Congrats on the PR.
Here’s the honest part tho. Technique wise it’s looking a bit sloppy. There a few things to fix up so I’m just gonna post up some comprehensive squat vids, point you in the right direction and let you get into it.
Watch these, apply the info a little bit at a time so as not to get overwhelmed. Then over time, as you surely will improve, post regular updated form videos for feedback and any questions that may come up have come up. A week or two later and your squat will be looking sexy af.
Some things you may want to pay extra attention to include:
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wearing appropriate footwear for squatting heavy
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back position/tightness/creating/maintaining a stable shelf to avoid all kinds of shaking action
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executing a short efficient controlled walkout
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stance width + toe angle and how your knees should be tracking i.e. not collapsing in
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Balance/vertical bar path over your midfoot throughout the movement e.g. you’re rocking back and forth between your heels and toes without any semblance of control/balance and I’m pretty sure you almost jump and leave the ground when you lockout like that.
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going deeper if you are so inclined e.g. competing in a powerlifting fed with strict depth judging, weightlifting etc.
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Probably (because couldnt really tell if you were doing it properly from the vid) could work on your breathing and torso bracing and maximise the benefits of using a belt
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It’s amazing how much of difference appropriate footwear makes. This is within a few days, and watch the difference in heel drive between the two. After analyzing the first video I went out and bought me some fresh Chucks to squat in. Good job on recording your progress, it helps in critiquing and tweaking little things like this.
545 lb squat (Running Shoes)
https://instagram.com/p/BklndC9js-X/
560 lb Squat (Flat-bottomed Converse)
https://instagram.com/p/Bkv4pVmDAf5/
Video would be better if shot from the side.
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@teennacho you are very strong, and have serious potential. But your back rounding during these squats is the scariest thing I have ever seen, man. You are going to herniate a disc and cause yourself permanent discomfort for the rest of your life. The shoes obviously made a difference, yes, but your back is completely collapsing. You have to fix that or you will damage yourself forever.
Still, you squatting 560 at 18 years old is fuckin awesome and the sky’s the limit for you.
5 Likes
Thanks m8, I’ve got a thread going on now trying to get my squat form perfected (walk-out, butt-wink/ pelvic tilt, etc.)
To OP, I say your back and upper-body looks good on the form, I’d just say adjust foot placement, and shoe selection
I did some squats just with the barbell to assess what I’ve learned. How’s my squat looking now?
I’m also going to an update when I go to the gym tomorrow and throw on some actual weight.
Off topic but where dis thread at?
It’s good that you are looking to improve your technique. It’ll allow you to fully express your monster strength/potential now and into the future because better form will be safer and give you that dere longevity. The end result of getting 10% more efficient in squat technique is the same as getting 10% more brute strength = 10% more weight on the bar. For yourself I think you can improve both at once.
From the vids it looks like you should learn to squat low bar or at least with a lower bar position and work on upper back tightness. Should fix up the scary looking back rounding pretty quick.
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Can’t see much with the camera up close lel e.g. feet/knee position/movement. In future try to get a few different camera angles if you can from far enough away that we can see everything that’s going on.
Weights probably too light to really challenge/practice anything e.g. to find your balance over your midfoot the weight on the bar needs to be heavy enough for it to become your new centre of gravity.
Back position/tightness looks a little better but might just be because it’s light weight. Nevertheless you should try to get a tight set up whatever the weight. The heavier it gets the tighter/stabler you need to be so it’s good to practice with warm up weights.
Once we’ve set our back/torso/upper body it really should become one solid stable segment and shouldn’t really be moving e.g. elbows changing position significantly, upper or lower backs rounding, shrugging etc.
From what I could see, I actually liked the look of the 3rd rep. As suggested, I would take video with some weight on the bar.
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Yeah, Chris in this thread was giving me advice on the back rounding and also mentioned low bar. I explained that low bar personally doesn’t feel very right to me, and that I’d try it out again, although it’s not necessary to low bar
Bar position is a spectrum tho. It isn’t like there’s only two possible positions: high bar or low bar. There’s everything in the inches between a maximally high bar and low bar position. Hybrid positions e.g. a low-ish high bar are common enough.
Even if you don’t go full low bar a small adjustment down your back will be beneficial and in the future you can gradually transition to a full low bar position if you wish.
To be fair the transition to low bar can be quite awkward for some. The increased emphasis on upper back tightness required to create a good low bar shelf is awkward enough by itself but the change in bar position also changes your centre of gravity and balance point amongst other things. In your case it seems like it will take some work and won’t be an easy, quick or comfortable transition but it’ll be worth it no doubt. Besides powerlifting isn’t quick easy or comfortable lel.
There’s another user on here who started off lifting with a high-ish bar position and took a while to transition to a hybrid position. Its done him good but dunno if he’ll go on to a full low bar.
There are lifters who are successful using a relatively high bar position even at the higher levels of powerlifting e.g. Bryce Lewis, Andy Huang, Kevin Oak, John Haack etc. for a variety of reasons but mostly comfort and preference. Worth noting that several lifters already at the elite level have made the transition towards lower bar positions and benefited greatly from it.
The benefits are few e.g. comfort as mentioned or for someone who wants a more vertical torso angle e.g. due to past injury. The negatives you’ve already experienced for yourself e.g. increased demand on upper back tightness and positioning which in your case had your back rounding out under heavy load as this seems to be a limiting factor for yourself. Low bar cheats it’s way into minimizing the upper back and quads as limiting factors to your squat.
The majority of lifters do use a lower bar position tho because in terms of squatting more weight within powerlifting rules it is the more effective style. It’s simple physics. That being said the high bar squat is an excellent assistance movement and many lifters train mostly high bar outside of competition prep and bring low bar back in as they get closer to competition.
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I think I’m gonna take both of you guys’ advice on the low bar as now I’m noticing that a majority of the elite level squatters squat low bar. Anything that can help me efficiently add some weight to the bar. Thanks a lot m8! Looking foraward (pun intended) to seeing where I can take this low bar technique
Your chest collapses at the bottom of the squat.
You need to actively focus on keeping your chest up as you come into the hole (think “chest up, chest up” as you lower down).
This loss of tightness will be bad news as the weight gets heavy.
Maybe get a spotter who would actually be in a position to help you with the weight if you needed it. Or just skip the spotter and avoid killing them when you ditch the bar.