This x10! I didn’t start lifting smartly and with purpose until I was in my 40’s. If I could go back and talk to my 20 year old self I would seriously set him straight on some stuff… I graduated high school at 5’8" and 125#, and I didn’t weigh more than 145# until I was 30.
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Mark Rippetoe talked about the head position quite exclusively in his starting strength squat video. To quote him, “Most people would like to have their head there (up), but this (makes the trainee look at the floor) produces more hip drive. And I’ll show you. (Proceeds to demonstrate…) We’re gonna develop maximum hip drive by looking at the platform.”
Again from Rippetoe’s video, “And this (pointing at trainee’s elbows) is what keeps the bar in position. When you take your elbows and shove them up, you form a little shelf for the bar to sit in.” And, “Don’t lift your chest. Drive up your hips.”
Was I getting folded? 
Isn’t it moving in a straight line?
I’m not trying to say your statements are wrong. I’m just trying to verify and understand better. Don’t get offended please.
I’m sure one of the other guys can give you some tips.
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You’re looking almost between your toes, Chicken is talking about a neutrel neck position. Your eyes aren’t pinned to the ceiling, nor do they have to be straight forward, but think ‘front of the platform’ not ‘between your feet on the platform’ your chest tends to follow your eyes/head, meaning that if you are craned forward you are more likely to come up on your toes and come forward while coming up.
This is fine, in my opinion, if your form is pretty good, if you tuck your elbows under the bar (this doesn’t necessarily mean straight up and down, it is simply a conscious cue to use), as Chicken mentions, then you’re more likely to sit up and back (you made this adjustment in the video and also ‘stuck your chest out’ to help your form), by pointing your elbows more ‘back’ you are more likely to come forward.
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Right. Now I understand. Thanks!
Yeah I think those should work too
For the squat video, I agree with alot of the stuff being said. I’ve never been a big fan of the Rippetoe style low bar, and I see this has been something that Alan Thrall has been really pushing.
I personally squat with a slight hip hinge and some of my teammates hate it.
I think the elbows are pointed back because you dont have as much back musculature to support the bar otherwise if elbows were directly under. This is just something that will change over time.
Same with head position. I look down myself, but more in a neutral neck position than neck flexion. It looks like you’re rounding in the lower back too, so try to stay tighter.
Watch Brian Alsruhe’s videos about bracing, that should help that issue.
One of the most significant squat videos I ran into:
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If I were you, I would really, really reconsider putting much stock into Rippetoe’s advice about squat form. I personally think it’s terrible advice. You won’t find any great squatters doing it the way he suggests. It can work alright for a new lifter, but it’s really not how I would personally start out.
If you are set on taking his advice for now because you’re seeing results at the moment, at least be open to other ideas as well, as you continue your journey.
I’d also watch a lot of videos on youtube of really, really good squatters and try to see what they have in common with each other. I’m talking about guys squatting 800+, not like 500.
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I’m completely open to new ideas. Please don’t assume I’m being obnoxious. I just happened to watch a lot of Alan Thrall and Mark Rippetoe up until now. Mainly because they did in-depth explanations about everything they said. And I honestly didn’t try to look farther because I thought that was the end of it (I did watch Eric Lillebridge’s 1045 lb squat to awe myself lol). Which lifters would you suggest analysing to learn proer squat form?
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If you have Instagram, do yourself a favour and follow a fellow called “Australian strength coach”
He might even have a few videos on YouTube
Sebastian is one of the best coaches in the world regarding form, and how each muscle works in relation to each exercise
Really hammers down technique over weight and always posts videos about the core lifts
Also coaches some of the world’s best powerlifters and strongman around
I didn’t assume this, and I didn’t suggest it. All I did was give advice, based on your reply to chickenlittle. You used Rippetoe quotes as evidence to contradict the advice she gave you, so I felt it necessary to point out that maybe Rippetoe isn’t the bets source for learning squat technique.
Lillebridge is a fucking monster. Good stuff. I’d check out Khudarov and Malanichev as well if you want to be inspired.
I would also suggest watching some really good squatters with bodies that are closer to what you’re working with, meaning some guys who are lower in bodyweight. Jesse Norris is a hell of a squatter, and he has a ton of videos online. I like Brandon Franklin’s squat as well. You could also watch olympic lifters squatting. Their styles are very different because they have different goals.
There are 2 basic things that should determine how you squat. 1 is your body in general. Your leverages, your hip structure, stuff like that will largely determine what is best for YOU. The second thing is what your goals are. If you don’t want to compete in powerlifting, then squatting to right at parallel is an arbitrary squat definition. Olympic lifters tend to squat much lower, because that makes sense for the sport they compete in. They also do a ton of front squatting, rather than all back squatting. when they back squat, they tend to use a very high bar position.
Bodybuilders tend to cut their squats short of parallel, and really just try to maintain tension throughout sets of higher reps. So they won’t pause so long at the top, as compared to what you did in your video. This lends itself more to hypertrophy rather than pure 1 rep max strength development.
As a young lifter, you need to figure out how to squat pain-free, and safely. You need to figure out what you want to get out of your squats. You need to figure out your own best leverages for the squat. You should try various bar positions (low to high bar) and decide which is most comfortable for you along with which allows you to move the most weight. You should also play around with stance width.
I, personally, squat with a relatively high bar position, because my shoulder mobility sucks, and I don’t compete in powerlifting. For my low-rep sets, I tend to go very deep, because that correlates with lifts I have to do in strongman competitions. When I’m squatting for higher reps just to build size, I’ll generally cut my reps shorter.
You’ve had some great advice but one thing I’m not sure has been touched on yet (admittedly I’ve only kinda skimmed your log so apologies if it’s been covered).
Great advice to eat a lot, but the problem is that a “lot” is different things to different people.
Wasn’t long ago we had a thread where a kid was saying he couldn’t gain weight, despite eating a lot. When questioned he eventually revealed he would eat a big serving of meat, but then be too full to eat any of the carbs he’d prepared with his meal, so he ended up throwing half of his calories away.
Thing is, he wasn’t trying to mislead us or anything; he really did feel like he was eating a lot because it was enough to make him feel full.
Do you see what I’m saying? Just because you think you are eating a lot doesn’t necessarily mean you are, and while I do agree that someone in your position doesn’t need to meticulously count every gram and calorie, it might help to log your intake just for a week or so to make sure your calories are coming in high enough.
Something worth trying if you find the scale isn’t budging.
Best of luck with it all!
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Agreed!
Counting macros would at least give you a quantifiable amount of what you’re eating. A rough estimate so you know what 4 or 6 or 8oz of meat looks like, what half a cup or a cup of rice looks like, etc
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How you going @amit_hasan, sticking with the program?
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Guys I’m really sorry for not being able to post updates last couple of days. I got into a disagreement with my internet provider and in the heat of the argument cancelled my subscription in the middle of the month. I got a new connection from today.
So updates. I have completed the second week of my training program. As it will be too long to write detailed updates of individual workouts, I’ll just list the PR sets and get to the fun part quickly! And I will be listing the weights in kilos from now as my gym has kilo plates.
Week 2 Day 1: Squat: 35 x 5, 25 x 20
Week 2 Day 2: Bench: 15 x 5 x 5
Week 2 Day 3: Deadlift: 35 x 12 (I recon I could have done at least 20 but wanted to save something for the later sets), 25 x 5 x 5
Week 2 Day 4: Overhead Press: 15 x 5, 10 x 10 x 5
THE MAIN UPDATE!!!: I’m 124 lbs now! I gained 4 lbs and my waist measurement went down half an inch. Wasn’t expecting the latter but I was so extremely happy to see the dial go over 120 for the first time in my life!
And I have so much hunger for food now! I used to live on 2 tiny meals a day. I had to force the food for the first few days. But as of right now I actually get hungry after every 3-4 hours! and I crave tasty stuff when I see it! And I am sleeping way better. I sleep like a dead man for 8 hours straight and wake up hungry!
Quick question: Why do the 20 rep squat sets feel more like cardio and less like weight training?
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You’re doing good! Keep it up.
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Good stuff mate
Re: why the widowmaker feels like cardio,
Simpliest answer, it’s because the weight isn’t heavy yet 
Don’t worry mate, stick too it and work hard, and it’ll feel like hell in no time
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Yeah it’s great you got an appetite now. With good sleep and diet, everything will fall into place now
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Update for Sept 3, 2018
Workout: Week 3 Day 1
Warm up: Agile 8, Box Jumps x 10
Main Lift: Squat
30 x 5
35 x 5
40 x 5
20 x 20
Assistance:
- DB incline: 5 kg in each hand x 6 x 10
- Lat Pull downs x 3 x 10
- Rows x 3 x 10
Ran home: 10 mins
Eating
Breakfast: Bread, veggies, beef
Brunch: Milk, banana, egg
Lunch: Rice, beef, veggies
Post Workout: Milk, banana, egg
Dinner: Rice, beef, salmon, veggies
Before sleep: Milk
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In on the log brother, looking forward to seeing your progress in the gym!
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Update for Sept 4, 2018
Workout: Week 3 Day 2
Warm up: Agile 8, Box Jumps x 10
Main Lift: Bench Press
20 x 5
25 x 5
35 x 2 x 5
35 x 1 x 3
(Couldn’t complete 5 x 5. The lowest plates available are worth 2.5 kilos each. So I can only go up in increments of 5 kilos. I started with 65%=10 kilos. 35 is 225%. Maybe I’ll have to get 0.5 kilo plates fabricated for personal use from the local machine shop 
)
Assistance:
DB Incline: 3 x 10, 5 x 10, 6 x 4 x 10
Rows x 3 x 10
Lat Pull-downs 3 x 10
Eating: I haven’t eaten well today. For some reason the food didn’t want to go down.
Breakfast: Payesh (Rice cooked in milk with some fruits mixed in), Egg, Beef, veggies
Brunch: Banana
Lunch: Rice, veggies, beef
Pre-workout: Sandwiches made of bread, beef, cheese
Post workout: Milk, egg
Dinner: Rice, veggies, beef, fish
On a whim I took a photo with the same pose as last time. Here, this was me on Aug 15
And this is me today (Sept 4)
I wouldn’t say I gained muscle. But I straightened up and I seem to have lost the slenderness of the arms lol
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