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Thread: Weakling Needs Squat Form Check

  1. #11
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    Better. Two things are going to get you more consistent, Long-femured Frank....
    1) Get leaned over more and sooner. Reach back with your butt to the wall behind you. Your hips are chasing your knees, and it's making depth more difficult.
    2) Get your knees out harder and keep them there.
    Both of those things will make getting to proper depth less challenging.
    Lastly, drive up with your hips out of the bottom. You exhibit almost no hip drive out of the hole. Imagine the bar across your low back and drive your ass in the air.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Troupos View Post
    Better. Two things are going to get you more consistent, Long-femured Frank....
    1) Get leaned over more and sooner. Reach back with your butt to the wall behind you. Your hips are chasing your knees, and it's making depth more difficult.
    2) Get your knees out harder and keep them there.
    Both of those things will make getting to proper depth less challenging.
    Lastly, drive up with your hips out of the bottom. You exhibit almost no hip drive out of the hole. Imagine the bar across your low back and drive your ass in the air.
    Thank you very much for responding, Pete.

    I suspected I had long femurs, but thank you for validating it. On that note, I seem to remember one of the books (the blue one?) saying something about using flat shoes for long-femured people. I am using flat cross trainers and was about to buy some with elevated heels to hopefully help with my depth problem. I've tried several Adidas variations but they are a bit narrow for my slightly wider than average foot. Would it be a mistake to buy shoes with elevated heels?

    Regarding the hip drive... This is a bigger concern for me. I've always noticed a difference between the "practice" squat position with my elbows between my knees and the same position with a bar (even unloaded) on my back. I feel like I have hip drive in the practice position, but I feel like I have zero access to my hips with a bar on my back. I was hoping that it was some sort of altered proprioception because of the bar, but I guess not. I'm hoping that leaning over more and sooner with knees out will help with that, I hope?

    Also, I'm patient and willing to work through the form issues, but I also understand what the goal of the program is. Should I get this sorted out first before adding weight?

    Thanks again. I'll do my best to put your recommendations into action.

  3. #13
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    It wouldn't be a mistake to squat in lifting shoes. You may have read something about flat-soled shoes for your build, but that was probably referring to the deadlift. Look at do-wins. I hear they accommodate a wider foot.

    You may not be feeling the hip drive the same way because you're too upright when you have the bar on your back. You need to get leaned over more.

    If you're wearing one of those fancy moisture-wicking shirts that's slick to the touch, stop wearing it for squats. The bar likes to slide around more with those. Bring your grip in closer if you can (after you get the bar in the right place on your back).

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Troupos View Post
    It wouldn't be a mistake to squat in lifting shoes. You may have read something about flat-soled shoes for your build, but that was probably referring to the deadlift. Look at do-wins. I hear they accommodate a wider foot.

    You may not be feeling the hip drive the same way because you're too upright when you have the bar on your back. You need to get leaned over more.

    If you're wearing one of those fancy moisture-wicking shirts that's slick to the touch, stop wearing it for squats. The bar likes to slide around more with those. Bring your grip in closer if you can (after you get the bar in the right place on your back).
    Hi Pete,

    Thanks for your advice and input. I was away for most of the holidays on a trip that we'd been planning for a long time. Unfortunately, my access to barbell training was basically non-existent in that timeframe. I came back and tried to put what you told me into action. Right away, I could tell that although my hips were coming back earlier, I kept finding myself doing a "good morning" to get up. Even with just the bar, I was a complete motor moron and had no coordination. I thought maybe a little bit of weight might help, so I loaded the bar to 95 and then to 115. On my second rep, I felt something pull in my back. A few days later and now I have a healthy dose of sciatica running the entire L4 distribution, which is manageable, but I don't really know what to do. I'd do the Starr protocol, but I feel like that's for people who can actually squat, and I... Apparently suck at it.

    My parents don't live very far from where it says you're located on the SS Coach Map. Next time I come down there, I'd really like to spend some time getting this right. Also, I saw you have a Squat & Deadlift camp on the 25th. I can't make it to that one, but I would be interested in attending another one in the future. Hopefully, you'll have one planned? Until then, I'm a little at a loss as to what to do. I'd squat, but I feel like I'd just be making more mistakes and causing further damage. I really appreciate your help so far. Any advice for a "motor moron" with new back problems who lives hundreds of miles from the nearest SS coach?

    Thanks.

  5. #15
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    Well that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that. If you were leaning over sooner but weren't keeping the knees out, it's possible it would've put you in that more horizontal position.
    Starr rehab is for muscle belly tears.
    Can you deadlift at all?

    The camp on 1/25 is sold out, but I plan on having another in Tampa this Spring. And I'll have another in Orlando in late Spring as well.

    You can create a new post in the rehab sub-forum if you'd like. I'm not an MD or DPT, but you're not "damaged" and will likely be fine. If you can deadlift, it may feel good to do that in the meantime. (provided you can properly set the back and hold it in extension)

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pete Troupos View Post
    Well that sucks. I'm sorry to hear that. If you were leaning over sooner but weren't keeping the knees out, it's possible it would've put you in that more horizontal position.
    Starr rehab is for muscle belly tears.
    Can you deadlift at all?

    The camp on 1/25 is sold out, but I plan on having another in Tampa this Spring. And I'll have another in Orlando in late Spring as well.

    You can create a new post in the rehab sub-forum if you'd like. I'm not an MD or DPT, but you're not "damaged" and will likely be fine. If you can deadlift, it may feel good to do that in the meantime. (provided you can properly set the back and hold it in extension)
    Thanks Pete! The sciatica has mostly chilled out after about 10 days of Ibuprofen and whiskey. I went to the gym last night and tried some air squats just out of curiosity. I think it was the third rep and I felt something deep in my hip that felt like bone crunching on tissue. The sciatica came back, but pretty low severity. I backed off of that and did light overhead presses - the one lift I made good progress on with no issues.

    It felt good to get the blood moving around and I moved over to bench. I wasn’t looking for PR’s. I just needed something, anything to get my mind “off the couch.” The bench felt good too and I had no issues.

    I moved over to try some deadlifts and I could tell right away that getting into extension at the bottom was going to give me some trouble. I opted for something different. I put the bar on a rack just below my knees and did some very light rack pulls. I was able to maintain a very rigid back from that position and didn’t seem to have any issues. I did some higher reps with pretty light weights. I did feel some pretty gnarly tightness in my back after the first set, but it wasn’t painful... Just tight. It chilled out and I do feel a bit better today. I’ll make a post on the Injury thread and see what Will recommends from here. I’m pretty sure I know the answer, but I’ll check anyway.

    Thanks for all your help. I’ll keep an eye on the scheduling and let you know when I’m in the Orlando area.

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