Squat Form Critque

[Whey2Grow]

Please Critique my squat form, where to improve etc.

Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBxmqM-JKEY

[terman1]

[randyyle]

this is what it looks like to me, im no expert but yeah:

your feet seems to be too close, try to spread them out abit further

hit depth atleast parallel CONSISTENTLY because your first rep was good depth, then it started to get higher etc

[Whey2Grow]

Thanks for embedding !! reps !

any critique ?

[Steven110]

Thanks for embedding !! reps !

any critique ?

Why are ur legs so close together? Looks weird as fawk cuz. Are wider stances uncomfortable?

[Whey2Grow]

Why are ur legs so close together? Looks weird as fawk cuz. Are wider stances uncomfortable?

The angle doesnt do it any justice, they arnt THAT close together, however they are about hip distance apart, slightly ... just slightly less. I like to take the strain off my abductors and more on the outter part of the quad.

Should i go wider and how much wider, thanks .

[terman1]

You're welcome. Personally, they looked fine to me. Perhaps a few of the more senior members will see additional things to critique. As far as comments about leg width, that is more of a personal choice imo.

[JJ22]

Are your knees going past your toes? I can't tell

[soundofmaddness]

like everyone else, your feet look really close together, seems kinda bad for the joints, if you wide your feet out you'll have a better base, plus you have more a hip drive.



i like this video on explaining squat. he doesnt really explain totally perfect form but hip drive. sidenote - i never look down i look straight across

[Whey2Grow]

You're welcome. Personally, they looked fine to me. Perhaps a few of the more senior members will see additional things to critique. As far as comments about leg width, that is more of a personal choice imo.

Thanks again.

[Steven110]

The angle doesnt do it any justice, they arnt THAT close together, however they are about hip distance apart, slightly ... just slightly less. I like to take the strain off my abductors and more on the outter part of the quad.

Should i go wider and how much wider, thanks .

The thing about a closer together stance is that it makes you more likely to round your lower back when you go down to parallel. If you pause when you're at the bottom of your first rep, you can see a slight "butt wink", or rounding of the lower back. However, yours is not all that bad; you probably have very flexible hamstrings. If you want to stick with that narrower stance because it is more comfortable for you, go ahead. Personally I prefer a slightly wider than shoulder width stance.

[Whey2Grow]

Are your knees going past your toes? I can't tell

maybe slightly, or they are coming out over the toes, you know, ive never really taken notice.

I would say either just slightly over, or to the tip.

[PowderMonkey]

Knees are coming way too far forward.

Try this, right now.
Stand up
Put your hands together, palms flat against each other, sort of like your are praying.
Lower your hands so that your forearms are horizontal.
Squat down, put your elbows on the inside of your knees. Keep your forearms horizontal.
If you can't get your elbows between your knees while your forearms are horizontal, you need to move your feet wider apart.
Once you can put your elbows between your knees, this is how wide your feet need to be apart. When I do this, my heels are about 20 inches apart.

Your feet should point slightly to the side, about 20-30 degrees out from straight ahead. When you squat down, your knees should travel forward slightly in the same direction your toes are pointing.

Your knees should not come forward past your toes. About half an inch to an inch past is ok, but your knees should be sitting as close to above your toes as possible at the bottom of the squat.

Do not look at yourself in the mirror. Everything you need to keep an eye on when you are squatting, you cannot see in the mirror anyway, and looking straight ahead will make it harder to maintain your back posture. Look at, or slightly below, the bottom edge of the frame of the mirror. Try to feel what your body is doing rather than seeing it.
You are filming anyway, you don't need to watch yourself in the mirror. Stop filming between each set and watch it straight away, it gives a much better indication than the mirror. The mirror is great for other lifts, but not for squats.

Your elbows are too far back. Don't close your hands around the bar. Use a thumbless grip and push it into your back. From your knuckles to your elbow should form a straight line. Do not bend your wrist, and keep your elbows down. Roll your hands forward slightly to get rid of the bend in your wrist.

Your lower back is rounding out slightly at the bottom. Keep your lower back tight throughout the squat. Keep your chest forward and stick out your butt. Imagine someone has a rope attached to the back belt loop of your pants, and is pulling straight up.

Take 3 steps out before you start squatting. Left foot back, right foot back, left foot to one side to widen your stance. Then go. Don't stand and hesitate once you are bearing the weight. Pick it up, get in position, and go. If you need more time to psych yourself up, take more time when the weight is on the rack.

[Whey2Grow]

like everyone else, your feet look really close together, seems kinda bad for the joints, if you wide your feet out you'll have a better base, plus you have more a hip drive.



i like this video on explaining squat. he doesnt really explain totally perfect form but hip drive. sidenote - i never look down i look straight across

nice video,

repped. I dont like the idea of looking down either, this can cause rounding. But i will try this next week and post up another follow up movie. hopefully with a better angle more straight on.

[Whey2Grow]

Knees are coming way too far forward.

Try this, right now.
Stand up
Put your hands together, palms flat against each other, sort of like your are praying.
Lower your hands so that your forearms are horizontal.
Squat down, put your elbows on the inside of your knees. Keep your forearms horizontal.
If you can't get your elbows between your knees while your forearms are horizontal, you need to move your feet wider apart.
Once you can put your elbows between your knees, this is how wide your feet need to be apart. When I do this, my heels are about 20 inches apart.

Your feet should point slightly to the side, about 20-30 degrees out from straight ahead. When you squat down, your knees should travel forward slightly in the same direction your toes are pointing.

Your knees should not come forward past your toes. About half an inch to an inch past is ok, but your knees should be sitting as close to above your toes as possible at the bottom of the squat.

Do not look at yourself in the mirror. Everything you need to keep an eye on when you are squatting, you cannot see in the mirror anyway, and looking straight ahead will make it harder to maintain your back posture. Look at, or slightly below, the bottom edge of the frame of the mirror. Try to feel what your body is doing rather than seeing it.
You are filming anyway, you don't need to watch yourself in the mirror. Stop filming between each set and watch it straight away, it gives a much better indication than the mirror. The mirror is great for other lifts, but not for squats.

Your elbows are too far back. Don't close your hands around the bar. Use a thumbless grip and push it into your back. From your knuckles to your elbow should form a straight line. Do not bend your wrist, and keep your elbows down. Roll your hands forward slightly to get rid of the bend in your wrist.

Your lower back is rounding out slightly at the bottom. Keep your lower back tight throughout the squat. Keep your chest forward and stick out your butt. Imagine someone has a rope attached to the back belt loop of your pants, and is pulling straight up.

Take 3 steps out before you start squatting. Left foot back, right foot back, left foot to one side to widen your stance. Then go. Don't stand and hesitate once you are bearing the weight. Pick it up, get in position, and go. If you need more time to psych yourself up, take more time when the weight is on the rack.

WOW informative post, Thankyou.

This is the first time i ever recorded myself squatting so i will take all those tips on board and apply them next week with a follow up video !!

repped.

[PowderMonkey]

WOW informative post, Thankyou.

This is the first time i ever recorded myself squatting so i will take all those tips on board and apply them next week with a follow up video !!

repped.

Np, man. I am about to go to the gym myself, I record every session, so I'll post the squat vid in here once I get back. I'll try and get a few angles for you. My form is not perfect either - I am very inflexible and my back rounds out a little at the bottom because my hammies are still tight.

Brb in a few hours.

[Whey2Grow]

Np, man. I am about to go to the gym myself, I record every session, so I'll post the squat vid in here once I get back. I'll try and get a few angles for you. My form is not perfect either - I am very inflexible and my back rounds out a little at the bottom because my hammies are still tight.

Brb in a few hours.

cheers, lookin forward to the vids.

[poloralphloren]

No need to worry about the knees coming past the toes, go as far forward as you need to to get below parallel.

[Whey2Grow]

bump for more replies, the more critique and tips the better.

Thanks to all that have replied so far, some great tips and videos.

[matjusm]

Are your knees going past your toes? I can't tell

Knees are coming way too far forward.

Your knees should not come forward past your toes. About half an inch to an inch past is ok, but your knees should be sitting as close to above your toes as possible at the bottom of the squat.

There is nothing wrong with knees going past toes, that it is normal for them to do so.

[PowderMonkey]

No need to worry about the knees coming past the toes, go as far forward as you need to to get below parallel.

no

There is nothing wrong with knees going past toes, that it is normal for them to do so.

if your knees travel forward past your toes, your hamstrings are too relaxed, and too much strain is placed on your anterior superior iliae spine (essentially the front of your hip) and you can get very weird and very bad tendonitis. don't do this.

it also means your torso and back is coming too far forwards and you can develop a weird curve in your back while you are squatting, and this is not good.

[PowderMonkey]

as promised:

the first set is shot from behind, to give you an idea of how wide to set your feet.
notice that at the bottom, my butt dips a bit. this is because i am not hugely flexible, and my hamstrings pull on my hips and tip them up near the bottom. my flexibility is getting better, and i am working on eliminating this. avoid doing this. lift your chest, and stick out your butt, and this will most likely not happen to you.

i am largely inflexible due to multiple lower back surgeries. unless you have had something similar done, you will probably be fine.

keep your knees apart as you squat. the first few times you do this, you will feel major stretching in your adductors, but as they become more pliable, this will become less of a problem.

[unity]

just generally speaking, saying knees can't pass toes is not ideal. but it is a decent guideline for low bar squats. however this does depend upon a persons build. matjusm is probably looking at the "knees past toes" rule from the high bar perspective, in which case that so called rule does not work at all. with a high bar squat it is impossible for most lifters to keep their knees from passing their toes.

powdermonkey does make some very valid points in regards to the low bar squat. the OP is moving forward which is causing his knees to pass his toes. this is incorrect form, as he should be sitting back more.

even in an olympic style squat, you would not want to move forward, rather, the object would be to sit straight down between the knees. so whoever said to move forward as far as you need to hit depth, is flat out wrong.

[Whey2Grow]

as promised:

the first set is shot from behind, to give you an idea of how wide to set your feet.
notice that at the bottom, my butt dips a bit. this is because i am not hugely flexible, and my hamstrings pull on my hips and tip them up near the bottom. my flexibility is getting better, and i am working on eliminating this. avoid doing this. lift your chest, and stick out your butt, and this will most likely not happen to you.

i am largely inflexible due to multiple lower back surgeries. unless you have had something similar done, you will probably be fine.

keep your knees apart as you squat. the first few times you do this, you will feel major stretching in your adductors, but as they become more pliable, this will become less of a problem.

Thanks so much for this, perfect video to see form and i see exactly what your talking about. Ill keep this thread updated and come my leg workout next week ill post a new video of hopefully my improved form.

if i could rep you again i would !

[Whey2Grow]

just generally speaking, saying knees can't pass toes is not ideal. but it is a decent guideline for low bar squats. however this does depend upon a persons build. matjusm is probably looking at the "knees past toes" rule from the high bar perspective, in which case that so called rule does not work at all. with a high bar squat it is impossible for most lifters to keep their knees from passing their toes.

powdermonkey does make some very valid points in regards to the low bar squat. the OP is moving forward which is causing his knees to pass his toes. this is incorrect form, as he should be sitting back more.

even in an olympic style squat, you would not want to move forward, rather, the object would be to sit straight down between the knees. so whoever said to move forward as far as you need to hit depth, is flat out wrong.

Thanks for your tips !!

im glad i decided to record my squats so i can now perfect my form.


Question to anyone tho, is my form anything to be concerned about in terms of injury etc or is it just something that could be improved for effectiveness ?

[PowderMonkey]

Thanks so much for this, perfect video to see form and i see exactly what your talking about. Ill keep this thread updated and come my leg workout next week ill post a new video of hopefully my improved form.

if i could rep you again i would !

Looking forward to it. Just hit me up with a PM when you do and I'll come and take a look.
I'll see if I can drag Farley into this too, that guy is the king of squats.

Thanks for your tips !!

im glad i decided to record my squats so i can now perfect my form.


Question to anyone tho, is my form anything to be concerned about in terms of injury etc or is it just something that could be improved for effectiveness ?

both.
I was lax with my form until it gave me a nice injury in January. Now I am a form nazi for all of my lifts.

You will be more efficient and far less injury prone if you take form seriously. Most people don't. Don't be most people.

[matjusm]

just generally speaking, saying knees can't pass toes is not ideal. but it is a decent guideline for low bar squats. however this does depend upon a persons build. matjusm is probably looking at the "knees past toes" rule from the high bar perspective, in which case that so called rule does not work at all. with a high bar squat it is impossible for most lifters to keep their knees from passing their toes.

powdermonkey does make some very valid points in regards to the low bar squat. the OP is moving forward which is causing his knees to pass his toes. this is incorrect form, as he should be sitting back more.

From what I saw in the video the OP was doing a high bar squat in which case the knees do go past the toes and on top of that, the "sit back" cue does not apply because its more of a sit down movement.
In fact even in the low bar squat the knees go past the toes:

[PowderMonkey]

From what I saw in the video the OP was doing a high bar squat in which case the knees do go past the toes and on top of that, the "sit back" cue does not apply because its more of a sit down movement.
In fact even in the low bar squat the knees go past the toes:

Not so sure it is high bar, but WE.

In my video, my knees come forward past my toes by about a half inch.
Even in the diagram you have, the high bar squat shows the knees no more than about an inch past the toes.

Any more than this, and you have serious problems, because your body is doing very odd things to keep the weight above your feet in order to maintain balance.

And don't try to bring up front or overhead squats, they are an entirely different kettle of fish.

[Minjin]

Try this, right now.
Stand up
Put your hands together, palms flat against each other, sort of like your are praying.
Lower your hands so that your forearms are horizontal.
Squat down, put your elbows on the inside of your knees. Keep your forearms horizontal.
If you can't get your elbows between your knees while your forearms are horizontal, you need to move your feet wider apart.
Once you can put your elbows between your knees, this is how wide your feet need to be apart. When I do this, my heels are about 20 inches apart.

Not the OP but based on this advice here, I have apparently been squatting with my feet about 5 inches closer than they should have been. How does that affect which muscles are used or does it not?

[NC_Tarheel]

Another thing you may want to watch for OP is elbow positioning. You want to try and get your elbows under the bar as much as possible because it will...

*force your chest "out" and help create the arch in your low back that is so important

*tighten your upper back. You definitely want to keep your upper back tight throughout the movement

Look below where I took a screenshot from your video and then another screen shot from powdermonkey's video. You can see there is almost a 90 degree difference





Keep at it. Get on a linear program like starting Strength on Starr's 5 X 5 (programs where you squat multiple times a week) and you'll be fine.

Good luck!!