hey man,

1) I like to start my squats by actually thrusting my hips forward flexing everything and getting everything engaged. You kind of look a little hunched over.

2) This brings me to point two. Your core is too weak, thats why it almost looks like a 2 part lift, where as mentioned your hips shoot up first. You need to be up right more.

3) What I would recommend is working on developing your core more, stretching and working on opening up those hips more. The bar path isn't bad until you get to the bottom. That's where your form breaks because you are not tight enough or your core is not strong enough.

4) you should be taking a breath at the top and holding it throughout the lift until you complete the rep, and breathe on every rep. 1 rep = 1 breath. The lighter set looks like you are not doing that. You should practice same way on every set every rep.

5) It's good that your feet are slightly pointed out, this helps with glute activation. Keep it that way but get your stance a tad bit wider, you want to be a little wider than shoulder width apart. Really work on being more upright, grab the bar a tad bit closer, really grab on to it tight and pretend as if you are going to bend it over your back, this helps with lat activation.

6) Last point, stop looking down. Look straight ahead, this keeps the chest up and spine neutral.

7) What I would recommend also is doing paused squats in the bottom position for like 60%. This will really help you get more comfortable in there and sit back more.

Hopefully that helped man.

Hey man,

Not too long ago I was feeling a bit tight in some areas and it was really messing up my form. Basically I had a tightness in my right chest/lat area which ****ed up how I set up for the squat. Anyways long story short, I had seen some really big power lifter dudes make posts on instagram about getting work done on their muscles so I did some research and found this place called muscle rehab.

And basically at this place this guy Chris does work on you with this machine called the raptor, which just basically gets deep into your muscles. First time it felt really painful for me especially because I squatted and deadlifted the day before but you get more used to it. Then he just did some work on me manually with his hands and lastly just made me do some stretches.

I would highly recommend something similar to that especially if you are in a big city and go get a few sessions because afterwards I felt a ton better and I didn't realize how tight I was before going in.

I disagree with the part about narrowing stance a bit. That's wrong. If you watch any elite power lifter, you can see their stance is a tad bit wider than shoulder width apart.

Clayton is decently outside of shoulder width. Aidan was remarking that he may be too far.

I'd also suggest this video to get a firm grasp of what elite PLers actually do when squatting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsCnmaIlF2U

Weirdly I think Layne has the widest stance which is around what Clayton has in relation to his shoulder width. (Clayton maybe a touch wider.)

To my eye this looks like by far my best form yet. 225 went from an 8rep max to a 2rep max. Not sure how I feel about stepping back 6 months in my progression but I guess if this is the right way to squat I just need to suck it up? I thought a vertical bar path should be easier.
Did a bunch of mobility work prior (foam rolling calves/shins, thoracic extension, hip extension, empty bar work) and cued chest forward at the standing position.

You can see on the last rep of each set, when its tough I roll forward a bit and it gets easy.

See what I mean about mixed advice?

Why would you thrust your hips forward? I feel like that would force me to lean my whole body forward to stay over mid foot. I'm aware that locked hips are required in powerlifting but I'm not trying to compete.

Whats wrong with more than one rep per breath on light sets? Breathing leaks power. From what I've seen multiple reps per breath is considered totally fine.

I'll try this out
See my latest video, I think I'm looking ahead. Thats sort of contradictory with neutral neck though, but from what I've read this is a bit of a bro-ey debate, should be fine either way

I ran the bridge for 2 months so I've done lots of paused/pin squats

How is this different from Massage or foam rolling? If anything I'd think it should feel good in the moment but wear off by the time I'm in the gym.

Thanks for all the feedback!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TIP8eNJmMg

watch this video with regards to what I meant about thrusting hips forward, maybe you misunderstood me or I explained it poorly but I think this should clear it up and help you out.

I think a lot of people start out their rep with their ass kind of sticking out like donald duck and not all of their muscles activated. I start my squat by activating everything at the top, taking a big breath and holding it through until the completion of the rep. A lot of time what I see a lot of people do is like try to get tight as they have already started the rep, thats not optimal.

With regards to question 2, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mTb8v4d09g

I'm not sure where in the video coach boris sheiko says you should breathe every rep but watch the whole video it's good you might learn something. The guy has coached like 30 something world champions, I would assume he knows what he is talking about .

Just to give you an idea, I'm by no means an elite powerlifter or bragging but im 5'8 fluctuate between 155-160lbs and squat 315-335 probably, deadlift 365 for 2 and bench probably around 235. I used to lift a lot in college and had a coach do my programming then I got injured at some point. About 6 months ago I started again pretty seriously. And the biggest things I have been doing differently are the things I typed out. I have had a few bigger more experienced powerlifters help me and my buddy out with some tips to improve our technique. And that's something I actually incorporate a lot into my training. I have days where I do something like 60% for 20x1 on the deadlift for example, really work on power and explosiveness. I don't really know my exact maxes because I don't test them very much but I might soon.

And to answer the last question. It's a lot different than foam rolling, it's way better for muscle recovery. It's a little bit painful at first because initially your body is like almost in shock and it's trying to protect itself because it's like high speed vibrations getting deep into your muscles. Also afterwards the guy does a lot of manual work on you. Like he uses his elbow for example to really break down your traps, lats and it almost feels like he puts your shoulder blades back in place. It honestly feels great the next day and you feel like you have more range of motion in your neck, a lot of areas really.

I think that's probably the biggest difference in how I train now vs previously in college is that I take way more time warming up and I also spend way more time stretching daily and regularly. It honestly makes a huge difference on your lifts. And doing things like getting these sports massages or w/e you want to call it if you can afford it is really worth it imo.

Hopefully that helped and cleared up your questions.

I think this looks a bit better than your last one. I really do think you could do even more weight though if you fixed a few things though. It still looks like you are leaning forward too much. You are relying a lot on your back strength instead of your legs. I would recommend really working on that core more, more paused squats, incorporate some stuff like 20x1 at 60% or something similar to that. Really work on the bar path.

The ass is also sticking out, if you fix that and actually start by engaging your quads and core before you start your rep, I think you will crush this weight. And the ass a lot of time shoots up during your reps. It can also be fine to lower the weight a little bit to really work on grooving that form down.

edit: one more thing. if you look up Layne Norton, he has a really crazy squat where he squats as if he is do a good morning and there have actually been some people who have criticized his form and some pros that told him to stop squatting like that because he would get injured. the dude has had several back injuries and for a reason when you are squatting that much weight, it's dangerous for your back to be in that position and it's not optimal. Also your starting position should be the same as your ending position if that makes sense. I don't know why people start out by sticking their ass out instead of activating quads, glutes, lats, grabbing the bar tight, big breath, core tight.

That is because breaking with your hips is how to properly initiate a squat. Much of what you've written ranges between silly and incorrect. I was pointing out how Layne has an exceptionally wide squat (for a raw PLer), which is what you seem to be advising along with some myriad pseudoscience. I think massages are great, but aren't going to make you more flexible.

Hey man, you know it's really easy to think you know everything these days. I'm happy to have a discussion if you want to actually point out what you disagree with and explain why, but I don't really feel like slinging insults back and forth. I'm only here trying to help.

You are indeed correct that the squat is properly initiated by breaking at the hips. If you go back and actually read my post, you will see that I actually say quite the contrary that you don't want to be like Layne doing a good morning, because it will injure your back.

If you watch Kelly Starett's video, you will see that what I'm describing with regards to activating more muscles. Think of a soda can, it's a lot stronger when it's in cylinder shape than say if you dent in a little from the side with your hands.

Here is a breathing and bracing vid that might help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8KV74jJHn0

Start at like 3:30ish if you want to see specifically the squat but I recommend watching the whole thing.

Also if you actually watch the video, the strength seminar part 3, (start @ 10mins) you will see him explain why it is bad for the feet to be too narrow in, because the back breaks at the bottom position.

Here is another video for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsXj2fQ4uow

In this one Ed Coan explains the squat, Wow! He says same things. Who would have thought?

Here is a really long article by Greg Knuckols that really goes in depth with regards to the squat if you are not a big fan of videos:
https://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-squat/

The point being is I have done a lot of research on form and technique including other material that I didn't link. I don't claim to have perfect form or know everything but none of what I'm saying is broscience. Look up the credentials of any of the people I posted.

And one last point, actually do some research about the massage before making posts. I'm not going to keep posting the guys name because I'm not affiliated with him or anything like that. Just to give you an idea, this is the machine that is used: https://hyperice.com/raptor. I'm someone that became more flexible in just one appointment but you can see many people make posts about how it helped their flexibility and form because they could get into better position.

It is Greg Nuckols btw.

I'm sure you have, but you explain things in a silly manner that is unclear. I would never say what you said before, which is clearly not what you actually meant as you're actively backtracking. I pointed out Layne's squat specifically because he is able to do it at a very high level, Nuckols actually mentions the variety in types and forms of squatting. ibalvy has a clear issue with his form that he can simply correct by lowering weight and using a basic heuristic (see his box squat vid).

Your comments about massage are flat out incorrect. The great irony is that I actually do some research (I furiously pubmed), but have literally never once has someone who told me "do the research" ever come armed with actual research. Massages are awesome, but they are not going to improve flexibility compared to good ol stretching (Starrett advocates this despite his myopic view of mobility and pathology).

BTW I don't think you are a bad person or an idiot. I think you are just providing scattered and poor advice on the squat without really having a clear idea of how to coach the squat.

Thanks for pointing out my typo. I don't have anything personal against you so I don't really want this to become a back and forth battle. At no point I have backtracked on my advice. I posted advice with links to videos of people more knowledgeable than both of us explaining it in more detail. I agree that lowering the weight and practicing better form is always great advice especially for a beginner. If you actually took the time to read my previous posts, you would have noticed I recommended that.

I'm not really sure if you even took the time to read my posts because you are missing a lot of information. The great irony is that in my post I explained how the dude first works on you with the raptor, then he does manual work on you with hands including different types of stretches and making you do different types of stretching in the end. Take 5 minutes and just look up the instagram and just look through a few videos. I also talked quite a bit about mobility, stretching and taking the time to warm up. And you have to be consistent with it.

Honestly man I don't know if you are just reading my posts really fast or what, but I would recommend going back and reading them over because it's very clear by this post that you missed a lot. Also LOL @ coming armed with research, I have been the person that's taking the time to reply with my sources and links posted where as you have done quite the opposite.

Ibalvy,

Looking much better. Box squat was a really good recommendation for you because you are hitting good form with that.

Keep working on your squatting and keep posting videos.

Dont overcomplicate.

Big Breath in, hold during lift and expel past your sticking point.
Get super tight, this is about 4x tighter than what you think is tight
Drive your chest up and back while you drive your hips up
Repeat

Work on doing more good reps than bad reps.

Too late. You responded and in the manner you did.

Thanks, I think maybe the box squats are better because I am not hitting parallel? I think if were to 3/4 squat without a box I'd be able to do it with good form

Hi ibavly,

I see a few things.

You feel as though you are tipping forward, and that is when the reps goes from impossible to easy. This is due to a couple of things.

1) Your back angle is too high.

2) Which causes the bar to often descend behind your midfoot.

This causes you to push from the heels rather than the midfoot until you "fall forward" and your back angle and bar placement over midfoot correct themselves.

I want you to try something.

Watch your video from 3/14.

Go to those reps where you fell forward. Pay attention to your position AFTER you fell, when the rep became easy. Look at how far back your hips are. How far forward your torso is angled. Where your knees are. The position of the bar in relation to your midfoot.

Now when you perform a squat rep, break at the hips and go into the exact same position as what you just studied when the rep became "easier." If you can't quite feel when you're squatting up from the midfoot, you might need to exaggerate the action by pushing back from your toes.

I hope that makes sense...

Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks busto, I do have some questions!

I had been actively trying to keep a higher back angle, maybe I was confusing back angle with thoracic possibly due to the proud chest cue. My natural back angle is significantly sharper than most videos I've seen, so I assumed I was doing it wrong



I'm not sure how I can get deeper from this position. I've been dropping the hips from here at depth, but obviously that puts me behind mid foot. I can try a substantially wider stance, or maybe getting knees further forward? I don't think I have enough ankle flexibility to get there right now.

I've always been told (by monte and gym pt) to cue to break simultaneously knees and hips. Are you saying not to do that?

Could you clarify what you mean bu pushing back from the toes? I don't really understand that.

Try a wider stance.

Your back angle can be upright or acute. That doesn't matter. Focus on keeping the back angle constant.

Your hips might slightly jump out of the hole first. That is okay. This is hip drive.

Just keep the bar over your midfoot. Your back angle and how far forward your knees go will take care of themselves.

Yes, break at the hips and knees simultaneously. Apologies for the confusion.

Re pushing back from the toes, this was poorly worded. You might feel as though you are pressing from the toes when you are really pushing from the midfoot. This is due to you so often squatting with the bar behind the midfoot. Your kinesthetic awareness is misaligned.

Many squatters are quad dominant and have the opposite problem. They squat with the bar ahead of their midfoot. We tell them to push from the heels as a way to compensate and bring the bar backward. Again, this does not mean they are actually squatting from the heels. It just feels like they are. The most efficient manner is to squat with the bar in a straight line over the midfoot.

Struggling with falling forward (heels lifting) on my squat, despite really trying to focus on pushing from my heels. Had some camera setup issues so you can only see my feet in the 2nd set but figured I'd post the other angles in case they're helpful

165 Set 1:


165 Set 2: First rep I could tell I came way far forward, others felt fine as I did them


165 Set 3: Side view


Thanks in advance for any advice!

Steve,

1. Big breath

Fill your entire torso with the biggest breath you've ever taken.

2. Get tight

This will be 10x tighter than you think is tight enough.

3. Slow the descent but not too slow

In your posted videos, you don't generate power until you're in the hole. Think of the descent as winding a spring. This is where you generate power out of the hole.

It seems like you are trying to do low bar squats correct? If so, you need to look down, not straight forward. Looking forward will keep your back angle too vertical. Keep your chest down and shove your knees out harder, and drive your hips up out of the hole

^^^

Thanks for the advice. Will post more videos tomorrow

Not the greatest angle, but it does feel a lot better with your suggestions.