Squat form at 275

[oface]

Hello, would appreciate the group's feedback on these. Including sets two and three. The last set was pretty rough, so I think I'm going to move into late-novice training for my squats--planning on doing a top set of five and two back-offs at whatever percent is outlined in the gray book. Have had some tender elbows, but worked on getting my elbows down and things are mostly ok now. Thanks in advance!

Second Set

Third Set

[Matt James]

The last set was pretty rough, so I think I'm going to move into late-novice training for my squats

That would be premature. I do think you need to work on a better rebound out of the bottom. You're killing the stretch reflex.

[oface]

That would be premature. I do think you need to work on a better rebound out of the bottom. You're killing the stretch reflex.

Thanks for the response. I actually went ahead with 280 for three sets yesterday. It sucked, but a little less than I was expecting.


I'll dig through the site and the book on stretch reflex, but if you have a quick cue or something, I would greatly it. I have tried to have a better bounce, but my struggle is when I focus on that, I just end up lurching forward. Aside from screwing with balance, that also cranks my elbows up, which is a longstanding battle of mine.


Anyways, thanks again.

[Jason Donaldson]

You say the third set was pretty rough - and I'm sure it felt that way - but not even that last rep slowed down very much. I think Matt's right, your proposed change is probably premature. You're not grinding yet.

It's hard to tell with the angle, but I think I'm seeing a tiny bit of looking up as you get to the bottom/when it starts to slow down. Maybe try keeping your gaze down throughout the set (like where you drop it down at the top of your reps, to keep from trying to lift your chest at what's not quite a sticking point.

[Matt James]

Thanks for the response. I actually went ahead with 280 for three sets yesterday. It sucked, but a little less than I was expecting.


I'll dig through the site and the book on stretch reflex, but if you have a quick cue or something, I would greatly it. I have tried to have a better bounce, but my struggle is when I focus on that, I just end up lurching forward. Aside from screwing with balance, that also cranks my elbows up, which is a longstanding battle of mine.


Anyways, thanks again.

I don't have a cue. Maybe a coach can jump in. You have decent control on the descent and I don't want to mess that up, but you need to think less about slowing down/stopping into the hole. Maybe cueing "UP" during the descent would help.

[oface]

It's hard to tell with the angle, but I think I'm seeing a tiny bit of looking up ...

Thanks for the feedback and you're probably correct on the looking up part, as I have caught myself doing this when recording from other angles. I think I started doing it when I was focusing hard on getting the elbows down; lifting my head, neck, and shoulders on the way back up to point everything else down. I'll focus on that. Much appreciated.

[Jason Donaldson]

Thanks for the feedback and you're probably correct on the looking up part, as I have caught myself doing this when recording from other angles. I think I started doing it when I was focusing hard on getting the elbows down; lifting my head, neck, and shoulders on the way back up to point everything else down. I'll focus on that. Much appreciated.

You bet - I've found that for some people, it helps to have a particular thing to focus on as a visual cue for the gaze. A brightly colored chalk mark or Post-It note or some such can work for this, and be moved as needed to dial it in.

[oface]

I don't have a cue. Maybe a coach can jump in. You have decent control on the descent and I don't want to mess that up, but you need to think less about slowing down/stopping into the hole. Maybe cueing "UP" during the descent would help.

You bet - I've found that for some people, it helps to have a particular thing to focus on as a visual cue for the gaze. A brightly colored chalk mark or Post-It note or some such can work for this, and be moved as needed to dial it in.

Again, thanks for the perspectives.