Squat form check

[Diego Herrera]

Hello coaches, somehow Youtube didn't let me post a video, but as soon as i can, i will post it here. The thing is that my squats have been sucking a lot. First, i started to repeat the same weight until my deadlift catched up, i have been doing this for a few weeks, also it would serve the purpose of fixing my form, this was recommended by Robert, and seems to me a good choice, due to the squat catching up pretty quickly. I've been trying some of the important cues, let the knees travel out, bend more in order to have a better hip drive. I also have been trying to get the stretch reflex or rebound. So i kind of let go on the eccentric portion, this makes me lose tension but kind of helps me with some kind of rebound, at the expense of losing hip drive. Today i tried to descend slowly on the third set and i didn't get any reps, added to that, on the second set i got some pain on the middle of the spine. Probably this was caused when i extended the knees first, and later the hips. So when i came up, my hips extended at last and caused this nasty pain. (this happens to me in 2 or 3 reps every workout) I heard in the SS DVD that i should not lose lumbar extension and tightness just to get a little more depth, but i don't know how low to get. And when i try to descend with calm, i stop at the bottom and lose the rebound i should be getting. Conclusion is, i don't know how to get the rebound, get a decent hip drive while doing it properly. And i guess it's not that the weight is too heavy, this motherfucker weights 200 pounds and is only lifting 265 miserable pounds 3 times a week.

[Pete Troupos]

Hey
Go ahead and take a look at the stickies at the top of the forum to see how you can become verified and post form checks to this forum. In the meantime, you can post one in the Technique sub-forum and see what the crew has to say.
If you're losing tightness on the eccentric portion, you're not getting the "bounce" the right way.
Video would help of course.
Thanks

[Diego Herrera]

YouTube

here is a video i could finally post, and just sorry about the recording,first time i asked that person to film . Sometimes i get a minor pain on the left quad(not hip flexor) , probably some kind of tendinitis, in that day it didn't happen but sometimes it does. Anyway, any cues that would generally help? Especially involved with the "bounce".

[Karl Schudt]

Hi Diego,

1) You need to get your chest up when you unrack the barbell. Your thoracic spine is rounded. See Bill Hannon's article on this, or note the part of Starting Strength where it says to lift your chest when you unrack the barbell. Identifying and Correcting Thoracic Spinal Flexion in the Squat | Bill Hannon
2) You are keeping your torso too vertical. Get your nipples down, hips back, and knees out.
3) Your knees are tracking inside of your toes, and your toes are pointing out too far. 30 degrees from the centerline is where we start people. Then, shove your knees out very hard and get them in line with your toes.
4) Your shorts are probably causing some problems. Get some looser clothing.

[Diego Herrera]

YouTube

Hi Karl, this is a video of today, the 13 day of the Starr Rehab Protocol (adductor tear). I tried to improve the things you talked about, and i changed my eye gaze a little forward to have a neutral spine. Obviously, i need to work a lot more; shove the knees out, more horizontal back angle, etc. One of the things that i noticed about the "hips back" cue, is that it helps to create a horizontal back angle, and i am curious, does it also help to extend the lumbar spine? Would that be a totally different cue and process? Sadly, i don't think i am totally able to implement the hips back cue, it can be difficult. But i will keep trying.

Finally, i know this may not be the adequate forum, but is it normal to feel a little "pain" in the injured area after almost finishing the protocol? Nothing too crazy, but i feel it.

[Karl Schudt]

Change your eye gaze more. Point your eye lasers 4-5 feet in front of you. Mark it on the floor. You're looking down between your toes. You do need a more horizontal back angle on the way down. Get your chest down between your knees. If you slow down your descent, you can get your chest down and your back angle set better. I'd also check your bar position--it looks a little low. Get the barbell just below the spine of the scapula. Reach a hand around your front and dig in and find the spina scapularis on the other shoulder.Then note the position just below it and put the barbell right there.

Yeah, you're going to feel it for a while. It's ok.

[Diego Herrera]

one of my few last workouts from last week.


YouTube

this one is from friday 10. 5/4/0, last set. Was there anything too inherently bad in the first video that may stayed and prevented me from completing all reps on last video? Losing hip drive and pushing with the chest was the biggest factor on this workout, but it can't be seen on the video, and maybe not setting the knees out in a definitive way since the start of the descent, thankfully i watched the Nick Delgadillo's video and i am aware of that problem and the solution. And maybe i will add a light day...

YouTube

[Karl Schudt]

Hey Diego,

What prevented you from completing reps on the last video: you didn't try. What's the worst that can happen? You've got to try to get the reps.

You are still looking down between your toes, and the first set were paused squats. Don't pause at the bottom. Get your face pointed 4-5 feet in front of you. Put a target there and look there. Looking down between your toes is causing your upper back to round. The barbell may be slightly too low.

Don't reach around for depth at the bottom. Bury it and explode upwards. Think "up" all the way down. Then drive up hard. out of the bottom of the squat without pausing.

[Diego Herrera]

YouTube That cue you gave me about thinking of going up while descending has made wonders and helped me to increase the weights. This one is from 4 or 5 workouts ago, the day i had to retry the weight.



YouTube Here that cue declined a little, and am i looking at the right place? I put my eye gaze at the lowest part of the wall in front of me. This video is from last monday.


Furthermore, i included a light squat day, but in the last workout or so i felt pain on my previously injured groin and my healthly low back. I atribute it to not setting the knees early and not pushing the knees out enough. And lastly, if i skipped a workout, should i repeat the last workout or increase the weight? I don't remember the part in the book where it talks about that, sorry.

[Diego Herrera]

Hi, sorry for posting too repeatedly, but i didn't want to make another thread in the injury forum, because i already know i'm injured, and this is more about technique. I "acquired" an inguinal hernia while deadlifting (i have every symptom, but i'll still get a medical diagnosis)I will probably not get a surgery right now, if it's not absolutely needed, but i would like to now which deadlift errors i should avoid. It was a 1x5 set with 290 on the barbell. I was already tired because of the press, even though i didn't squat that day. Before the set i had a little pain on my stomach, but it was related to bloating and being hungry. I do not have footage of the set, but i can explain a few things.

1.- In one or two of those reps, i rounded my lower back. I did not see this, but i felt it with my kinestesic senses. It hurted a little, but nothing too big.

2.-Every one of these reps had a pause of a few seconds, so they were like "singles" I did this to make sure that my back was extended, but as you can tell from n. 1, it didn't fix the problem entirely. The "put your d*** between your legs" cue wasn't in my mind at the moment.

3.- I also used a little wider hand placement on the bar. I used mixed grip and knees bothered me, so the grip was a few cms wider.

4.- In the first rep at the start of the rep, my neck wasn't entirely "alligned", yes, i was looking 15 mts at the floor, but still.

5.- I was using a belt (4 inches? 5mm thick?) it felt a little tight, so that could have bothered me on getting a proper valsalva, but if i remember, i tried to breath properly. Maybe not in the correct way on one of those reps.

6.-No pain was caused on my lower abs while on the set, i didn't feel anything. I started having it as i got out of the gym, bought some mineral water, passed one or two hours and that's when i felt this little "soreness", because at first it may feel like it.

7.-Neither the press or squat caused me this, but i was using a tight belt on the press so it didn't roll or fall.