I wouldn’t be concerned tbh mate, it’s so minor. Could turn your toes out a fraction more and see what happens
Thanks I started getting them a nudge more out, I’ll try a little bit more
You could also be going deeper than you need, it only seems to happen when you’ve sunk right into the hole. Maybe try pausing at parallel and see what happens
It happens also at parallel if I recall right, but probably less yeah. I’m not sure I’ll have acceptable quads one day if I start cutting on depth. Also in the vid you can hear how my knees were popping like crazy!
This feels more emotional than rational . With your legs, the “stroke” you have to go through compared to a lifter with squatting leverages is insane.
To put it in more polite terms, the work you have to do to get down to a bench is comparable to what thibs does squatting ATG.
You are not an Olympic weightlifter. You aren’t built to be one anyway. Put a bench behind you or between your legs and squat to that. If you can do that with heavier weights, you’ll build quads all the same.
Secondly, I encourage you to consider viewing compound lifts as performers, not as builders. You can build legs without ever loading your spine or torso.
In practice, you could think about a training session as a whole, so let’s say you have four exercises
A…D
The entire session is 100%
If the session goes, back squat → front squat, whatever else, you “invested” 50% in performance.
Similarly, if you do a compound squat as your A exercise and then hit three machines or exercises wherein you can nail your quads (sissy squats for instance) that’s 75% invested in “building” and you can periodize around this concept.
This applies to you and your long limbs. If you were short-legged the compounds to work to “build”. And for them, they’d have to make this consideration with other exercises. Presumably, you’re at an advantage with developing your “pull” muscles and won’t need to invest training money on for instance biceps.
Appreciate the tag but I am not the technique guy.
It feels like I do similar when I dive bomb and rush my squats, front or back. Paused squats help groove my squats better. That set was light enough that if you were to pause them, I’m confident they’d look much better. I reckon you’d feel the difference too.
Certainly not as minor as Williams in the vid where we barely see anything lol
Here’s squat from monday at 120 (Granted I was fatigued but…)
Here’s from 4 month ago, it was 120 or 130 I don’t remember
Certainly my biomechanics are a factor, my valgus + the surgeries, left hip tight and one less hammie there (left knee a little bit hurting from this session, not used to jumps anymore)
Not but you do your fair share of front squats and squats! Indeed but goal was to aim for max speed
@Voxel where’s the motherfucker ![]()
Love me some tough pep talk!
Indeed but that’s just excuses! Jhonatas Rivas is not built for it either and he’s a gold medalist ahah
Yeah I agree with you. I’ll keep this in mind. Also in this gym there’s a hack squat machine, which is the best thing I ever felt for quads
That only 1 human out of a population of 7 billion has managed to do something tends to actually be a fantastic excuse for why 2 humans can’t do it.
No-ones ever said I do them well though
Now @Voxel 's comment has me a bit confused. What is your goal (with squats)? “Why do you squat” should determine how we approach the subject and the technique used.
The second video features a bit much knee valgus, first seems minor.
How is the pressure on your feet? That is an often overlooked cause of knee valgus.
What kind of surgeries are we talking about?
Haha, well, some of the best advice I ever received on here wasn’t directed at me so I decided to change the tone somewhat for any would be lurkers.
I don’t know enough to help you discern what can and can’t be attributed to your surgeries. What are your squat cues? In the back squat video I look at what your femur is doing and I don’t observe anything that leads me to believe that you are trying to sit down inbetween your legs á la Ed Coan. In the Chuck’s video I think you should have a wider stance. Where the outside edge of your feet are in that video is where I believe you’d want to have the inside edge of your feet. When you use the squat shoes you can certainly get away with squatting a bit more narrow.
I say this from my own experience and have no scientific justification other than “I feel stronger there, that way”.
Mainly to have a bigger squat and get stronger overall in my lower body
Yes first video was more recent, calm, composed, trying to brace as much as I can. Second I don’t remember exactly but since it was at my school it was obviously something close to failure, in a high adrenaline environment so quite rushed
Trying to use the tripod and screw the feet. Not always easy to do. Even in squat shoes. One of my feet naturally collapses outward, the other inward
ACL surgeries on both knees, no meniscuses either. They didn’t use the same surgeriy methods though and left leg never recovered as well
Doesn’t mean you don’t have knwoledge about them ahah. My squat isn’t perfect yet I did 10 000 of them and coached many so I can instantly see little details… But you earned this title recently
(110 x 20)
Trying to brace as hard as I can, screw the feet in the floor, keep the knees out as much as I can
I try to though ahah. Sitting down not back
That day it was just easy work (3x3 at 80%) to get used back to the gym so I decided to go with my Chucks and no knee sleeves. Honestly it didn’t feel bad at all!
I used to squat wider. But I try to close in a bit for my valgus, and also because it has its burden on the hips
I don’t think it’s that much to be fair. My knees have been in valgus since I was a kid. Left knee hasn’t recovered full mobility though, and sometimes it hurts behind my knee (most likely this surgery took it toll on my vastus intermedius since they used one of its tendon for the graft, which is not the case on my right knee)
Left hammy significantly weaker also, and I have to work on my ankle/hip balance and proprioception
I know I wasn’t tagged and I was always a horrible squatter, but ill throw in a post as well.
Keep in mind , my experience is basically 8 years of doing squats imperfectly and being very upset about it…
I had knee caving a long time ago and a poster here named 2 scoops told me it was a glute thing. Maybe not firing in the hole or something to that effect. No necessarily that they are weak or never fire , but maybe don’t fire at the right time.
Also, a chronically tight hip flexor always made one side worse than the other. I could never feel my left glute , low and behold my left knee caved and the other tracked properly. I work that puppy now like she starving and broke …
IE: I use my massage hook/gun , and do some mobility stuff my physio taught me.
Also, do you do box squats ? I apologize if I haven’t looked back or read much, but I only do box squats now just with some hip issues and even though my knees don’t cave anymore , I could tell if they did that box squats would correct that shit up real good.
Again, take anything I say with a grain of salt because I always sucked at squats:)
Frere, it looks like you’re so focused on the knees out, external rotation that you’re ignoring the knees in, internal rotation part. There needs to be some “loading” or “tightness” of the adductor (crotch) muscles and some internal rotation of your femur to use your quads properly. In your squat motion your knees are so far “out” that’s they need to come “in” at the bottom.
Think of the way you lock in your upper body during an olympic lift. You grab the bar and generate tension and slight Internal Rotation of your arms/shoulders. Then, against this tension you externally rotate your shoulders and BAM! your whole back is Engaged and everything is tight at the same time. The internal rotation is pretty subtle, it might even be more of a “feeling” than a motion. But you turn it on first, so it’s there to brace off of.
Next time you’re about to squat, remember that internal rotation. When you get your feet set, think about Slight Internal rotation of your femurs and Slightly bringing your knees together. Just a little. You don’t even really have to move your knees far, just generate that tightness and engage those muscles. Then screw your feet into the floor and push your knees out, Against the internal rotation and crotch tightness you’ve already started with. You should really feel your hamstrings and glutes (like already mentioned) as well as the outside of your hips.
That should make it easier to load up your quads in the descent, which should keep your knees in line and make it easier to use all your lower body muscles together. Allegedly.
I agree with the others that box squats are a great tool.
Anybody can chime in obviously this is the point of a log… Any comment is deeply appreciated!
Yeah, I might be having some coordination issues… Honestly thinking about buying a miniband and doing some med glute work here and there since I have quite a lot of free time right now
Not in many years, but I’ll certainly try this for my next cycle then, as @FlatsFarmer also advised…
You might be right there… Saw something here (maybe Lee Boyce?) about how there can be too much tracking outside. Indeed I focus a lot on external rotation. I’ll definitely try this on tuesday
Your knees aren’t going “in”, they’re going “un-out” if that makes sense. A true knee valgus would occur with the combination of hip adduction and internal rotation, with external rotation of the tibia relative to the distal femur. Because your tibias are not externally-rotating, you are not entering knee valgus, simply adducting the hip
If your knees are out in descent, they will have to tick inwards slightly on the reversal. Doing so allows you to leverage the VMO to extend the knee, leverage adductor magnus to extend the hip and concentrically orient the anterior pelvic floor to redirect viscera
The way you squat there is almost exactly how I would coach an athlete to squat, but I would probably have them set up in a more narrow stance.
Thank you for the analysis. That’s probably why I’m all VMO and adductors and my vastus lateralis is a bit lacking compared to the medialis lol (and these are always the sorest)
I have a big butt and quite the long legs so I always thought I should go wider (like my clean width is quite wide), I’ll try with a shorter stance next high bar!
22/02 - Morning Sesh - Crossfit
A. Power Snatch from Hang 4 x 3 with 45 kgs
B. Clean Pull 4 x 3 with 110 kgs
C. No Feet Power Clean 4 x 3 with 70 kgs
WOD:
AMRAP 15’
21 Wall-ball Shot
15 Squat Clean from Hang 40 kgs
9 Burpees over Bar
Every 3’ and starting the WOD, 9 Pull-ups
Was at turn 4 and did 2 cleans
Was training with the same girl as last monday, who’s doing France oly championships so she could point me cues and all, it was cool! Then the WOD was also cool because we have the same level lol I just beat her by like 4 reps
Abdomen was sore from the breathing, a really tough cardio one that was, but feeling really good afterwards, now a little nap before this afternoon’s session
22/02 - Day 6 - Max effort upper
A. Bench Press 1 x 120 kgs + 3 x 108 kgs lifetime PR
B1. HBT Military Press 4 x 8 with 40 + 10 kgs hanging
B2. Pull-Ups 4 x 5
B3. Hanging L-Sit 4 x 25’’
C1. JM Press 4 x 8 with 50 kgs
C2. T-Bar Row 4 x 8 with 80 kgs
C3. V-Ups 4 x 10
D. Yellow Band Triceps Extension 1 x 100
So ramping up for the Bench, took quite a hit with this morning session. Aiming for 115. 114 is easy (they only have 2 kgs plates no 2,5) so I try 118. Felt easy so 120 it was!
Lifetime PR, so yeah that’s great… 108 x 3 afterwards felt solid as well (except on rep 3 where I slipped because of my damn towel!) and is probably a PR as well lol
Then went easy on the assistance. Well did either more reps or more weight on all sets and stayed a good deal away from failure. Used to be I ddin’t have the maturity to keep some reps in reserve, and this feels great… Except for pull-ups since I already did 45 this morning I only did sets of five, but slowly, and with extra complete ROM, scapular movement and all
Managed to do the 100 reps with the yellow band in one go but it was veryyyy hard
Also, being a bit leaner (love handles shrinked a bit) as well as fuller muscularly, veins starting to show and nice pump today, got complimented as well, it’s crazy what a week of consistent training can do
Feeling very good today… Having some time to enjoy life lol. training in the morning with a top athlete, then in the afternoon, then some video games… people messaging from everywhere and I’m having nice conversations lol living my best life… A ,nicechange from what it used to be not so long ago
Nice one mate! Congrats on a big milestone!
