I wasn’t sure whether this should go in the Bodybuilding or Powerlifting thread… I’m just trying to do squats for the sake of getting stronger… That being said, here’s a video of myself doing 225x5 and I was hoping someone could give me some pointers.
Thanks for your time.
look pretty good to me. you keep your lumbar arch and seem to hit depth.
you seem to be simultaneously knee / hip breaking oly style. that’s cool.
some people might recommend / prefer you to hip break and sit your ass back harder. that would work your glutes / hammies more. up to you, i guess.
they looked safe, anyways. i’m sure people can jump on with suggestions for technical refinement…
oh. if your aim is to ‘get stronger’ and by ‘get stronger’ you mean ‘move most weight’ (as opposed to ‘more more weight keeping technique constant’)…
then it would make sense for you to shift to a powerlifting style squat (hip break, sitting your butt back). bar lower down you back…
Thank you. I think I was more in a mindset of trying to keep my arch and hitting depth and keeping my technique clean. I’ve been having really weird issues with my lower back like at the crease right above my butt and it every so often I can crack it. Not sure if it’s a joint thing or disc thing or whatever but it doesn’t necessarily hurt. Just feels like it’s stiff and just needs to be cracked.
Anyways, I just got the camera so just started filming myself. Next session, I will give the powerlifting style a try and see if that works better. I guess right now, it’s just a matter of trying to find which one is more comfortable for me and which one is the safest way to do it. Thank you for your input again!!! Much appreciated.
actually… the depth thing might depend on who you ask… they might (controversially) be a tad high…
yeah, i have issues with that, too.
have you tried stretching / foam rolling your hip flexors (the top of your quads run through your pelvic bowl and insert round the back of your lumbar spine - holding your lumbar arch has to do with stretching them). somehow…
sitting back style squatting puts more pressure on the lower back, yeah.
Yeah, the depth perception of some people is understandable. I actually just started doing stretches and mobility work for the hips, including foam rolling the hip flexors and the it band. I haven’t noticed much of a carry over with those but will continue to do them anyhow.
you seem to be holding your lumbar arch nice and tight at the bottom and not allowing it to get soft the way most people do.
can you sit in the bottom position for a couple seconds? try and push it just that little tiny bit lower without letting your back round?
it typically takes me around 3-5 sets of 5 reps with the bar before i can get depth. and that is on a good day…
Depth looks good to me. Agree with alexus, too
Form looks good to me. Are those shoes the new(er) Adidas lifting shoes? If they are, wondering how you’re liking them.
Regarding your back discomfort, I was having some stiffness issues around my sacroiliac joint area, worked in extra abdominal work (plancks and BB twists specifically) and it helped a ton. Best of luck.
They are the Addidas weight lifting powerlift trainer shoes. They are actually the first weight lifting shoe that I bought and I like them. I was using the 5 lb plates to give me some heel lift and felt they helped with keeping my arch so I went out and got the shoe. I feel like they’re helping me and it’s a lot less annoying than having to try and get the right placement of my feet on the plates.
I have been trying to do more ab stuff every day. Mainly working on planks and Turkish get-ups and getting some sets of the leg lowering in. I assume when you say bb twist, you’re referring to the standing barbell twist where you stick a barbell in the corner and hold it and do a twist with it?