rate this squat

[mrsym0r]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LuaiUAegjQ&feature=youtube_gdata

How could my mate Dave improve his squat technique?

[drizzt]

What are you training for?

Not a bad start mate, just a few things to note.

The view isn't great to give heaps of advice on, but the main thing that stands out to me is not a lot of tightness in the upper back. Really squeeze that bar into your traps and grip it tight. Try and push your elbows forward under the bar a little bit more, and keep your chest up throughout the movement.

You also muck around a bit after waking out, shuffling side-to-side; try and minimize that movement by practising your walkout with the least movement to get to the start position as possible. You'll be thankful for the little bit of extra energy you've saved when the weight gets up there :nod:

You probably need to sit back a bit more, you seem to push forward with your knees first and then drop into the squat. Try breaking at your hips first, which will recruit more glute and hamstring (powerful). Depends here what you're training for, though.

When you come out of the hole on each rep, if you look closely, you'll see your knees cave inwards a bit. This will worsen as the weight gets heavier. What is your feet positioning like? Try pointing them outwards on about a 35-45 degree angle (play around with the positioning). And make a conscious effort to force your knees outward on the way down. Stance can come into this too, you looked as though you've got a fairly regular stance given the view we've got - which is a good one to start with - but hard to tell for sure.

Lastly, take a nice big breath into your diaphragm before each rep, and hold it in there until you're back at the top. This will stabilise your core and keep the torso nice and tight/upright.

Good points: your depth looks great, nice to see. Your power out of the hole looks pretty good. You seem to have ok control on the way down, but it'd be interesting to see with a bit more weight on the bar.

In fact, more weight on the bar will probably show more deficiencies to pick out than what looked like quite a light weight for you.

My 2c

[BarBrother]

Pretty sure thats my gym you are training at ( I work there). It would be easier if you video from the side as most problems with squat mechanics occur in that plane of motion.

Looks ok , bit of inward knee tracking at the bottom but nothing major

Next time you are squatting let me know and i can have a look at it in person.

Im sure you will recognise me from my avatar

[drizzt]

Orrr yep, if Barbrother is indeed at your gym just ask him, he can sort you out :nod: :grin:

[mrsym0r]

Cheers BarBrother - pretty sure I know who you are (the only blonde male staff member there!), I'll say g'day if I see you during the week.. my usual training days are Tues / Thurs / Sat

[Terrymundo]

just something I noticed, not saying anything but why do people grip the bar with their thumb over the bar. It feels soo awkward for me. wouldnt like alot of weight on the bar without maximum control and piece of mind. I'd also grip wider aswell. just play with it to see what sits nice.

[PeterDolan]

just something I noticed, not saying anything but why do people grip the bar with their thumb over the bar. It feels soo awkward for me. wouldnt like alot of weight on the bar without maximum control and piece of mind. I'd also grip wider aswell. just play with it to see what sits nice.

I have hands the size of a smurf and thumbs that look like salami so thumbless if far more comfortable. Also, I have always been told to keep my grip as close as comfortable to keep everything tight. I'm sure people on here will tell you something to the contrary. My point is, find what is optimal for you and stick with it. I like my grip as is but if someone showed me something that felt as good and helped me add a few kilo or keep my form tighter, I'd go with that

[Phedder]

I have always been told to keep my grip as close as comfortable to keep everything tight.

This :nod: Slowing working my grip in and really squeezing the upper back tight has helped my stability to no end. I used to have Pinkies on the rings for squats and my upper back would always buckle when weights got up heavier. Bringing my grip in (index fingers 2-3cm from the smooth) and squeezing everything tight has improved things a lot.

Squat grip should be as close as is comfortable, if it's causing discomfort then it's not doing your shoulders any favours. Most SHWs use a really wide grip simply due to flexibility to save their shoulders, doesn't mean a wide grip is best for everyone.