Squat Form Check

[Nate Mielke]

Running a NLP for my squat for the first time and figured I should get some feedback on my form as the weight gets heavier.

8/10/20 Form Check - YouTube

[Hayden-William Courtland]

1) Narrow your stance a bit so feet are shoulder width.
2) Set your gaze about where the floor meets the wood panel and keep it there.
3) Drive up with your hips more (stay in them longer as you rise out of the bottom before you pull up with your chest)
4) Pause after each rep and slowly take a breath to get tight. You're rushing between reps and the bar is bouncing a lot.

[Nate Mielke]

Does this look any better? Form check 8/14 - YouTube

It's definitely challenging to correct my form under heavy weight. The weights also are heavier at my garage gym than the commercial gym I was at in the previous video. Definitely felt like more than a 5lb jump.

I've also been experiencing some tendon pain on the medial side of my elbow. I definitely feel it after squatting. I thought maybe my elbows weren't high enough and I was taking some of the load from the squat on them but I don't think that's the cause. It seemed to feel a little better when I moved my grip out. Any chance the narrow grip is what's causing this?

[Hayden-William Courtland]

1) You definitely need to know what weight you are lifting and keep those numbers appropriate. You will run into issues for sure if you don't.
2) I can't see as much from 90 degrees, but the bouncing bar with your breath is a bit better and your hip drive is a bit better on some reps, but still room to improve on both. Remember to lean over as you start each rep to get the bar over mid foot soon WITHOUT pulling your upper chest up/back. Your back should stay flat as you lean over, breaking at the hips.
3) You don't want your elbows jacked up. Ideally hands with straight wrists rest on the bar and elbows are angled down. Muscley guys often don't need much tightness to keep the bar in place, so I often tell them to try and relax their arms and hands. The extra tension can contribute to elbow pain. You can also play around with going a touch wider in your grip.

[Nate Mielke]

Got it. Thanks so much for your help!

[Nate Mielke]

Elbow pain is feeling a lot better since moving my grip out a little. I feel like my hip drive was better in this video too: Squat form check - 8/21 - YouTube My feet may still be a little too wide though. Thoughts?

Also, I have a programming question. At want point should I transition over to Texas Method? This week I've only done 1 heavy set of 5 on Monday and Friday (added Wednesday as a light squat day awhile ago). Monday I did 2 back off sets after my heavy, but today I just did the heavy set. The weight is extremely heavy and I don't know where to draw the line into moving into Texas Method? Should I keep doing what I'm doing but maybe only go up 2.5lbs a workout instead of 5 or should I transition straight into Texas?