Critique my squat

dioltas

Hey, was wondering if ye wouldn't mind having a look at my squat form and telling me what ye think. I don't know if the camera angle is the best but anyway...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcakT2MhIQs

It's the last 2 reps of a set, so if my form is slipping a bit that's when I'd expect it...

Thanks.

corkcomp

i always try to keep my back dead straight when squatting, I thought it was correct form to avoid injury?? Its definately much tougher!

Remmy

It's kinda hard to see what your backs doing but your hitting parallel anyway.

rccaulfield

Thats pretty fast and bouncy(injuries over time)- i count to 3 on descent/ascent concentrating on good form keeping the weight on my heels as per Stuart McRobert-beyond brawn. I mean youd have to be hyperventilating to get your breathing correct at that speed, breathing in prior to decent, hold breath during descent and exhale on ascent.

Hanley

It's pretty hard to tell what's going on from that angle, but it deffo looks decent. Maybe try and get a bit more control going down tho.

Transform

wayyyyy to hard to see it properly - too much bounce as mentioned and cant see knees and back properly

dioltas

Ya angle isn't the best. One of the lads just recorded it on his camera phone. Thanks for the comments lads. Might try and get a better vid up.

mark renton

Never mind the squat - lose the black runners dude :eek:

dioltas

john47832 wrote: »

Never mind the squat - lose the black runners dude :eek:

It's not a fashion show man They have a good hard sole on them, find them good for squatting.

d'Oracle

Im no expert, but it looks a bit like you broke from the knees on the second rep.

O.P.H

I do the down part of my squat way slower than that and dude black runners with white socks... are you serious

A side question. I do all my weights (squat, deadlift etc) in my bare feet. The ground in carepeted and it feels fine to me. Is that ok?

rccaulfield

O.P.H wrote: »

I do the down part of my squat way slower than that and dude black runners with white socks... are you serious

A side question. I do all my weights (squat, deadlift etc) in my bare feet. The ground in carepeted and it feels fine to me. Is that ok?

Yep-unhygenic and frowned upon tho!;)

O.P.H

rccaulfield wrote: »

Yep-unhygenic and frowned upon tho!;)

I train at home so....

If its only frowned upon then I'm thinkin its not that big a deal

Yapamillias

From the video (although it would be better to get a back and front view to check for knee vargus/valgus) it seems that your form is good, the stance is more sumo squat than standardized methods. Your eccentric phase (the way down) is very quick and you are utilising the stretch reflex, when your coming back up thrust your hips forward more.

Most people say go to parallel but that all depends on muscle flexability. Im not 100% sure but you may be rounding your back because you go down too far. This is all down to hip mobility. Hope that helps

Hanley

Yapamillias wrote: »

From the video (although it would be better to get a back and front view to check for knee vargus/valgus)

Dude, just say it in plain English. Stuff like that impresses no one.

the stance is more sumo squat than standardized methods.

There's no way that's even remotely close to a wide stance. I'd GUESS it's just outside shoulder width, but from that angle it's fairly impossible to tell. So there's no point guessing. What are these "standardized methods" you refer to?

Your eccentric phase (the way down) is very quick and you are utilising the stretch reflex,

No, he's dive bombing and bouncing out of it. You don't have to just drop like a stone to take advantage of "stretch reflex".

when your coming back up thrust your hips forward more.

Can you explain why? And at what part of the lift he should be doing it?

Yapamillias

Hanley wrote: »

Dude, just say it in plain English. Stuff like that impresses no one.

I was just putting down those terms as it would be easier to type in 'valgus/vargus' into google and getting a more detailed description as opposed to typing in 'bending of the knee outward/inward during squat'.

Hanley wrote: »

There's no way that's even remotely close to a wide stance. I'd GUESS it's just outside shoulder width, but from that angle it's fairly impossible to tell. So there's no point guessing. What are these "standardized methods" you refer to?

I was moreover referring to the angle of his feet (about 45 degrees) as opposed to the wider than shoulder width stance which is also associated with the sumo squat technique. Of course it might not make a difference if that is his normal standing position.

Kyle Pierce NSCA: 'feet should be parallel or slightly wider than parallel'. In my view they are too angled.

Hanley wrote: »

No, he's dive bombing and bouncing out of it. You don't have to just drop like a stone to take advantage of "stretch reflex".

The difference between experienced lifters and less experienced ones occurs during the eccentric phase of the squat. The less experienced ones will rush the downward phase which places compressive forces on the knee joint. I think that he should slow it down. Ive also never heard of any sports. If the OP is trying to 'dive bomb' like you said then the dive DOES activates the stretch reflex and allows for a very powerful
contraction of the hip/hamstring/glute muscles. In either case the hips should be propelled foward not upward in order to perfect technique. This is just my opinion as ive never read a journal about this.

Hanley wrote: »

Can you explain why? And at what part of the lift he should be doing it?

For the squat the movement occurs when the person 'sits' into the squat with the hips. The knees should be as vertical as possible. The person then propells the weight vertically using the hips and shoulders, at constant speed, at the same time. The speed did not look consistant and could be improved.

Its only advise and I dont mind having to explain advice given. I hope this helps the OP while squatting.

Transform

still think there is no way you can see it properly as the vid is so bad and at terrible angle.

Roper

Firstly, I didn't think the speed was all that fast. Could be slower on the descent but I think the speed of the bounce was more to do with the weight being light rather than any extreme bounce. Watch the knees at the bottom, generally when someone is bouncing out you get a corresponding "kick" backwards at the knees, for me that doesn't happen here. I could be wrong though as it's a bad angle and a short video.

Secondly, someone must have one of those new fangled 3D youtubes that let you see multiple angles because there is now way anyone can tell how wide the feet are. At a guess, and I'm using the hips as a reference point here, I'd reckon he's at shoulder width or slightly outwards, not wide at all. I call verbal masturbation on this one.

Hanley

I was just putting down those terms as it would be easier to type in 'valgus/vargus' into google and getting a more detailed description as opposed to typing in 'bending of the knee outward/inward during squat'.

“knees drifting in”
Why would you intentionally put in a word that would have to be googled?? Why not just explain it in the same way google would have??

I was moreover referring to the angle of his feet (about 45 degrees) as opposed to the wider than shoulder width stance which is also associated with the sumo squat technique. Of course it might not make a difference if that is his normal standing position.

So you when you referred to his stance width, you actually meant the angle his feet were at? How can ya not expect to confuse someone with comments like that?
There is absolutely NO WAY you can tell what angle his feet are at in that vid. That being said, I confidently say they’re certainly not at 45 degrees.

Kyle Pierce NSCA: 'feet should be parallel or slightly wider than parallel'. In my view they are too angled.

That quote makes no sense. What’s “wider than parallel” mean?? Angled??

For the squat the movement occurs when the person 'sits' into the squat with the hips. The knees should be as vertical as possible. The person then propells the weight vertically using the hips and shoulders, at constant speed, at the same time. The speed did not look consistant and could be improved.

Its only advise and I dont mind having to explain advice given. I hope this helps the OP while squatting.

By knees I assume you mean shins? And if you do mean shins, then the degree to which they remain vertical is going to be effected by stance with and individual limb lengths. It’s simply not possible to sit back with a squat to the extent that the shins remain vertical when you have a close stance.

RE: speed, do you mean the entire concentric phase should be the same speed? Cos if ya do, then that’s a lot of…. There’s going to be sticking points and parts of the lift where you’ll be stronger and in an advantageous leverage position. If you can make the entire lift look like it’s done at a constant speed then you’re probably going too light.

It’s obvious you’ve read quite a bit on it, but what’s your practical (both personal and instructive) experience like when it comes to squatting?

Yapamillias

Hanley wrote:

Why would you intentionally put in a word that would have to be googled?? Why not just explain it in the same way google would have?? ?

You have a problem my term usage, Im sorry to think that someone might have 10 seconds to get a much more detailed description complete explanation of a term than I could give if they were interested to read more. As I said, I couldn’t see if this was happening because of the camera angle that was available to me so it was speculation. Perhaps I was hoping for another camera angle to be posted.

Hanley wrote:

So you when you referred to his stance width, you actually meant the angle his feet were at? How can ya not expect to confuse someone with comments like that?
There is absolutely NO WAY you can tell what angle his feet are at in that vid. That being said, I confidently say they’re certainly not at 45 degrees. ?

If it confusing then I apologise and kudos to you for letting me know that I had responded using a confusing comment and forcing me to further explain. You have your opinion ascertained from the video and I have mine. The more comments, the better it is for the OP.

Hanley wrote:

That quote makes no sense. What’s “wider than parallel” mean?? Angled?? ?

wider than parallel is the angle the feet make compared to the standardized anatomical position (dont ask me to explain that). Also I looked at the difference distance between the heels compared to the tops of the toes. Grainy video, so ill use artistic licence and so it was my opinion.

Hanley wrote:

By knees I assume you mean shins? And if you do mean shins, then the degree to which they remain vertical is going to be effected by stance with and individual limb lengths. It’s simply not possible to sit back with a squat to the extent that the shins remain vertical when you have a close stance. ?

By knees I mean shins, my mistake, it doesn’t matter how they are affected but the rule is to try minimize horizontal displacement. They do not have to be at 90 degrees to the floor but as close to that as possible.

Hanley wrote:

RE: speed, do you mean the entire concentric phase should be the same speed? Cos if ya do, then that’s a lot of…. There’s going to be sticking points and parts of the lift where you’ll be stronger and in an advantageous leverage position. If you can make the entire lift look like it’s done at a constant speed then you’re probably going too light. ?

then thats a lot of...of what?? There are going to be sticking points just as you have said and yes mechanical advantage does determine where these sticking points occur during the lift. The main aspect that I can pick up is the knee angular acceleration from the sticking point to the lockout position. Which is the main difference found between novice lifters and more experienced ones. It might not need to be at constant speed but it may need to be speeded up.

Hanley wrote:

It’s obvious you’ve read quite a bit on it, but what’s your practical (both personal and instructive) experience like when it comes to squatting? ?

And in my opinion, a critique is all about opinion, the OP has minor technical issues but is much more proficient that a lot of squatters that I have seen. :pac:

dioltas

Thanks for the comments lads, didn't mean to cause so much commotion. The stance is just a bit wider than shoulder width. The weight was either 122.5 kg or 125 kg, can't remember for sure. My feet point out a bit usually, wouldn't say as much as 45 degrees, but still maybe a bit much. Just in case anyone cares!

Can see what people mean about dropping too fast and bouncing, was trying to get a stretch reflex, remember reading about it in starting strength, so was probably milking it a bit. Will try and control it more in future.

Got injured at the weekend, no gym for 6 weeks, so can't post a better vid for a while at least . When I start back I might throw one up to see what ye think (maybe with better shoes ), at least then my form will be good from the start. Thanks.

Oh and about breaking from the knees oracle, never really thought about that so you could be right there. Must try and break at the hips so in future.

rccaulfield

dioltas wrote: »

Thanks for the comments lads, didn't mean to cause so much commotion. The stance is just a bit wider than shoulder width. The weight was either 122.5 kg or 125 kg, can't remember for sure. My feet point out a bit usually, wouldn't say as much as 45 degrees, but still maybe a bit much. Just in case anyone cares!

Can see what people mean about dropping too fast and bouncing, was trying to get a stretch reflex, remember reading about it in starting strength, so was probably milking it a bit. Will try and control it more in future.

Got injured at the weekend, no gym for 6 weeks, so can't post a better vid for a while at least . When I start back I might throw one up to see what ye think (maybe with better shoes ), at least then my form will be good from the start. Thanks.

Oh and about breaking from the knees oracle, never really thought about that so you could be right there. Must try and break at the hips so in future.

Sorry to hear that-howd u get injured??

ocianain

Looks great! Well past paralell

If you want to slow you descent/not fall through the bottom turn heels out, away from midline. Personally, you looked near perfect to me, looked like and Olympic lifter squatting. .

fullback4glin

ocianain wrote: »

Looks great! Well past paralell

If you want to slow you descent/not fall through the bottom turn heels out, away from midline. Personally, you looked near perfect to me, looked like and Olympic lifter squatting. .

Jesus ya'll give de man a big head ha ha

The vid is shockin by d way

Sangre

Could someone do me a favour and explain 'breaking at the hips' and 'breaking at the knees'. Not sure what it means in practical terms when lifting. When coming out the hole I try and drive my feet into the ground rather than any effort to do one thing first.

Roper

Sangre wrote: »

Could someone do me a favour and explain 'breaking at the hips' and 'breaking at the knees'. Not sure what it means in practical terms when lifting. When coming out the hole I try and drive my feet into the ground rather than any effort to do one thing first.

"Breaking at" refers to you breaking your posture from the standing position and whichever bends first- your legs or your hips. Clear things up?

The difficulty with discussions like this is that they tend towards people trying to let the world know how much they know about the exercise rather than any practical help. There's a huge difference between describing the technical aspects of the squat and the coaching cues and tips you'd give someone when squatting. For example, most of the guys I train probably couldn't tell you how to squat, but they can squat just fine. They don't have to know the ins and outs, they just know heels down, lead with your chest, spread the floor and a few other cues.

There's a lot of fun in breaking down movements, but there is such a thing as too much information.

d'Oracle

Roper wrote: »

lead with your chest,

Eh......What does that mean?

Roper

That's why it's a cue. If you were in front of me it wouldn't require explanation.

d'Oracle

cue you then.

Roper

Well, I was left between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, I wanted to explain what I meant, but then on the other hand I had just said that I thought too much information was a waste of time on threads like these. I couldn't win, so I quit- HARD!

dioltas

rccaulfield wrote: »

Sorry to hear that-howd u get injured??

Broke the aul jaw! So the whole diet thing out the window too! Oh well, I'll just pick it up again once I'm healed.

itsallaboutheL

dioltas wrote: »

Broke the aul jaw! So the whole diet thing out the window too! Oh well, I'll just pick it up again once I'm healed.

OOOOOh Nasty, i've done that before........


of course it wasn't my jaw, so my diet didn't suffer much!!:D

jfit

First things first, am I the only person who sees a pelvic tilt ? Keep tucking under like this in your squats and you wont have to worry about foot width, angle of feet, braking at hips/knees etc etc

Roper is correct - its not really not helpful practical viewpoint in braking down every aspect of the squat - one thing at a time - starting with correct alignment of his back.

OP you need to get someone who knows what he is looking at, to spot you for technique - I mean somebody with experience - forget the weight - get your back alignment correct, or else :mad: