I like those vids. Here's my favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26yqOMsxQho

these are high bar squats at 185

other than my heels which still manage to come up off the floor slightly despite my best efforts, thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d5qm5z6J3c

I haven't taken any video for months. Here are videos from my sesh earlier today. All feedback is welcome!

SQUATZ
75x1x5
195x1x5
195x1x5
195x1x4

Obviously I failed my 3rd work set. A lot may have been mental, although I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting great depth on that set anyway, probably b/c I was worried if I went to proper depth I couldn't finish it. Maybe full depth would have helped me.

I haven't ever tried a high bar squat, but it seems to me you have the weight more on the front of your foot rather than the middle. Your heels basically are never on the floor except when the bar is going down and you rock back maybe a bit. If you're not starting on your heels, I'm not sure you can stay on them.

I think maybe more "sitting" with your back more bent over so you can keep the bar a bit further back on your feet may help.

However, if this isn't how you're supposed to high bar squat, ignore everything I just said. My guess is box squats could really really help.

squats are high

the problem I have is with hb squats you're supposed to go down and not really back, sitting back is more of a lb thing afaik, and it's difficult to keep my heels completely on the floor while trying to not lean back

i can't do high bar squats without shoes. actually i can barely do low bar squats without shoes.

where can I get wl shoes

On all my sets or just my last one or two? They seemed a bit above parallel on my last set but on my others I thought they looked at parallel and on my warmup set I taped I think I'm quite low probably.

the warm ups are parallel or just below. everything else looks high, getting worse as you go on mostly. maybe first rep of first work set is to parallel but it's hard to tell from that angle. it almost looks like you are trying to get your body to do something it doesn't want to do. can't exactly pin it down, but you could start by fully extending at the knee and hip (well as much as you can extend at the hip for low bar squats) between reps. i find it weird how common this is btw.

is it just me or is there some slight lower back rounding as well?

all of the work sets. i didn't look at the warm-up

Its not just you.

As far as learning proper squat/deadlifting/press techniques - Help from a solid trainer/coach at the gym is often the best way to go.
It's good to post it here, but generally it is very hard to improve your form with verbal advice only when you have to actually come back to the forum daily to read how your form was. It could take months to get it right and even then you may be making mistakes, that just don't show up on the video.

Now I know that not all gyms have great trainers/coaches or whatnot. But do your best to find one or ask around for the most experienced lifter there - who has a solid rep and knows what he is talking about.

It helps SO much, when there is a Pro behind you adjusting your form step by step. Helping your muscles to remember the correct movements by letting you do the exercise over and over again with light weights until you have it down to perfection.
It's so much harder to do this with advice from a forum... better than nothing - but honestly it's not even comparable.

Arnie - It seems like you have found help from people that are really pros, which is awesome.

The thing is, a lot of "trainers" represent themselves as "pros" and they really suck bad. And lots of people new to lifting wouldnt know a good trainer from a bad one. The bad ones can cause more harm than good imo.

There's a good reason we have this thread imo.

If you can find someone who you know is a good coach, that's obviously a lot better than posting vids on the internet, but there are lots of smart people in this forum who are way better qualified to critique form than 90%+ of the "trainers" populating most gyms.

Yeah. Totally agree.

The best solution is to keep posting here. But also never stop looking for some professional help at the same time.
I'm saying this because a lot of people who work out - tend to do so as a hobby. But don't realize that they could make better gains, faster, easier, safer - if only they bothered to look around some more for help.

I never understood the mentality to have goals, but not actively pursue them. Like "I wanna get fit by going to the gym" - then doing random stuff aimlessly when they get there. Then bitch about not making any progress. And saying stuff like - it's not that important to me, and I don't care enough or whatever. (Then what the **** are you doing this **** for anyway?)

Alright someone said the reason my adductors might be getting so beat up when squatting is my knees are going too far forward at the bottom. How do I correct this? Obviously "don't do it" but should I be trying to bring my ass/back further back... or what?

You might need hip/glute soft tissue & mobility work. It might seem like the wrong area to work on when the adductors are tight, but that was what Mike Robertson had me do and it worked. That will allow you to sit back better & keep your knees out when you squat.

Sounds good. Foam rolling on my legs, anything else you recommend?

does this guy have a massive gut or hernia or something? is that just how most powerlifters look?

Pretty sure my form is already better than anything the trainers at my gym would do or teach.

Cha is the closest thing I have to a coach. So blame him . Although I haven't lifted with him in many weeks as he's been out of commission.

Hmmm, what do I fix my lower back rounding? Do those back setting mobility things Ripp had that video on right beforehand? Concentrate more on keeping that area tight?

This is extremely helpful. When you say do something it doesn't want to do, you mean stopping too high? Or at some other point during the squat I'm doing weird stuff?

And for full extension do you mean just locking my knees out at the top of the squat rather than keeping them bent?

I guess my form isn't awful based on the comments. I realized while lifting I probably wasn't going down below parallel, I've had some past issues with going down far and then just failing reps so I'm trying to not go too far below parallel.

roll your calves, ankle mobs...

I do think you should try to focus on the low back when you do squats & DLs.

I dont want to speak for miles, but I notice something like what he says too. Its like you're thinking about too many things when the weight gets heavier. Keep squatting and your form will become more "automatic" . Once you dont have to think as much about your form, you can focus on using bigger weights imo.

I still consider myself a novice at squats, but when doing LBBS, it seems to me that - especially with heavier weight - the pelvic tilt initiates downward compression. Both pelvic tilt and taking a deep breath/keeping your chest out will put your lower back in a supportive arch. Pelvic tilt (or, sticking my ass out) is the last thing I do before squatting down. To help keep my chest up/out, I try not to look down or at myself in the mirror, but rather at the ground, at roughly a 45 degree angle.

I'll try to remember to film some squats next time, I could use a form check anyways, since it's been a while.

/2c

A lot of PowerLifters look like this. They have a super-strong core. Also he's training for strength above all else. Fat levels not really an issue for him as much. As long as the strength is improving, some fat is acceptable.
Although he did lose about 25lb in the last few months (video is way older than that) - so he looks much leaner now. He's going for a World Record in the -100kg Class.

Guy has Abs like steel, and lower back of titanium, lol.

Well, I paused at 165 or whatever for squats for a while and then decided to start going up again. Are you recommending I just stop at 190 or something for a month or go down further and just go for many reps to reinforce form even more?