Squat Form Check

[DavidG]

Hi Everyone,

I finally heeded Coach Rippetoe's repeated advice spread across various mediums, and got myself a pair of lifting shoes. I have deloaded quite a bit to get used to them (and I'm also working through some left piriformis strains, possibly caused by improper foot/knee positioning). This is my 3rd working set: LINK

Thank you in advance,
-David

[Hayden-William Courtland]

Try and get your whole body in the video going forward.

You're going so fast it's a bit hard to judge what is happening as a result of that or on its own. Take a slightly wider stance to start and pause at the top of each rep to take breath and get tight. Then lean over at your hips to start the reps, send your butt back, and knees out. Keep your head down and drive with your hips to rise up.

[DavidG]

Thanks for the notes, Coach Courtland. I'm embarrassed I raced through my sets, now that you made me realize what I was doing.
Here is this morning's attempt: wider stance (chalked the floor), pause at top, butt out, lead with hips coming up. video

[Hayden-William Courtland]

This is better. Try and set your gaze on the floor before you start your reps. About halfway down, reach back a bit more with your hips and cut off an inch or so of depth - you want to stop just below parallel.

[PuliMorgan]

Disclaimer: I am just a noob who watches form check videos for learning.

I am writing this because I noticed the way you were holding the bar. That kind of grip had caused some wrist pain as the weights got heavier during my pre-Covid NLP. It was very difficult for me to correct this error at that time. It will be better if you make the wrist more neutral at this stage itself.

@Coach Courtland: Please excuse me if my observation and recommendation are incorrect.

[Hayden-William Courtland]

Disclaimer: I am just a noob who watches form check videos for learning.

I am writing this because I noticed the way you were holding the bar. That kind of grip had caused some wrist pain as the weights got heavier during my pre-Covid NLP. It was very difficult for me to correct this error at that time. It will be better if you make the wrist more neutral at this stage itself.

@Coach Courtland: Please excuse me if my observation and recommendation are incorrect.

Anyone is welcome to give feedback. The SSC tag lets the posters know who is an SSC so they can always just look for those responses if they wish. There isn't necessarily a right and wrong with respect to the grip. Many people have to make modifications due to flexibility, so I tend not to hone in on that too much initially. That said, I will look for major areas of concern (e.g., bar in wrong place, elbows cranked up too high, wrists flexed (his were extended which is fairly common), etc.). Certainly if people mention grip/pain issues, I will then dig deeper.

[DavidG]

@PuliMorgan that is a valid call out. I am actively trying for neutral wrists, but whenever I look at the videos, they are in extension. I do wonder if that's just an unfortunate side effect of my forearm length where I can't put the bar in the correct low-bar position and maintain neutral wrists.

[Hayden-William Courtland]

@PuliMorgan that is a valid call out. I am actively trying for neutral wrists, but whenever I look at the videos, they are in extension. I do wonder if that's just an unfortunate side effect of my forearm length where I can't put the bar in the correct low-bar position and maintain neutral wrists.

It's a flexibility issue.

[DavidG]

Thanks again for the feedback, Coach Courtland. I found a link to a Starting Strength stretching exercise for that on your blog: low-bar stretch