Rather Weak Squat - Tips?

[quote]kgildner wrote:
Hello all,

After a while of lurking around here and reading some of the great advice that some members have given, I thought I’d go ahead and submit a video of my own weak link – my squat – for your feedback.

A bit of background: I became serious again about training this year after about a five-year period of fairly goalless lifting. During that time I dropped a lot of weight and strength, but this is coming back fairly quickly. I had been lifting fairly seriously for a few years before that and using a powerlifting-like template for a year or two, although I have never competed. I’m 187 cm/6’1.5" and currently only 79 kg/173 lb (in other words, a skinny mofo), but I’ve been gaining well and hope to get back to 85 kg/187 lb next spring. At that point, I would like to try to enter a competition here in my state, although powerlifting here in Germany isn’t as big as elsewhere and it’s sometimes hard to find an entry.

I’m currently running my third cycle of 5/3/1 as a means of getting back in the game. So far my progress has been OK; my deadlift is sitting right now at around 205-210 kg (451-462 lbs) and my bench press (my traditional weak link) is at 110 kg (242 lbs). My obvious weakness is my squat, which I estimate right now to be at around 120 kg (264 lbs). The discrepancy between my deadlift and my squat is glaring and leads me to believe that I might have some serious posterior chain/quad strength imbalances.

Attached is a video of my last warm-up set for today’s squat workout, 5 reps @ 75 kg/165 lbs. I’m well aware that this is a light weight, but I’d still be eager to hear any feedback that you might have.

My initial reaction is that I’m coming forward on a couple of the reps and perhaps not sitting back enough… Quad weakness?

Thanks in advance for your tips!
[/quote]

How tall are you!?

N.K.: Thanks for the feedback! I’ll be sure to keep thinking about a proud chest throughout the movement.

elflaco: 187 cm/just shy of 6’2".

I think you could use some more rigidity in your lower back and abs. More tension from the time you unrack the weight and step back. Also, do you have a couple extra stiff matts lying around? I have an issue with that same kinda rack. If you could put 1-2 mats under your lift off spot and the spot where you squat, it could raise your shoulders a bit higher up and allow you to stay a little tighter instead of shrugging it out of the rack.

With that said, pretty good squat, man. Looks better from the first vid. Good work!

^ Thanks for the tips! From some of the feedback I’ve been getting and by looking at my videos more and more, I’m beginning to think that I should try to exaggerate my lumbar arch in order to achieve the lower-back rigidity that you mention. I tried this this morning and, although it felt a bit awkward, I felt a lot tauter and “safer”, if that makes any sense.

I’ll try this ad nauseum for the next five weeks of this high-frequency squat program and will post another video of my progress along the way. Thanks again!

Update: the Russian squat program is going well; my wonky knee feels better than it has in the last three months and I’m moving the bar quicker than I’d thought. Seem to be ironing some technique issues out.

A quick question for the experts out there: I’ve developed some elbow pain within the last couple of weeks, and I can’t quite pinpoint the culprit, but I imagine that high-frequency squatting has something to do with it. Has anyone else had this problem? I grip the bar rather narrow (i.e., hands are at my shoulders); might this cause undue stress on my elbow tendons? Or am I supporting the bar too much with my hands instead of making a solid shelf with my upper back?

Thanks in advance.