Hey gents,
Got a video of some squats from today, noticed myself really pitching forward on the later reps. Always been an issue of mine on squats. I’m thinking my stance may be a little to narrow? Some pretty god awful mobility could definitely also be to blame, thought I’d throw the video up and see if anyone had some advice. Squats always just been my worst lift, so I appreciate anything you send my way. Thanks!
Hey man, I’m not a pro by any means but it looks like maybe you are losing tightness in your upper back and brace.
I have a pretty similar squat form, where my body takes a lower angle (lack of mobility, like you said, maybe?) and it almost looks like a good morning out of the bottom. I’ve found staying SUPER tight in my upper back and concentrating the push through my heels and to my upper back/traps have helped. Also, some programmed ab work has bulletproofed my brace for the weights I’m using.
It kind of looks like you’re looking down on the squat when you’re coming out of the bottom. You could try looking straight for the full rep and see how that feels.
From your video I cannot tell if you have long legs and short waist. If so, squating rather narrow is very challenging. I am long in the thigh and short in the waist.
I had a similar form as you. I moved wider and the “good morning” phase went away.
Start by moving the width of your shoe wider on both sides. That might be enough. If the squat still “good mornings” the top half of the squat, widen another shoe width. If that doesn’t make a significant difference, I don’t know your problem.
Can you traditional deadlift more than you squat? If so, by how much?
@boilerman hmm, I didn’t think about my upper back. Will focus on that next time, see if it makes a difference
@tlgains i definitely do look down a bit. When I first learned how to squat, my coach always told me to look at the ground about 10 feet ahead of me. Maybe not the best habit to keep, especially since that was low bar
@RT_Nomad I can deadlift more than my squat. Not doing conventional deads right now, but I’m probably good for about 430-450 range for 5 reps on deadlift, while 315 for 5 is about max on my deads. My pants is a 30inch inseam, and I’m 5’10, so I don’t think I have relatively long legs. Will move my stance out a bit, see how it helps
Thanks for the advice
I squat low bar and look straight. I used to look down because that was how Mark Rippetoe squats but I found I kept messing up my squat by doing that.
Check out how your upper back is tight and your head and chest are up before you squat, standing there. Everything looks good. Your elbows are under the bar, pointing to the floor.
Then look at the bottom of the squat. You’ve lost some upper back tightness, your chest falls and you’re rounding over. Now your elbows have shifted behind the bar, pointing behind you.
A “trick” to keep your back tight and chest up is to keep your elbows under the bar, pointing towards the floor during the whole squat. Theoretically that should keep you more upright coming up.
Just don’t go crazy, torquing your shit up jamming your elbows way forward under the bar. It can put a lot of pressure on your back and elbows.
Training your abs and strengthening your hips are good ideas too. That might help your mobility without having to do the splits.