Struggling with Squats

radharc

I've been working out for around six months now and am happy in general with how it's going. Only problem is my squats are extremely weak - I'm currently benching a little more than I'm squatting which I've never heard of anyone else doing?

I think my form is ok (have had it checked by a few third parties) and I am making gains still but is there anything that is restricting me from heavier weights eg flexibility or do some people just have very weak legs???

Background Info: Height 6'3"; Weight 14st4lbs (up from 12st 10lbs six months ago); Bench 82.5kg; Squat 80kg

COH

Got any vids?

radharc

No, could prob post one up later in the week tho...
Anything come to mind straight away?

Hailhail1967

A video will save ya getting a million different random answers to be honest.

jugger0

Going by most people your form and flexibility are probably terrible, i can count on one hand the amount of people ive seen squat properly (to a decent depth, no back rounding). A video would help a lot.

papu

Sorry for thread stealing but I've been wanting to ask a similar question.
I'm not to worried about the weight I'd just like some pointers on my form , I've been slowly getting back into squats after a horrible back injury so form is key to not getting injured again. This was taken a few weeks ago , I've been working on mobility and am squatting lower now.
http://youtu.be/QHPSUPQXtBE

BraziliaNZ

papu wrote: »

Sorry for thread stealing but I've been wanting to ask a similar question.
I'm not to worried about the weight I'd just like some pointers on my form , I've been slowly getting back into squats after a horrible back injury so form is key to not getting injured again. This was taken a few weeks ago , I've been working on mobility and am squatting lower now.
http://youtu.be/QHPSUPQXtBE

Compared to how deep I would go you only seem to be going about three quarters of the way, so I'd work on that if I were you.
Also those shorts? With that top?

papu

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Compared to how deep I would go you only seem to be going about three quarters of the way, so I'd work on that if I were you.
Also those shorts? With that top?

Thanks , yeah I try warm up with some stretching and goblet squats and go just below parallel .

Ah well its not a fashion show , I'm also studying in australia at the moment bringing matching gym wear wasn't high on the priorities

Stench Blossoms

BraziliaNZ wrote: »

Also those shorts? With that top?

I burst out laughing when I read that.

Hailhail1967

papu wrote: »

Sorry for thread stealing but I've been wanting to ask a similar question.
I'm not to worried about the weight I'd just like some pointers on my form , I've been slowly getting back into squats after a horrible back injury so form is key to not getting injured again. This was taken a few weeks ago , I've been working on mobility and am squatting lower now.
http://youtu.be/QHPSUPQXtBE

From a quick look on my phone, your knees look very forward at the bottom. You should be able to wiggle your toes at the bottom, so your weight should be on your heels is what i'm getting at.

If you watch the bar very closely it travels forward right the way through the movement. So bum back, weight on heels and get deeper.

To do this i'm guessing you probable have flexibility issues so you will need to work on those.

Michael 09

Stench Blossoms wrote: »

I burst out laughing when I read that.

Me too, genuine LOL.

Brian?

papu wrote: »

Sorry for thread stealing but I've been wanting to ask a similar question.
I'm not to worried about the weight I'd just like some pointers on my form , I've been slowly getting back into squats after a horrible back injury so form is key to not getting injured again. This was taken a few weeks ago , I've been working on mobility and am squatting lower now.
http://youtu.be/QHPSUPQXtBE

It's hard to see much in that video but it looks to me like you're breaking at the knee instead of the hip. This sends you forward at the start and you haven't a hope after that.

Take the weight off the bar and practice sitting back into the squat.

What are you doing for hip mobility?

papu

Brian? wrote: »

What are you doing for hip mobility?

what would you reccommend?
I don't know if these would do anything to help but at the moment Barbell hip thrusts, seated box jumps and ATG goblet squats. Foam rolling my IT band and Hamstrings.

Funk It

Would agree with what was said regarding not going deep enough or below parallel papu.

Another small comment I would make is that you are looking straight ahead into the mirror for the whole squat (maybe a lot of people do this - some need to do it with arm curls as well strangely enough, but thats a different matter). One point that was told to me and always comes to mind when I am squatting is to focus on a fixed point higher up, such as where the wall meets the ceiling for example.

This is mentioned amongst other things in this video with Matt Wenning. It is mentioned about the 5min 20sec mark. He has a few videos on squatting tips which might be of some help (I hope).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao

dragonkin

Funk It wrote: »

One point that was told to me and always comes to mind when I am squatting is to focus on a fixed point higher up, such as where the wall meets the ceiling for example.

Are you sure this is good advice? Rippetoe says to keep the neck neutral, so that a tennis ball would fit in to the gap between chin and bottom of neck. Lifting the head up extends your cervical spine. I'm not an expert however maybe there are reasons to look up but it feels more natural to me to keep neutral positioning.

EDIT - Had a very quick search and found these two blog posts, which seem to indicate neutral is good
http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/2012/01/head-position-on-back-squat.html
http://squatrx.blogspot.ie/2009/02/head-positioning-in-squat.html

but I'm sure someone here knows the ins and outs

Funk It

dragonkin wrote: »

Are you sure this is good advice? Rippetoe says to keep the neck neutral, so that a tennis ball would fit in to the gap between chin and bottom of neck. Lifting the head up extends your cervical spine. I'm not an expert however maybe there are reasons to look up but it feels more natural to me to keep neutral positioning.

I am not going to claim to be an expert myself, and I will gladly amend it if it is proven to be incorrect or dangerous advice. One thing to point out is that although I look up when I squat, my head is still in a pretty much neutral position i.e. I am not tilting my head up drastically towards the ceiling which I think you are questioning.

It was what was told to me, and as I pointed out there is similar advice given in the video that I linked into my previous post. I suppose you have to go with what feels to be the most natural for yourself, and it feels natural for me to focus on a point just above the mirror in the gym when I squat.

Hanley

dragonkin wrote: »

Are you sure this is good advice? Rippetoe says to keep the neck neutral, so that a tennis ball would fit in to the gap between chin and bottom of neck. Lifting the head up extends your cervical spine. I'm not an expert however maybe there are reasons to look up but it feels more natural to me to keep neutral positioning.

EDIT - Had a very quick search and found these two blog posts, which seem to indicate neutral is good
http://www.liftbigeatbig.com/2012/01/head-position-on-back-squat.html
http://squatrx.blogspot.ie/2009/02/head-positioning-in-squat.html

but I'm sure someone here knows the ins and outs

Yah looking down is great, if you want to good morning your squats, put excessive strain on your lower back and risk dumping the bar forward.

You can fix your gaze on a higher point without looking up (you use your eyes).

chriity139

look up so you think you can squat on youtube its an excellent video which goes over your form, how to improve strenght if your struggling at different weights etc.

It really helped me when i started squating about a year ago i was doing pretty much the same weight as you and i weighed 85kg a year later im 82kg and can squat 190kg and thats not including the bar


heres the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao

Funk It

chriity139 wrote: »

look up so you think you can squat on youtube its an excellent video which goes over your form, how to improve strenght if your struggling at different weights etc.

It really helped me when i started squating about a year ago i was doing pretty much the same weight as you and i weighed 85kg a year later im 82kg and can squat 190kg and thats not including the bar


heres the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ME8gEN54Ao

That is seriously good going, fair play to ya.

Totally agree about the video, it was the same one I linked a few posts back. I found the 5 "so you think you can squat" clips very helpful, and the best advice I can give to anyone is to watch them videos.

Cork24

Dont Lock your Knees.. by locking your knees you can cause serious ligament damage, try to keep them bent