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Opinions on my form for squats

kn78

New member
Hello, I'm wondering if anyone has any opinions on anything I could correct form wise on my Squats. Here lately my hip flexors have been really stiff and take a while to loosen up each time I do Squats which would be Tue/Thur/Sat. Currently on the 5x5 stronglifts program.

I feel like I'm leaning forward because I have a hard time not pushing off the balls of my feet. I do know I have some hip sway when I'm descending from another video I took last week also.

The second video (5th set) is after I tried making some corrections from watching the video from my 4th set. If you see something I could change lmk, I'm open to criticism.

[video]https://youtu.be/m86ulbD0G6E[/video]

[video]https://youtu.be/VMBwE1pw42M[/video]
 
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I know it's not specific criticism towards your squat but here is a great vid by one of the best powerlifters around. Also, ️your shoes likely contributing to your issue of pushing off the balls of your feet. Find some shoes with a flat sole or at least ones with a harder sole.
 
Parad0x said:
Push through the heels, not through the toes. Don't let your knees extend past your toes.
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I've seen this in a couple videos. I've definitely had a hard time trying to correct it.

jswain34 said:
I know it's not specific criticism towards your squat but here is a great vid by one of the best powerlifters around. Also, ️your shoes likely contributing to your issue of pushing off the balls of your feet. Find some shoes with a flat sole or at least ones with a harder sole.
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I've been looking into buying some Nike Romaleos, I've heard they help quite a bit.
 
Honestly once you get down to squatting, it's pretty good. We can first clean up the beginning setup to get you starting out better, Which will let you finish better.

So you unrack it staggered. That's not the best way. Take the very same stance you're going to squat in. Pull the bar down into you to tighten up your back, get your abs tight and get a deep breath. Stand up and take a small step back with each foot, and one more to even yourself up. That's it, no more no less.

Then, at the end of your walkout, You look like you're on a boat. You need to root yourself in. Squeeze your ass, screw your feet out to lock them in, and flex your quads. Now you're rigid and connected to the floor. That's where you start from. Keep the feet screwed in as you descend and your knees won't drift as far. And you'll be golden.

As long as your legs are, the romaleos Will help a lot with keeping your heels grounded. In the meantime, stretch the crap out of your calves and Achilles to get better dorsiflexion (toes to shin). That will give you better ground contact through the heels and an infinitely better squat.

I know I dropped a lot on you, but it's all small details that will make a big difference quickly. You're not far off.
 
Agree with herder you do a pretty good job so far, really just echo the ideas he gave you. Give them a shot and let us know how it helps!
 
I also think you look fine. I notice a bit of butt wink at the bottom, your depth looks good so maybe you don't need to go that far past parallel? I do the same thing, I like to squat really deep, but the force on the lower back increases pretty fast once you go past the flexion in the lumbar, so if you want to go heavier you might want to be aware of that.
 
Form is pretty decent. Start/finish with the barbell lower in the rack. That's going to matter more when you add more weight. You shouldn't be stretching up to get the barbell out. I start low enough to unrack it with a half squat.
 
baldbeardguy said:
Form is pretty decent. Start/finish with the barbell lower in the rack. That's going to matter more when you add more weight. You shouldn't be stretching up to get the barbell out. I start low enough to unrack it with a half squat.
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This^^ I forgot to mention that.
 
Here we go, so I've got another video. Still the same problem I've had with pushing off of the balls of my feet. I've corrected some problems, but others are still there. With the Romaleos I've been able to push off of the heels after I get out of the bottom of the squat. I noticed in the last videos that it seemed like when I started getting towards the bottom I was leaning forward. So I tried to get some distance on this one to show it better. Maybe this is why I've been pushing off of the balls of my feet.

Another issue I've been trying to correct is knee pain. I haven't had any major trauma to my knees. So I'm assuming it's not a joint issue. I might need to get it looked at just in case though. Anyways, Ive been watching videos talking about knee pain and they suggest I have either a weak core and or hamstrings. I've been on the Stronglifts 5x5 since starting back up in July after a 5 year absence. With the issues I've had I've been able to work my way back up to 300lbs. But I lowered the weight back down due to my knee issue, so I can work out my kinks. I'm wondering if the lack of sets with deadlifts contributed to the possibility that my hamstrings are sub par. Anyways on to the video. Thanks again for the helpful insights already posted.

[video]https://youtu.be/0Fvc3xbWBtU[/video]
 
If I had to guess before watching the video, you're having knee pain because your jacked up ankles are putting them in a bad position. If you're struggling to stay on your heels in Olympic shoes, you need to work hard on your dorsiflexion.
 
kn78 said:
I'm not going to lie. I had to Google that term, first time I've heard of it.
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that's alright. You're here to learn **** after all, right? I'd also suggest really trying to "screw your feet into the floor" by trying to rotate your foot clockwise on the floor. My knees hurt when i get lax on this cue. That could be an issue as well. This will also help engage your hips and glutes better.
 
Definitely agree on working on ankle mob. A simple YouTube video search will yield some good stretches. Would also recommend getting into the fascia and tissue around the Achilles and the calves with a lax ball to loosen things up before you mobilize. I'd do mobility both pre and post squatting.

You seem to lose some core integrity as you descend. You collapse as you get to the bottom of your ROM. Your bar path, as a result, does not stay where it should. Really focus on taking in a belly breath and bracing against the belt that you're using.
 
Before you squat, toss a few plates on the seated calf raise and stay in the bottom position for a bit...do this a few times and then hit the squat rack. You're still coming up on your toes and I think they are 3/4" heels so on top of the other suggestions, give this a shot. I'm pretty sure i got this from meadows.
 
Epolis13 said:
Definitely agree on working on ankle mob. A simple YouTube video search will yield some good stretches. Would also recommend getting into the fascia and tissue around the Achilles and the calves with a lax ball to loosen things up before you mobilize. I'd do mobility both pre and post squatting.

You seem to lose some core integrity as you descend. You collapse as you get to the bottom of your ROM. Your bar path, as a result, does not stay where it should. Really focus on taking in a belly breath and bracing against the belt that you're using.
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I thought I was leaning, shows how much I know about this. I noticed today I was having a hard time keeping my shoulders back keeping the platform for the bar. Idk why maybe I never paid attention to it and I've been doing it this whole time. Definitely need to work on my breathing as well I've been holding it going down then exhaling at some point at the bottom/on the way up. Typing this I realized I need to start paying better attention to a lot of stuff.

I'm glad I posted these videos. I would have more then likely never thought I needed to work on mobility in my ankles. Well that and everything else, ha. Thanks for the tips!
 
Not terrible.

Drive elbows under the bar/push head back into the bar to help keep your chest up. As mentioned, you're getting folded over a little at the bottom.

And what herder said...
 
You're coming onto your toes a little bit but really it's not that bad. Just more quad activation. I have Nike Romaleos 2 they make it very hard to come onto your toes. As the weights get heavier form isn't going to be perfect. Just strive to learn and do better
 
kn78 said:
I thought I was leaning, shows how much I know about this. I noticed today I was having a hard time keeping my shoulders back keeping the platform for the bar. Idk why maybe I never paid attention to it and I've been doing it this whole time. Definitely need to work on my breathing as well I've been holding it going down then exhaling at some point at the bottom/on the way up. Typing this I realized I need to start paying better attention to a lot of stuff.

I'm glad I posted these videos. I would have more then likely never thought I needed to work on mobility in my ankles. Well that and everything else, ha. Thanks for the tips!
Click to expand...

You're not alone on the ankles. I myself have to hammer ankle dorsiflexion every single day. Most people think it's their hips that are the culprit, but it's usually the ankles. So many people have this issue.
 
If you're having hip flexor pain I would definitely change your shoes. Once I started squatting moderatelt heavy weights, I started to have debilitating hip flexor pain. Chuck taylors with plates under my heels helped, and I ended up buying the Pendlay Do-wins lifting shoes which completely eliminated the pain and helped me keep my chest up more.
 
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