First-time poster, but avid reader. I started 5/3/1 about 6 months ago, and have seen noticeable progress. Today was my first squat session of a new cycle, and 240x5 was my working set. I got 7 out, but I’m still a little inconsistent with my form - namely depth. Being 6’5, it’s quite a ways down, and I used to go far below parallel, but found I was sacrificing a lot of power. I am not completely comfortable with my current depth, and worry that I’m cheating my squats. Any comments on my depth or overall form would be greatly appreciated!
Edit: I did a single after my set to record my form.
CAPO/GPC/GPA might accept that form, IPF is a little more strict with the parallel rule.
It’s usually safer to break parallel if you can.
Also, looks like you’ve got a high bar placement there, in terms of leverage you should give low bar a go, it should feel tighter on your back and more comfortable/stable on the way down. Might be tough on your wrists starting out though.
High bar is good for core and quad activation though, so definitely keep it in your program as assistance/accessory but if you’re just starting out the noob gains will carry you pretty far whichever way you decide to go (and if you are just starting out I do suggest you stick to one for at least the next 3-6 months until you get a nice feel for everything).
Lowbar, I know the camera angle makes it difficult to tell, but I’m actually using low bar. I used to have it right on top of my traps, but now it’s lower across my rear delts.
In terms of noob gains - I’ve been lifting for a solid six years, but never had good programming. In fact, I didn’t start squatting until a year and a half ago (I know…). My diet was off, and I was content spinning my wheels.
Depth looked pretty solid to me. But lose the running shoes and find a cheap pair of Chuck Taylor’s or wrestling shoes. (Wrestling shoes should be on clearance at sporting goods stores soon when the season ends) Or if you’re looking at Oly shoes I would suggest Sabos, I just got a pair and love them and they’re “only” $120
Looks like to me you leaned forward a bit and lost your arch coming out of the hole.
Focus on pressing the bar into your traps by pulling down on the bar like you are trying to bend the bar. Keep you head up and focus on keeping your chest up. As you come out of the hole think ‘head through the bar’.
I too suffer at times losing my arch and leaning forward coming out of the hole. Its tolerable at lighter weights but when you are doing a heavy 1RM it can really screw you up. I know this first hand.
I second the recommendations on chuck taylors and low bar placement.
I couldn’t really tell your feet placement but I squat pretty wide, about 1.5x shoulder width with toes pointed laterally at an angle. Your knees look pretty solid, I didnt’ see them cave in, which is awesome. As you go heavier concentrate on outward knee drive.
Here’s an update. I lowered my squat max, because I wasn’t hitting my 5/3/1 days. In this video I do 225x10. I’m fairly happy with my form, though on some reps fatigue takes over and I get a little sloppy. I’d really appreciate any feedback.
[quote]tylerkeen42 wrote:
Depth looked pretty solid to me. But lose the running shoes and find a cheap pair of Chuck Taylor’s or wrestling shoes. (Wrestling shoes should be on clearance at sporting goods stores soon when the season ends) Or if you’re looking at Oly shoes I would suggest Sabos, I just got a pair and love them and they’re “only” $120[/quote]
I was going to say the same thing about shoes. I used to have a hard time breaking parallel, for a while I used some flat soled Converse shoes (not Chucks but the sole was basically the same) and a wide stance, but I found it was hard on my hips. Now I use Nike Romaleos, I can hit depth easier and I use a medium stance which works much better for me. The brand probably doesn’t make a huge difference, but my point is that the raised heel can be helpful if you have issues with depth.
If this doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas. As far as shoes go, I’d be willing to give a raised heel a try. I just want to repeat that I’m wearing flat soled shoes, though. They’re not some clunky running shoe.
[quote]Michael.Ignagni wrote:
Here’s an update. I lowered my squat max, because I wasn’t hitting my 5/3/1 days. In this video I do 225x10. I’m fairly happy with my form, though on some reps fatigue takes over and I get a little sloppy. I’d really appreciate any feedback. [/quote]
It looks good. Nice job grinding through the sticking point. The only thing I couldn’t tell from the angle of the camera was whether or not your knees were tracking directly over your toes and pointed in the same direction.
[quote]Michael.Ignagni wrote:
If this doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas. As far as shoes go, I’d be willing to give a raised heel a try. I just want to repeat that I’m wearing flat soled shoes, though. They’re not some clunky running shoe.[/quote]
[quote]Michael.Ignagni wrote:
If this doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas. As far as shoes go, I’d be willing to give a raised heel a try. I just want to repeat that I’m wearing flat soled shoes, though. They’re not some clunky running shoe.[/quote]
I get what you’re saying but:
-your shoes appear to have a slightly raised heel, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the heel is also slightly cushioned
-even if the sole is completely flat it is still very likely that it is cushioned, that will give you less stability and will absorb some of the force that you apply when squatting - kind of like squatting on a matress
-weightlifting shoes have rock hard soles, no compression at all. Chucks have very thin soles, but there is some slight compression. Whether it’s enough to make a difference is debatable, personally I wouldn’t spend a couple hundred dollars on flat soled weightlifting shoes when there are much cheaper options.
When I was debating whether to get weightlifting shoes I tried squatting in front of a mirror barefoot and then with a pair of boots on (with a raised heel) to see the difference, it was much better with the boots. Just an idea.
[quote]Michael.Ignagni wrote:
If this doesn’t work, I’m out of ideas. As far as shoes go, I’d be willing to give a raised heel a try. I just want to repeat that I’m wearing flat soled shoes, though. They’re not some clunky running shoe.[/quote]
I get what you’re saying but:
-your shoes appear to have a slightly raised heel, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the heel is also slightly cushioned
-even if the sole is completely flat it is still very likely that it is cushioned, that will give you less stability and will absorb some of the force that you apply when squatting - kind of like squatting on a matress
-weightlifting shoes have rock hard soles, no compression at all. Chucks have very thin soles, but there is some slight compression. Whether it’s enough to make a difference is debatable, personally I wouldn’t spend a couple hundred dollars on flat soled weightlifting shoes when there are much cheaper options.
When I was debating whether to get weightlifting shoes I tried squatting in front of a mirror barefoot and then with a pair of boots on (with a raised heel) to see the difference, it was much better with the boots. Just an idea.[/quote]
Thanks for the suggestion. The padding is actually very minimal, which is the point considering they’re minimalist cross trainers (New Balance Minimus). But who knows, it still may have an effect. For my next pair, I plan to check out some wrestling shoes or take your advice and experiment with an olympic shoe.