Critique my squat

Slaanesh

I was originally shown by a member of this forum how to squat and they really knew their ****. However I haven't had anyone look at my form in a long time and I fear I may be doing things wrong.

A bit of history:

I was up at 3x5x80kg when I stopped squatting a few months back. I had a niggle on the inside of my left knee that would shoot pain when I locked out at the top of the squat so I decided I'd stop squatting and give the leg a break. I went to the physio and he thinks it comes down to having flat feet. I don't have arch support in my normal everyday shoes but I got a pair of insoles last week and I'm trialling them.

I also have a pair of asics which have great arch support which I got for running. The physio was of the opinion that I shouldn't be doing lots of running if I'm doing heavy squatting (anyone have comments on this?). I was really getting into the running but my leg just wasn't really liking the combination.

I started squatting there again 2 weeks ago, keeping the weight low, I'm up at 40kg ish now and the leg isn't happy. So then I thought I'm probably doing the squat all wrong and took a video to let the good people of boards tear me apart!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArM66Nx1KDo

So that's it, I wasn't lifting anything heavy and was concentrating on form. Let me know what I'm doing wrong!!

gstack

not much wrong there , torso upright, knees stay out , i'd say your doing it quite well really . you could try slowing down a little on your descent and really driving up out of bottom but at 40kg thats not really important.

Have you previously injured your knee or hip,ankle , low back ?

Brian?

Slaanesh wrote: »

I was originally shown by a member of this forum how to squat and they really knew their ****. However I haven't had anyone look at my form in a long time and I fear I may be doing things wrong.


So that's it, I wasn't lifting anything heavy and was concentrating on form. Let me know what I'm doing wrong!!

Try putting the bar on a lower hook so you don't have to go up on your toes to take it out. I like to set it up so I'm doing a 1/8 squat when I take that bar up.

It looks grand otherwise, however its easy to squat perfectly with a light weight. What are you lifting for your worksets? Try videoing one of those and throw it up.

I'd change shoes as well, there's a thread on that right now.

dartstothesea

I could be wrong here but I thought you're supposed to not have your knees further forward than your feet? I can't tell from the video really but you could also consider whether you're keeping your knees pointed out enough relative to your foot position etc.

I've started squatting a good bit heavier recently and have noticed my knees are a lot tighter when I go do to other things like swimming or stretching. No pain or anything though. I hope I'm using my glutes/hamstrings enough in my squat but I'm past the point of feeling much burn or DOMs in them anymore so it's hard to be sure.

Oh, I just remembered a shooting pain in the leg like that could be a nerve issue in your lower back. You seem to be tucking your lower back in and then back out again between every rep, is that necesary or correct? I don't know myself but it's probably worth considering that. I know the lower back should be kept slightly arched, in case anyone thinks I'm saying otherwise.

d'Oracle

You seem to be breaking at the knees.
You should initiate a squat by breaking from the hips.
Push your ass backwards then break your knees push your knees out on the way down.

Breaking at the knees is bad for your knees.

drdeadlift

d'Oracle wrote: »

You seem to be breaking at the knees.
You should initiate a squat by breaking from the hips.
Push your ass backwards then break your knees push your knees out on the way down.

Breaking at the knees is bad for your knees.

bs

Canis Lupus

drdeadlift wrote: »

bs

Bs that the OP is breaking at the knees or BS to the fact that breaking at the knee first is bad for you cos it is afaik.

d'Oracle

drdeadlift wrote: »

bs

Whatever you say petal.

Parsley

drdeadlift wrote: »

bs

weren't you banned for being a troll <mod snip> </mod snip>

TommyKnocker

drdeadlift wrote: »

bs

That is a less than useful response and I would recommend that if you have nothing useful to offer to the OP, then simply refrain from posting.

Best Regards,

M

Kev M

A heavier weight would better demonstrate your form. But from that video I think the bar could maybe be lower on your back, and as previously said you should break at the hips, not at the knees, which would prevent your knees from going so far forward and actually protect them...

gavkm27

My 2 cents on it would be- like D'oracle said really initiate the squat by pushing your ass out,think of this as you go down,focus on keeping weight on the heels.Go down alot slower,when you drop fast with a heavy weight there is a gravitational delay and it gets worse the heavier you get.
Take a breath in at the begining and hold it until up,lock up you thorso and initate your core and as soon as your down drive hard up.

PeterMc9

Tricky to tell from the angle and speed but looks like you may be rounding your lower back slightly at the base of the squat. Have this problem myself and trying to correct at the moment.

size5

PeterMc9 wrote: »

Tricky to tell from the angle and speed but looks like you may be rounding your lower back slightly at the base of the squat. Have this problem myself and trying to correct at the moment.

Much better to critque if camera angle was directly in front of you-look at what way knees are traveling over front and also angle directly on side to see if everything is coming down in parell alignment

qt9ukbg60ivjrn

it looks like you're also "butt winking" but that could be because you're going so fast

http://board.crossfit.com/showpost.php?p=63387&postcount=8

there's a post with a video on it, you're rounding your back and basically you're ass is dropping out and curving your back

Hanley

Waste of time trying to critique anything with weight's that so comfortable. Put up vids of 80-90% and you'll find form breakdowns.

And why has nobody said the reason he's "butt winking"** is because of the over exagerrated arch he puts in his lower back before starting the squat?? There's no way he's gonna hold that position. Nor does he need to.

**I hate that term

The Davestator

OP - your technique is good but as Hanley said, its easy to have good technique on low weight, its when the weight gets heavier, technique can sometimes suffer.

As for others saying break at the hip and dont let your knees come forward - thats the way its taught in college akaik but its completely wrong and brutal on the knees. Lots of studies on it.

Slaanesh

Cheers for all the comments.

I'll try again with heavier weight and get a video up.

Points:
Slow the whole movement.
Keep arch at bottom.
Don't 'butt wink'.
Bar possibly lower on back?
Don't let knees come forward.

d'Oracle

Slaanesh wrote: »

Bar possibly lower on back?

I'm not sure about this.
All back squats are not the same.

What you seem to be doing is a more upright "high-bar" or Olympic squat.
The bar is on you traps, your torso is more vertical and you are sitting down.
This is uses more quad if I am not mistaken.

This is opposed to a "Low bar" Squat which is more similar to what powerlifters do. The bar is placed below the ridge of the shoulder blades resting on the meaty bit a the back of your shoulders, you lean forward more and sit back and down.
It uses more hip muscles and hamstring action. (More muscles move more weight, loosely speaking)

You would have to change a fair bit in order to put the bar lower.

You should look into both.

Doolittle51

I'm no expert, but your grip looks totally incorrect. Wrists should be straight, and thumbs curl around the bar in the same direction as the fingers.