Form Check Squat

[Pren]

Hi there!

Recently I decided to improve my squat technique, as the difference between my squat and deadlift is starting to become embarrassing now. I'm currently on Week 5 of the 3-day Hypertrophy template and I recorded all my squats, including some warmups. Could you please give me some feedback? Thanks in advance Weights are in kg btw.

1x120

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p4-Wi5TYGU

1x130

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_sNcDLlaUA

1x140

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEt_2M6L7t0

6x118

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YjM_U8zv-E

6x115

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EWmZ3jPgl0

6x115

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxev991Pwy0

[Nate B]

Hey man,

I'm not the most experienced lifter on here by a long shot, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

The main thing I'm seeing is it looks like you're letting your bar path drift forward of midfoot on the descent. This puts you in a position where, out of the hole, your hips rise faster than your chest (it's more apparent the heavier the weight gets) and you have do somewhat of a good-morning grind before you get the bar back on track over midfoot. You need to do a better job of getting tight, loading your quads/setting your knees earlier, and dropping your ass in the hole on the descent. On the ascent, drive straight up and try to raise your hips and chest at the same rate. There are several different cues, drills, etc. to help with this, so search around and try to find some that work for you, but the main point is that you need to do a better job of keeping your bar path in a straight line over your midfoot rather than allowing it to drift forward - easier said than done, believe me I know.

Additionally, the bar might be too high on your back (assuming you're squatting low bar) but it's hard to tell. If this is the case, it could also play a role in throwing you out in front of midfoot. Make sure you're racking the bar on the shelf created by your rear delts.

I'm only giving my $0.02 on this because your technique flaw is pretty much exactly what I'm going through right now (and have been for a while). My squat singles @ 8 have been stalled for weeks, which prompted me to take a more critical look at my form. Basically, your raw strength can only mask an inefficiency in your technique for so long - eventually the weight gets heavy enough that you can't just "muscle" your way through the sticking point if you're consistently getting yourself out of position.

Finally, from one relatively untrained eye to another, I'd highly recommend downloading the Kinovea software (it's free) and use it to trace your bar path while you continue to try to correct your technique. I've videoed all my working sets for the longest time and never noticed my wonky bar path until I put lines to it with the software.

Good luck!

[Pren]

Thank you!
I got some advice on another forum as well. And since you seem to be struggling with the same problem, I'll share it with you too. Hope it helps:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H61P_PXUs6k

[Nate B]

Yep, that’s a very relevant video for me haha. I definitely need to do some quad biased assistance work after I compete about a month from now. Thanks for sharing!