Hi, I've learning how to squat, bench press and deadlift for the past 2 months and I think I need some help with my squat:
Here I'm squatting 65kg for 5 reps, I train in a 5x5 way.
I don't go as low as I can because from previous training sessions I have seen that my I get a butt wink and I understand that it's not good for my back.
I know the angle is not the best but I couldn't find a better way to record myself in my gym.
Thanks in advance.
Your posterior chain as not caught up to your leg strength.
And keep your back straight. It’s not a deadlift.
Look up Rippetoe’s tutorial.
Sorry, I don’t understand what do you mean by keeping the back straight. I try for it to be neutral but if you say that it’s obviously not. Should it be more vertical?
I have watched Rippetoes tutorials a few times and some from Alan Thrall too, but it’s hard to internalize everything.
Thanks for the help.
[quote]J_Sark wrote:
Sorry, I don’t understand what do you mean by keeping the back straight. I try for it to be neutral but if you say that it’s obviously not. Should it be more vertical?
I have watched Rippetoes tutorials a few times and some from Alan Thrall too, but it’s hard to internalize everything.
Thanks for the help.[/quote]
Yes, he means more vertical.
Your ass is lifting too quickly on the way up. I think this is a form issue rather that strength as I see some things you’re not doing.
Remember to stay nice and tight in the core throughout
Set up not tight. Correct that first. You are wobbling all over the place even in between reps.
Do some extra work for the quads after that.
So I keep working on this, I try to be as vertical as posible but I find it hard to do it while holding the bar stable on my back.
I take a big breath before every rep and I try to embrace my core as hard as possible.
I couldn’t find a way to get rid of the butt wink, I don’t if it’s something I should keep working on or if it’s ok (I have seen Layne Norton’s tutorial and he seems to wink a little bit too).
I have a video from today I would appreciate further help, I know it can be annoying but I’m trying my best to improve my form.
Thank you very much.
the biggest problem I see is your head position is way to forward and your chest is caving in. you need to pack your head and neck back into the bar and keep your chest high. check out “so you think you can squat” videos and Wendler’s squat tutorial.
You have some strength weaknesses. Start doing wide stance goblet squats with light weight at the end of every session - 2-3 sets of 10 is fine. Don’t worry about using much weight at first - you can add more weight when you learn to keep your hip muscles engaged. The only focus is to keep everything tight, keep your knees out and the hips tight throughout the entire lift. If you do it right, you’ll build more hip strength and learn to better utilize it in your normal squats.
One other thing is to take in as much air as possible and brace your abs hard with every rep. Getting your chest up is a good cue but not at the expense of bracing your abs. This improvement won’t happen overnight. Expect at least a couple months to see major improvement.
Thank you very much guys, I lowered the weight a lot and I’m still trying to fix things up.
I have some videos from today in case someone wants to keep giving me advice; I really appreciate it. Rippetoe says that the nipples should point to the floor, I find this opposite to being more vertical. What do you think guys?
[quote]J_Sark wrote:
Thank you very much guys, I lowered the weight a lot and I’m still trying to fix things up.
I have some videos from today in case someone wants to keep giving me advice; I really appreciate it. Rippetoe says that the nipples should point to the floor, I find this opposite to being more vertical. What do you think guys?
[/quote]
I don’t see any improvement in keeping your core tight. The weight is lighter but you aren’t changing how you stabilize your midsection so you won’t find much improvement when going back to heavy weights.
Stop worrying about how things should be positioned. When you learn how to use all of your stabilizers effectively, you’ll naturally progress toward the ideal squatting style for you.
If you want to improve, the most useful thing you can do is go on google and do as much research as you can on ab bracing and intra abdominal pressure. You’ll find a lot of useful information and exercises. Put some effort into understanding why it’s important and you’ll begin to invest more effort in training it.
Looks good enough. You’re not going to hurt yourself. I sometimes think people keep worrying about their form and resetting over and over and over and never actually getting anywhere.
You have unfavorable proportions for squatting, which will cause a bit more forward lean.
Ill say the same thing. Your posterior chain has not caught up with your leg strength. Form was better the last time. SLRDL are amazing for that. 3x8-12 will do wonders for the long run.
The only thing I can mention at this point, is your leg width. I found that playing with that help with my squat a lot. I used to have a “bodybuilding” stance (narrow with 2x4 under heals, toes in). I moved to a wider stance (not as wide as powerlifter, toes out) and it is way more comfortable for me.
The basic that Ripp describes in his video are standard for everyone. Head position, flat back, etc. The small stuff will change depending on your height, weight, femur length, hip health, knee health, etc.
It ain’t bad at all.
Anyone can nit pick, and also according to their style as well.
From what I see, there’s nothing terribly wrong with your mechanics.
I would say you can start by pulling your hips back further when you begin descending.
Ditch the 5x5. Instead, I’d lower the weight and go for 12 reps. Add in some heavy singles or triples in between.
I feel like there is a lot of bad advice on this thread. There is nothing wrong with forward lean during the squat, look at his bar path and it remains in line with the midfoot, these are his proportions. His major issue is tying the core to the bar to the floor. Look up Chris Duffin and watch a few of his core stability tutorials. He’s got a 944 squat at 250? He competes at 220.
If you’re looking for more stability you can try a wider stance but tying in your core to the bar and the floor is the main issue as per all beginners. Chances are trying to “tuck your elbows” is causing a chest out motion which is completely useless for someone who doesn’t have the ability to tie it into the core properly causing even more instability and forward lean. I also believe Ripptoe sucks balls and you shouldn’t bother with his “advice”.
Edit: Watched your videos again. I think a wide stance would benefit you. “spread the knees”