Squat form advice please

[tomleegolf]

I am 65 kgs and 17 years old, please tell me what I am doing wrong and what I can do to improve. I'm currently using SL5x5 and am at 100kgs squat and deadlift with 5 reps. I'll probably stall soon.

Also, would the squats in the video get a green light in a powerlifting comp?

Thank you.

[steak]

Hey Tom...good to see you posting and chucking a vid up to show us what youre up to. Vid is a great training tool. use it often

From what I can see here you are treating the squat as a knee movement and bending them to get the bar down and back up. The squat is actually more of hip movement (in broad terms) and requires you start with knees locked and the break at the hips as if you were doing a Good Morning or as I say to some of our lifters at Coast Barbell...sitting back on to the toilet Have a google around and you'll see what Im mean.

A big breath in and hold it down in the tummy and you can start. Once you have the hips "cracked" and are sitting back you need to drive your knees out to allow your body to sit with a near upright back in the hole you created...its kinda hard to explain but stay with me here

Once you have hit depth, keep the chest and eyes up and drive up out of the hole....here is one of our lighter lifters to show you what I mean

and check out some of the local comp footage (Auckland Powerlifting Assoc have a good face book page and website with footage) to see how the lifters sit back and try to keep the lower leg pretty vertical and the back upright. mess around with the bar position too...try a little lower.

If you get really stuck you can try using a box to perfect the technique...

ignore the bands in this vid..

and if your still stuck come see us at Coast Barbell and for a few Wendys Burgers we'll see you right

[bignodz]

a good start would be a wider stance toes facing out keep your back locked in an arch, might feel a bit uncomfortable for a while till you get used to it, also it looks as if you need to place bar lower down your back otherwise you will tend to lean forward and you will f*ck your neck :nod:

[jokerized]

Good advice there. I seem to always have the problem of leaning forward when doing squats, hence my lower back gets so sore that i am scared of putting the weight higher. the past few weeks i have been trying to squat the bar and focusing on form but no matter what my lower back seems to get sore. if anyone can shed some experience on this it would be great.

Currently my stance is about shoulder width. What is the optimum stance i should follow? i know that different stances target different muscles so what is the general rule? when doing squats should i focus more on hamstrings or more on quadriceps?

[bignodz]

Good advice there. I seem to always have the problem of leaning forward when doing squats, hence my lower back gets so sore that i am scared of putting the weight higher. the past few weeks i have been trying to squat the bar and focusing on form but no matter what my lower back seems to get sore. if anyone can shed some experience on this it would be great.

Currently my stance is about shoulder width. What is the optimum stance i should follow? i know that different stances target different muscles so what is the general rule? when doing squats should i focus more on hamstrings or more on quadriceps?

I used to have the same problem with a tight lower back, try some standing or seated goodmornings for 5 weeks or so on a seperate day and some good stretching afterwards it worked for me, i think slightly wider than shoulder width for stance is good otherwise i feel my knees wanting to fold inwards

[ThePman]

I am 65 kgs and 17 years old, please tell me what I am doing wrong and what I can do to improve. I'm currently using SL5x5 and am at 100kgs squat and deadlift with 5 reps. I'll probably stall soon.

Not horrible but your lumbar spine is rounding worse than my deadlifts when you hit the bottom, and on your heavy set you lose it at the thoracic spine (upper back) as well, which is what cost you that rep.

Focus on getting tight. Big air in your gut and flex your lats to lock in the bar, then another big breath before you make your descent. Think "big belly" and bear down. Keep your head up and into the bar. All that can help keeping your torso from collapsing.

I wouldn't worry about futzing with stance or bar position until you get that sorted.

[tomleegolf]

Thank you for the advice. Geez Steak, I wish I could train at your place, Coast Barbell is it? I'm in Rotorua. I'm ashamed, that lady was squatting 145kgs :oops:

Anyway, that's a lot to remember. I used to represent BOP at golf and I understand from golf how important technique is. It was so hard to change a little thing because it had already become muscle memory. I wasn't paying attention to breathing at all during my squat.

Tommorrow, I will one rep max my deadlift. I will tape that too. After that on Monday, I shall focus on fixing my form up. What weight should I use when I'm practising my technique? Any drills or tips anyone?

I squat 3x a week and guys at the gym are saying "Squats again?".

Thank you very much.

P.S it's nice to get support on here because none of the people around me understand powerlifting, let alone going to the gym.

[tomleegolf]

I am thinking of entering the Auckland Novice comp on the 23rd of July. Would I be strong enough to enter or are my lifts too weak at the moment? I expect to gain at least 10kgs on my squat by then... How many sub junior lifters are there? In my weight class? How are they like? Can you be a sub junior when you're 18? I'm 18 in August.

Also, I am going to travel to Hamilton on the 28th of May, next Saturday to watch the Waikato Bay of Plenty Bench Press Champs. If anyone is gonna be there, would they be able to give me a few pointers there?

Thanks again

[groovy]

hi tomleegolf. Some good advice above.

Also recently someone posted "you think you can squat" post which includes detailed videos of how to setup for squat and form.

I found it really helpful.

http://www.nzbodybuilding.co.nz/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=11522

good luck and hope it helps.

[mr natural]

I am thinking of entering the Auckland Novice comp on the 23rd of July. Would I be strong enough to enter or are my lifts too weak at the moment? I expect to gain at least 10kgs on my squat by then... How many sub junior lifters are there? In my weight class? How are they like? Can you be a sub junior when you're 18? I'm 18 in August.

Also, I am going to travel to Hamilton on the 28th of May, next Saturday to watch the Waikato Bay of Plenty Bench Press Champs. If anyone is gonna be there, would they be able to give me a few pointers there?

Thanks again

until you get comfortable with hitting the right depth with your squat forget about competing. Get your technique right with light weight and reps first. Take vids of what correct depth looks like then work you way up in weight and make sure your hitting correct depth with your heavy squats otherwise you won't get a pass on your squat.

[tomleegolf]

Do I have enough hip flexibility? I don't like how my hip rotates under (posterior rotation I think its called) and my lower back rounds when I'm down bottom.

[tomleegolf]

How's the depth on these squats?

[Pseudonym]

Hey Tom, to embed video in your post, just copy the YouTube URL, hit the Video button in the Post Message window, and paste the URL in between the tags. Like so:

Easy!

[tomleegolf]

Hey Tom, to embed video in your post, just copy the YouTube URL, hit the Video button in the Post Message window, and paste the URL in between the tags. Like so:

Easy!

Got it. Thank you.