Hate to be “that guy” who is always posting videos, asking for critiques, but I’ve recieved some invaluable advice on these forums in the past and I would really appreciate some input on my back squat form. I did 5x6 back squats today, the last set I used 240, which is a personal best. I noticed that I’m starting to get a little bit of heel lift in the video, and my shins are definitely not vertical enough. Does the depth look about right? What about the angle of the upper body? Also, how long should a set of 6 take me? It seems like this set took a little long.
Erik, your squats look great man. I think based on how you squat you could really benefit from wearing Olympic weightlifting shoes with a heel on them. They will help you get a little deeper and I think you will notice an increase in force. However, these are not a necessity. You’re doing great.
You have great posture under the bar. Knees, as far as I can tell, track well. You stay tight. You even have developed a little bit of a bounce out of the hole with your hips (which can be a good thing).
Don’t worry about your shins not being upright. That is applicable for really, really wide stance squatters, usually powerlifters lifting in a squat suit. They are sitting into the suit and letting it drive them out of the hole. An entirely different application than what you are doing here as a raw lifter. Especially with the design of your body and limbs. Anatomically, it would be hard, if not impossible, to keep the bar over your mid foot/center of gravity with a medium to regular stance while maintaining perpendicular shins. Try it with a broomstick.
I think you are over analyzing your squats man. Awesome idea to post up and ask these questions, but I hope I can rest your mind and telling you that you’re worrying about a lot of insignificant details. Keep lifting and getting stronger. You seem to be doing well.
Thats a good squat man keep it up. Don’t be hesitant to post videos and ask for help if you think you need it. Thats what these forums are for. And ya I would agree youd probably benefit from some olympic shoes, you can get a pair for about 90-100$.
Looks like you’re making some good progress! Keep workin man. Have you put on noticable size since you started?
Thanks everyone! Yeah, the vans probably aren’t ideal. I will look into some better footwear.
And thanks! I have been making some decent progress. Weight is about 5lbs up (165 to 170) and I’m getting stronger on the compound lifts. Unfortunately, I’ve had to take a break from running Maximum Strength; I travel a lot for training for my job (military) and the gyms I have access to just don’t have the necessary equipment to run the program as written. So for right now I’m doing a more beginner-ish program, upper lower split, 4 days a week, focused on compound, barbell movements. I’m beginning to realize how much I have to eat to gain; I’ve been absolutely crushing calories, probably 4k a day, and the gains are still pretty slow.
[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Thanks everyone! Yeah, the vans probably aren’t ideal. I will look into some better footwear.
And thanks! I have been making some decent progress. Weight is about 5lbs up (165 to 170) and I’m getting stronger on the compound lifts. Unfortunately, I’ve had to take a break from running Maximum Strength; I travel a lot for training for my job (military) and the gyms I have access to just don’t have the necessary equipment to run the program as written. So for right now I’m doing a more beginner-ish program, upper lower split, 4 days a week, focused on compound, barbell movements. I’m beginning to realize how much I have to eat to gain; I’ve been absolutely crushing calories, probably 4k a day, and the gains are still pretty slow.[/quote]
I was gonna say before finishing your reply you’d probably make faster progress if you ate more.