Another squat form check if you wouldnt mind....

thehamo

Hows tricks learned people. Was just wondering if someone could throw their eye over the squat form here? Ive started stronglifts 5x5 after some volume training and im a bit scared of the squat since it (well bad form) knocked my back out of action badly last year.

Very much open to criticism so let me know what you think. I know I dont really get that deep, but thats a flexibility issue on my behlaf. I suffer from very tight ham strings and hips.


Edit. Also turns out I dont know how to embed a vid. Heres the link to youtube, but if anyone wishes to also share their wisdom on embedding then i'd be very much obliged

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwOaXSmwx4&feature=g-upl

Zamboni

Take the bit out from the address between the = and the & and insert in between the You Tube tags.
Click on the YouTube button for the tags to save you typing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJwOaXSmwx4

Hanley

You get plenty deep. I train there too. Drop me a PM and let me know when you'll be there and I'll offer some tips if ya want em.

john t

nothing wrong with your squat good depth and form, mayb a heavier weight will give you problems but work up too it...

Doctor_Socks

Great squat form, you're hitting the right depth which is pretty much the bigget problem people have with them. Work on your flexibility and you'll be squatting with the best in no time

BraziliaNZ

looks good to me. When I squat though I go all the way down possible, so that my arse is lower than my knees, and I'm pretty much sitting/resting there before I go back up. Is that good or bad?

Hanley

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

looks good to me. When I squat though I go all the way down possible, so that my arse is lower than my knees, and I'm pretty much sitting/resting there before I go back up. Is that good or bad?

Provided that you're not losing structural integrity to achieve it, yes it's good.

By structural integrity I mean rounding your back, closing your knees to each, coming up onto your heels etc.

BraziliaNZ

Hanley wrote: »

Provided that you're not losing structural integrity to achieve it, yes it's good.

By structural integrity I mean rounding your back, closing your knees to each, coming up onto your heels etc.

No not at all, I find when I get that deep springing back up can be easier for some reason

agentgreen

Just out of interest, does using the plates under the heels to increase depth have any negative effects?

BraziliaNZ

agentgreen wrote: »

Just out of interest, does using the plates under the heels to increase depth have any negative effects?

I really can't see why he's using them here tbh

Brian?

Hanley wrote: »

You get plenty deep. I train there too. Drop me a PM and let me know when you'll be there and I'll offer some tips if ya want em.

Where is that? Fancy Eleiko equipment, nice.

What's the craic with the plates under the heels, I always that thought that was a no no.

d'Oracle

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

I really can't see why he's using them here tbh

Well you wouldn't unless you saw him squat without them.
Unless you just take it as to be he is trying to get the advantage of a wedge heel without buying Weightlifting shoes and while continuing to wear very flat soled shoes.

Hanley

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

I really can't see why he's using them here tbh

Becuase it's effectively a high bar wide stance squat which requires massive levels of hip and ankle mobility, the latter being compensates for by elevating the heels.

briankeating wrote: »

Where is that? Fancy Eleiko equipment, nice.

What's the craic with the plates under the heels, I always that thought that was a no no.

I never got the plates under heels hate. Functionally it's the exact same as wearing weightlifting shoes - its just a plaster to stick over an ankle mobility issue.

I don't even get why it'd be a bad idea theoretically, I can't only assume its becaue it allows your knees to go past your toes but most people tend to agree that's not an issue either.

Banks

Hanley wrote: »

I never got the plates under heels hate. Functionally it's the exact same as wearing weightlifting shoes - its just a plaster to stick over an ankle mobility issue.

Yeah Id say the OP has some mobility issues at the ankle. Could only say for sure tho if we saw his squat without the plates under his heels.

If this was a client of mine, id be trying to address the mobility issues rather than patching it up by placing plates under the heels. Im sure ud agree Hanley??

Thud

Hanley wrote: »

I never got the plates under heels hate. Functionally it's the exact same as wearing weightlifting shoes - its just a plaster to stick over an ankle mobility issue.

.

i think the Health and safety brigade don't want you tripping over them and getting crushed under a barbell

Antisocialiser

Hi OP

By no means an expert but things that have helped me achieve a decent below parallel squat are:

Foamrolling > Consciously squeezing bar and keeping back tight > Mobility / Stability warm-up > Stretching. (in that order)

As others have said your squat is grand but if you wanted to ditch the plates it could be an idea.

thehamo

Cheers lads for the input. The reason I use the plates is that using them I feel a lot more in controll of the squat on the way down and feel the squat much deeper. When I squat without the plates I fell that bit wobblier for want of a better word and tend to feel my body tilting forward ending up in a more of a good morning position. This is what happened last time and I herniated two discs in my back. I've been neglecting the foam rolling so gonna get back to it

Hanley

Banks wrote: »

Yeah Id say the OP has some mobility issues at the ankle. Could only say for sure tho if we saw his squat without the plates under his heels.

If this was a client of mine, id be trying to address the mobility issues rather than patching it up by placing plates under the heels. Im sure ud agree Hanley??

Yup but I'd address it while still trying to preserve training stimulus.

I don't even know how necessary it is to be able to hot close stance swuats with flat shoes. There's just too many variables to be absokute about it - Femur:tibia length, torso length etc etc.

Kevin Duffy

briankeating wrote: »

Where is that? Fancy Eleiko equipment, nice.

The gym at Morton Stadium. Small, but perfectly formed.

Scuba Ste

Kevin Duffy wrote: »

The gym at Morton Stadium. Small, but perfectly formed.

Ssshh, don't tell anyone.

Trying to find the plates to put my heels on isn't something I'd want to try while walking backwards with a very heavy weight on my back.

Barry.Oglesby

Hanley wrote: »

Yup but I'd address it while still trying to preserve training stimulus.

Why not get the training stimulus in some other way while addressing the mobility issue? This seems unnecessarily hazardous and potentially inhibiting to future ankle mobility development. There's also the possibility of proprioceptive issues.

I don't even know how necessary it is to be able to hot close stance swuats with flat shoes. There's just too many variables to be absokute about it - Femur:tibia length, torso length etc etc.

Would you not agree that a fundamental requirement for a hooming bean is to have the necessary mobility to perform a deep skwat?

Hanley

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Why not get the training stimulus in some other way while addressing the mobility issue? This seems unnecessarily hazardous and potentially inhibiting to future ankle mobility development. There's also the possibility of proprioceptive issues.

Didn't say HOW I'd preserve it

Would you not agree that a fundamental requirement for a hooming bean is to have the necessary mobility to perform a deep skwat?

I would, but doing it while loaded with near max weights and doing it unweighted are pretty different propositions, would ya not agree?

(also, I thought you were taking the piss with that quote until I went back and read it - it looks almost intentionally bad)

Barry.Oglesby

Hanley wrote: »

Didn't say HOW I'd preserve it

Well way to muddy the waters. You didn't directly say "I'd have him squat off blocks/plates" but you kind of did.

I would, but doing it while loaded with near max weights and doing it unweighted are pretty different propositions, would ya not agree?

I would of course agree but we don't know if this dude can get in the squat position unweighted. Based on the vid I'd say he can as it happens.

So what's worse:
1) squatting with near max weights with your heels up on two small steps
2) squatting not-quite-to-depth flat on your feet

That's not a trick question by the way I think you'd get a range of responses by more knowledgeable minds than mine.

But for me it sucks because:
1) The surface is poor, as are the choice of shoes. I'm not going Gok Wan on it I just mean he has narrow soled shoes on.
2) Walking out with a loaded bar after making your own trip hazard is a safety issue
3) I don't like the colour on the walls in that gym.

token

thehamo wrote: »

Cheers lads for the input. The reason I use the plates is that using them I feel a lot more in controll of the squat on the way down and feel the squat much deeper. When I squat without the plates I fell that bit wobblier for want of a better word and tend to feel my body tilting forward ending up in a more of a good morning position. This is what happened last time and I herniated two discs in my back. I've been neglecting the foam rolling so gonna get back to it

Get yourself some weightlifting shoes. Worth every cent.

Antisocialiser

token wrote: »

Get yourself some weightlifting shoes. Worth every cent.

Are weightlifting shoes as good for squatting wide stance as they are for narrow stance?

I can vaguely remember reading on here that converse were just as good for wide stance squatting.

Hanley

Antisocialiser wrote: »

Are weightlifting shoes as good for squatting wide stance as they are for narrow stance?

I can vaguely remember reading on here that converse were just as good for wide stance squatting.

How wide is wide?

Antisocialiser

Hanley wrote: »

How wide is wide?

About 1.5 times shoulder width. Actually as I write this I'm realising that this is probably not considered a wide stance...