Check my squat?

[JoeySon]

I've noticed some breaks in my form pretty bad so I've started all over again persay. I was doing 265 and have nearly cut that in half to begin working on my form again. Wondering if you guys can give some pointers.

i work out alone so getting a video is somewhat difficult but I tried. There's two different angles.

http://videobam.com/ZGEMA

http://videobam.com/KJjZk

[asooneyeonig]

back seems to stay tight. i see lots of good. except for the depth. can you go deeper?

[JoeySon]

back seems to stay tight. i see lots of good. except for the depth. can you go deeper?

That's really the biggest problem I have. I honestly feel as if I'm going to tumble backwards if I go deeper than parallel

[uvawahoowa]

I've noticed some breaks in my form pretty bad so I've started all over again persay. I was doing 265 and have nearly cut that in half to begin working on my form again. Wondering if you guys can give some pointers.

i work out alone so getting a video is somewhat difficult but I tried. There's two different angles.

Video Link: http://videobam.com/ZGEMA

Video Link: http://videobam.com/KJjZk

Those are terrific half squats

In all seriousness, work on your mobility and flexibility and get some more depth. Start at bodyweight if necessary and work your way up

[uvawahoowa]

That's really the biggest problem I have. I honestly feel as if I'm going to tumble backwards if I go deeper than parallel

You're not even going to parallel now...I would say once you're at least going down to parallel that would be great progress

[JoeySon]

Those are terrific half squats

In all seriousness, work on your mobility and flexibility and get some more depth. Start at bodyweight if necessary and work your way up

Yea I was wondering today if flexibility may be an issue, ive always been about as flexble as a turtle

[uvawahoowa]

Yea I was wondering today if flexibility may be an issue, ive always been about as flexble as a turtle

MobilityWOD has great stuff on ways to improve squats through dynamic and static stretching, and there is a thread in training with a YouTube series on squat technique you might find helpful

[JoeySon]

MobilityWOD has great stuff on ways to improve squats through dynamic and static stretching, and there is a thread in training with a YouTube series on squat technique you might find helpful

Thanks for the tips have to check those out. I must be doing atg wrong cause if i can complete one it just doesn't feel fluid or comfortable to me at all so I guess I've got some work to do

[asooneyeonig]

get a box, go wide, and squat deep!!! and try to foam roll the hip flexors and groin before you squat.

[JoeySon]

get a box, go wide, and squat deep!!! and try to foam roll the hip flexors and groin before you squat.

So essentially get a box about ankle high and do deep box squats? That's a good idea, never thought of that. Might help me break my balance issue

[napalm]

So essentially get a box about ankle high and do deep box squats? That's a good idea, never thought of that. Might help me break my balance issue

If you have mobility issues, you'll never get down that far. Start w a 14" box and work your way down to parallel at 1 inch increments. The box I use is 11", about an inch below parallel for me.

[JoeySon]

If you have mobility issues, you'll never get down that far. Start w a 14" box and work your way down to parallel at 1 inch increments. The box I use is 11", about an inch below parallel for me.

Ahh I see, maybe I'm settin the bar a little high for starters lol

[asooneyeonig]

you can get a low box, or build one. and get something like rubber flooring about an inch thick about the same size as the box and you can stack that to make it higher.

[crispycrown]

youtube, "so you think you can squat" really helped me hit those higher #'s

[Rodja]

It's not flexibility that is preventing you; it's strength. Your hips are weak as indicated by your knees moving in slightly during each rep. You need to work on your posterior chain and make sure to push your knees out and keep constant pressure on the outside of your feet.What kind of shoes were you wearing?

[JoeySon]

It's not flexibility that is preventing you; it's strength. Your hips are weak as indicated by your knees moving in slightly during each rep. You need to work on your posterior chain and make sure to push your knees out and keep constant pressure on the outside of your feet.What kind of shoes were you wearing?

I was actually doing it barefoot..not sure if this is a bad idea but I found the best balance this way. Would not pushing my knees out prevent me from going deeper? Also, is there such thing as pushing your knees too far out?

[JoeySon]

youtube, "so you think you can squat" really helped me hit those higher #'s

I just recently stumbled across them and they've been a huge help. It's tough to really see exactly what I'm doing wrong as I lift alone but I wish I has him peeping over my shoulder making corrections.

[ZiR RED]

It's not flexibility that is preventing you; it's strength. Your hips are weak as indicated by your knees moving in slightly during each rep. You need to work on your posterior chain and make sure to push your knees out and keep constant pressure on the outside of your feet.What kind of shoes were you wearing?

To piggy back this there's a couple reasons your knees could be traveling in, all related to the hips.

First, adductors are tight and your hip abductors are weak. Start doing some frog mobs, quadruped rocking adductor mobs, etc. For the hip abductors monster walks and lateral monster walks with bands will add some strength.
A second reason could be due to anterior pelvic tilt. If your hip flexors are tight and your pelvis is tilted forward this will automatically rotate your femur inwards slightly. So, strengthen your glutes and increase hip flexor length and relaxation.

And get your self a good pair of training shoes. Olympic shoes or nike free trainers for squats, chucks or wrestling shoes for deads.

[Rodja]

I was actually doing it barefoot..not sure if this is a bad idea but I found the best balance this way. Would not pushing my knees out prevent me from going deeper? Also, is there such thing as pushing your knees too far out?

It's going to be hard to push them out too far from a biomechanical standpoint. The main purpose of them is to engage the hips and posterior chain further.

[JoeySon]

To piggy back this there's a couple reasons your knees could be traveling in, all related to the hips.

First, adductors are tight and your hip abductors are weak. Start doing some frog mobs, quadruped rocking adductor mobs, etc. For the hip abductors monster walks and lateral monster walks with bands will add some strength.
A second reason could be due to anterior pelvic tilt. If your hip flexors are tight and your pelvis is tilted forward this will automatically rotate your femur inwards slightly. So, strengthen your glutes and increase hip flexor length and relaxation.

And get your self a good pair of training shoes. Olympic shoes or nike free trainers for squats, chucks or wrestling shoes for deads.

After spending some time online this morning and doing a little more research I found a few tests for the hip area I certainly have some weakness and overall tightness in my pelvic area. Even with simply BW squats it is difficult and a little uncomfortable to get much past parallel or down to the ground.

I saw some basic excercises to try and improve this and I'm going to stop procrastinating and finally buy a foam tube and do some rolls to help stretch the area before I squat.

Also, for the weak gluteus area should I incorporate good mornings into my routine?

Lastly, so hip flexation would be moving my legs foward? (Bringing knees to stomach/coming down into squat)
and hip abduction is moving my legs away from my side? (Pushing knees out wide during squat)
A little unsure of where hip adductors play a role...

Thanks for the time guys