists straightened out too. You start with them extended and your elbows pretty high. Your elbows end up in line with your body (a good thing), but despite the plates blocking the view, I'd imagine the only way they're getting there is by you further extending your wrists at the bottom. Eventually that's going to hurt.

[Patrick Bacon]

Might want to try to get those wrists straightened out too. You start with them extended and your elbows pretty high. Your elbows end up in line with your body (a good thing), but despite the plates blocking the view, I'd imagine the only way they're getting there is by you further extending your wrists at the bottom. Eventually that's going to hurt.

Yes, I have noticed that my elbows change position on the up when I am close to failure. Are you saying that my elbow positioning on the up on the later reps is actually the proper technique?

[Dillon Spencer]

Sort of. You want your elbows pinned to your sides and pointing at the ground, which is where they end up as you descend. However, look at your wrists and how extended they are at the top. We can't see through the plates, but in order for your elbows to be reaching the proper position, you must be cranking your wrists back even more. So basically your elbow position is better on the way up, but it's at the expense of your wrists. We want your elbows in that position, but with neutral wrists and your hand more on top of the bar, and we want them there the whole time. Right now you start with your elbows pointing behind you at the top, and end up with them pointing at the floor at the bottom.

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[Patrick Bacon]

Hey guys, I just did 3X5 with 230 lbs. I think my form was notably improved, but still not perfect. Thoughts?

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[Nikki Burman]

It was definitely improved! I will break this down per rep:
1) Get a prouder chest at the top before you start the descent- this goes for the whole set. Do this when you take your big breath. You try getting this as you start the descent, but you also fight the lean on this rep. So get that proud chest first and then lean over asap. You may need to bring your eye gaze out a little bit in general for the whole set as well to help keep the prouder chest (but excellent job keeping your head down!)
2) Rep 2 was really good!! You just got a little heel heavy on the way up.
3) Same with this rep- focus on staying mid foot. Your knees moved forward those last couple of inches which made you want to get heel heavy on the way up.
4) You had a lot of elbow movement on this one which made the bar want to roll. Keep your elbows pinned to your side with a big chest.
5) This rep was pretty dang solid. Overall, you just need to speed up your descent a little bit to get more of a rebound. You don't want to go too fast where you lose control but if you go too slow you lose the momentum. Work on finding that happy medium.
Much better, keep up the hard work!!