What Cues/Ways to Hit Proper Squat Depth?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Jim Wendler 5/3/1 Coaching
1

Good afternoon Jim and everyone.Brandon here.
I have a question regarding on squat depth.

Recently I started to record all my training session and I found out I was not hitting the proper depth for squat as shown in the link below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMiH4vCgkWd/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

So now I reduce the weight for my squat and bring in my stance a little bit.But I still cant hit the proper depth. Is there any cues or ways which allow me to hit the proper depth?

Thanks.

2

As a sumo squatter, your hip and groin mobility are the ones limiting you if you can’t hit depth even after deloading. The video also shows that you have waaay too much weight on the bar to even consider trying to hit depth. Find a weight that allows you to hit depth and use that as your training max.

3

Thank you very much for the feedback.

Now I am rebuilding my squat with a more narrow stance (shoulder width). Currently set my new training max as 88lbs and am also learning how to front squat (to teach myself to stay upright in the bottom position)

front squat
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNDqJM2gRCh/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

back squat
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNDfRAZgQHn/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

4

First, nice job at being honest with yourself and leaving your ego at the door in order to improve yourself in the long run.

Second, do the third world squat daily to improve your hip flexibility.

I’ve improved my hips by doing this.

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5

Have you tried box squats? Try them unloaded. Just sit down to the box and stand up - the box should be just below parallel, so when you sit down the crest of the top of your hip is just below your knee. Practice standing and sitting off the box unloaded, then the empty bar, then some added weight
 you get the picture. Also, in Agile 8, hip circles and jumping your feet to your hands in plank position, then holding it for 30-60 seconds helps spread the hips and stretches the groin area - this should help you. Use your elbows to spread your legs in the deep squat position. If flexibility is really your issue, do Agile 8, 3 times per day. From the looks of the video, confidence seems more the issue than flexibility. Get your confidence up by trying the box squat until you can get to depth without it. There’s something about a box below you that gives you the confidence that you’re not going to crush yourself or get stuck in the hole.

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6

Push your hips back more at the beginning. Should feel like your sitting down to take a dump. Need to feel that hip drive. Search up Mark Rippetoe squat on YouTube. He has the best tutorials.

1 Like
7

You need a lot of work my man. But better to bite the bullet now than try fix it later.

Firstly, whoever taught you to squat that wide is a crazy person.

Step 1, hip mobility. Do lots and lots and lots and lots of hip mobility. Agile 8, Limber 11 easy routines to follow every day. But you might need more work. Also proper foam rolling and dynamic mobility as your warm up prior to squatting.

Step 2, completely relearn the movement. Scary I know, but what you’re doing isn’t getting you anywhere good to be perfectly honest. Even your ‘shoulder width’ squats are blatantly not shoulder width with your toes are so far turned out which leads back to point one, you have SERIOUS mobility issues.

There’s a hundred things to do but as a guy on an internet forum there’s no point in writing out a comprehensive list. Check out goblet squats and box squats. Joe defranco has videos on both. Also remember the cues hips back, knees out. Literally you should shoot for an olympic squat, you’ll never get there but if it helps you get somewhere in between all good. I might sound mean, but man fixing it now with save you a world of trouble later. The fact that you only realised you weren’t hitting depth when you started filming tells me you need a lot more squatting expeirence under your belt. You are so high above parallel you should be able to tell that every time

3 Likes
8

Thanks for the feedback and suggestion. Today I tried out the third world squat for my warm up. Will do this daily and keep working on my technique and form for my squat.

Third world squat:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNGMzQ0gWoH/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

9

Thanks for taking time to reply.Will do watch his video.

10

I have not done box squat.I only did some bench squat some time ago as the gym I train in does not have any box.Will suggest them to get one.

Thank you for the suggestion and feedback.

11

Yes I agree. I do have a lot of thing to learn about squat.Thanks for the feedback and suggestion.
I am glad and lucky that I received a lot of constructive feedback in this forum.Thank you very much.

12

do they have steps? Those things the girls do in their aerobic classes? you could stack some “steps” to make a box and sit back onto that. Also look to see if they have plyo platforms. you don’t need a squat box to do a box squat.

13

Nope they dont have. The gym I train is only got the basic stuff.Mostly bodybuilding oriented.

15

I squat in wide stance because I want to reduce the distance of travel of the bar. Then from the recording,I realized I am wrong and wrong big time.Need to relearn the movement with narrower stance and light weight.Will also incorporate hip mobility exercises in my training as warm up and after.
Thanks for the feedback.

1 Like
16

3rd world squat is perfect. This should give you the cues you need to squat properly. You can also try goblet/dumbell squats to begin loading. Keep the weights light and use the same form as the 3rd world squat. The loaded goblet/dumbell squat will help you keep your back nice and tight which should have carryover to when you back squat.

If your hips and groin feel tight you should foam roll them before each workout.

17

Just to update.

Begin to do foam rolling for warm up and goblet squat between my sets. Below are the squat that I did for today.Did I hit the depth?

Last main working set of the day
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNn6brcgH5L/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

Joker set 1
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNn72vTAbBb/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

Joker set 2
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNn9GgWgAEZ/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

Front squat with total of 50 reps
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNn5KfxA1O7/?taken-by=brandonckw&hl=en

18

You’re probably not quite to depth but getting close and much much better than your first videos. Nice work so far! Don’t be afraid to go deep on the front squat. I go deeper on those than back squats since my torso is more upright.

Lastly, it looks like your feet point out a bit more than necessary. With a more narrow stance they could be turned in a bit more than before. It could just be a personal thing but I fear stress on the inside of the knee with the feet pointed too far out. I have flat feet so it bothers me and I think you could find your knees caving in when it gets heavy again.

1 Like
19

Thanks for the feedback.

21

Noted.Am working towards it.
I just feel comfortable in that stance.Will bring in closer the stance and build up the motor pattern.

22

Some clear improvement here. If you have a chance, post a video of your goblet squat. My guess is when you look at it on video you will see how much deeper you are going. It should give you good cues on the foot positioning and squatting down between your legs. In the 3rd world squat video you were clearly squatting between your legs which is what you need to be doing with a barbell on your back.