Squat form check

[jh7]

Hello,

I hit my first set of 315lbs today. Maybe not a lot of weight for many but a milestone for me. The video is of set #1. The last rep of set #2 was a grind. Failed set #3 on 3rd rep. I'm taking ~10-12 minute breaks between sets. Jumped up 5lbs from successful 310x5x3 on Wednesday, 2 days ago. My sleep is good. I'm clearly not eating enough.

Any thoughts on the form?

315 squat form check 22.12.30 (no short) - YouTube (starts at 0:36)

Thanks

25 y/o, 5'10, 203lbs

[Jovan Dragisic]

All of these are three inches high. Consider reading the book and doing a low bar squat.

[Jason Donaldson]

Jacob,

To piggyback off of Jovan's apt observation, it looks like you're watching your depth/form in the mirror. That way lies madness for a few reasons.

First, it puts your gaze, and hence your neck in the wrong position.

Second, it's a distorted view, because of the angle from your eyes to the mirror and then back. Notice that the recommended camera position for the squat is NOT directly in front of the athlete from 2x the distance you are from the wall here - think about that. If it's not the position for a coach to cue you, it's not good for you to cue yourself.

Finally, and somewhat related, you're trying to adjust based on sight something you need to adjust based on proprioception, i.e. feel. It's good that you're recording your sets. Try to adjust your technique based on that recording, and get your form dialed in based on the book and instructional videos.

(Ask me how I know...)

[jh7]

Thanks for the feedback. You are right about my gaze. My head should be tilted much further down. I'm aware that eyeballing my depth in the mirror is very bad. The mirror has been distracting, so I allowed myself to look up. I will fix this.

I would not have posted this video if I thought it was not below parallel. I reread the squat chapter before posting, and then read it again after reading your feedback here. I have been going off of Figure 2-1 on page 10 of the blue book, right at the start of the chapter; also found here: Can You Squat Too Deep? | Mark Rippetoe. The best definition for "below parallel" I have found in SS is such that the line formed by connecting the points given by the hip joint and the top of the patella goes below parallel with the ground. The hip joint is typically indicated by the apex of the crease in the shorts. When I freeze the video at the bottom of each rep, I see this happening. Perhaps my hip joint is much higher than I think it is. Maybe the camera angle is throwing me off.

All of these are three inches high. Consider reading the book and doing a low bar squat.

In what way am I deviating from The Squat as defined in SS? If the depth is too high, then fair enough, but I'm certainly attempting to hit below parallel. I'm looking at a shoulder-width stance, toes pointed out roughly 30 degrees, knees parallel to toes but not ahead of them, near 45 degree back angle, thumbless grip, and the bar seems low enough to me (although it is tough to see from the camera angle). It looks and feels to me that I am executing a hip drive. I agree that I look too far forward. I think that I can fix the wrist extension and a have a bit of a narrower stance, which might help hitting more depth. I'm not sure what I am missing?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Looking at the set, 1 was okay, 2 and 3 were slightly above parallel, 4 and 5 were clearly high. I don't see 3 inches.

[Nicholas Laureys]

The bar is too high on your back, too: that's what Jovan meant about "doing a "low bar squat." It looks as you get set under the bar that you have the bar in the right spot but then move it higher before unracking.
Consider taking the invaluable advice I got on this forum months ago about my loose-as-shit upper back, and squeeze your shoulder blades together HARD before you unrack the bar. Putting your upper back in extension like this will help you feel the natural shelf that the bar rests on. Congrats on hitting 315 at your BW as it felt impossible for me when I was only 97kg, with my shitty form!

[jh7]

Thank you all for your continued feedback. I took screenshots at the bottom of each rep in the original video. To be honest, it is hard for me to spot the difference in reps 1-4. I can clearly see that rep #5 is higher than the rest, though I mistakenly thought this was still below parallel. Since rep #1 is the only true rep, I will compare future squats to that depth.

I did another set today with a higher camera angle: 315 squat form check 23.01.02 (no short) - YouTube (starts at 0:25).

This set looks really ugly to me. I looked down and narrowed the stance slightly, trying to hit full depth. I think these are all below parallel, with rep #1 being the highest. Looking down seemed to bring with it some upper back rounding as I failed to keep my chest up.

The bar is too high on your back, too: that's what Jovan meant about "doing a "low bar squat." It looks as you get set under the bar that you have the bar in the right spot but then move it higher before unracking.
Consider taking the invaluable advice I got on this forum months ago about my loose-as-shit upper back, and squeeze your shoulder blades together HARD before you unrack the bar. Putting your upper back in extension like this will help you feel the natural shelf that the bar rests on. Congrats on hitting 315 at your BW as it felt impossible for me when I was only 97kg, with my shitty form!

Unfortunately I didn't read this comment until after today's workout. I will use your advice about squeezing the shoulder blades before unracking next time. It seems that will also help with keeping my chest up. I do already feel a shelf on my back, and the bar is resting on it in these videos. I compared the bar placement with some other videos, and it does seem to be a bit high in relation to the back of the shoulder, though my balance and back angle seem correct to me. I will experiment with lowering the bar more.

Thanks again, but I won't consider having hit 315 until I actually squat correctly.

[Mark Rippetoe]

These are high-bar squats, and none of them are deep enough.

[Jovan Dragisic]

In what way am I deviating from The Squat as defined in SS? If the depth is too high, then fair enough, but I'm certainly attempting to hit below parallel. I'm looking at a shoulder-width stance, toes pointed out roughly 30 degrees, knees parallel to toes but not ahead of them, near 45 degree back angle, thumbless grip, and the bar seems low enough to me (although it is tough to see from the camera angle). It looks and feels to me that I am executing a hip drive. I agree that I look too far forward. I think that I can fix the wrist extension and a have a bit of a narrower stance, which might help hitting more depth. I'm not sure what I am missing?

As Rip told you, you are doing a high bar squat and not hitting depth. My initial guess was you didn't read the book carefully, but if you have, you might consider getting some coaching.

[jh7]

Thanks once again to everyone for taking the time to help me out. I was excited to hit the gym today and make corrections. I lowered the pegs in the rack by one, put the bar on my back at what felt uncomfortably low, tried to exaggerate the depth at the bottom and... the video still shows that the bar is too high and that I am probably not deep enough. I felt it a lot more in the lower back today, probably the result of attempting to decrease the back angle without lowering the bar enough. I'll spare you all the video. I probably need to reset some weight and work back up correctly. That's what I get for not checking my form earlier. You are probably right about getting some coaching.