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Thread: Squat form check

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Default Squat form check

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    Hi Starting Strength team. I'm having some low back pain - right around my sacrum - from my squats. It's most pronounced a few moments after I finish a set, and subsides thereafter. It comes back with deadlifts. Anything you see here that might be causing it?

    Squat form check (10/12/2020) - YouTube

    I have a more sideways view as well as a front-45 view, too.

  2. #2
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    Hey Sunil
    So you're starting with the back in an over-extended position as you descend and when you hit the bottom, it's going to neutral. You need to set it in neutral and keep it there. With lifters like you we tend to put an emphasis on the anterior trunk muscles to do this. Rather than stick your butt up and set the back back the way you're doing, "crunch" your abs up front and pull your junk toward your chest. See if that helps getting the spine neutral and staying that way through the lift. Also, don't try to keep the chest pointed forward as you descend. The whole torso needs to lean over a the hip as one, complete segment.

  3. #3
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    Got it. I'll work on this. Thanks for the input, Pete!

  4. #4
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    Hey Pete,

    Thanks for your feedback. Would you mind taking a look at this follow up video?

    Squat form check follow-up (10/14/2020) - YouTube

    I did feel these squats more in the hips. But the pain around the sacrum flared up after the work sets. (And these were at 155, down from 195 in the previous video I posted.) Any recommendations on what’s called for here? Rest, or just start back from lighter weight/higher reps with better technique, NSAID's?

    And regarding technique: to one of your points in the Common Squat Errors video you posted recently, I may be letting the bar get a little high on my back - and throwing off the lean - in an attempt to narrow my grip. Is this apparent from the video? I’ll of course play with this myself.

    Thanks again,
    Sunil

  5. #5
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    Back looks better. Have you tried not wearing the belt so excruciatingly tight? We have a rehab sub-forum you can check out.

    It's not your grip that's causing the bar to roll up as much as it is your elbows cranking upward and your wrists flexing forward. You also appear to be looking straight down. Move your eye position out a few feet, lift your chest to set the upper back and pull the elbows down a bit. That should help with the bar wanting to move around.

  6. #6
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    Okay, got it. Yeah, I've pretty much tried to make the belt as tight as I possibly could,! I'll work on each of those items. Thanks again.

  7. #7
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    Hey Pete,

    Just wanted say thanks again. Focusing on crunching the abs upfront and pulling junk to chest made me laugh and, along with fixing the elbows, has worked great.

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