***Gym Exercise Guide, and Form Discussion/Feedback***

Improved, apart from what Delvis posted about (strong post btw!).

Also, get your elbows more under the bar while maintaining tightness in your lats.
 
Thanks very much everyone. I feel I've now gotten to the point where I've solved more issues than I've created so I just need to keep going and fix the stuff that's not perfect yet, then I can start adding some weight and making gains
 
Moved from the gym rats thread

Would anyone check my form on squats? Doing 60kg in those videos but I would normally squat 75kg.





I think I'm doing high bar squats but I'm trying to do low bar squats. How far should the bar be down? Feels very uncomfortable holding it further down.
 
Firstly, watch the videos and read icecold's guide on squatting. For low bar squat, you need to push your elbows back to create a shelf along your rear delts, this is where the bar will sit. It may be uncomfortable at first but you'll get used to it.

Couple quick things to fix.
- Stance is too narrow.
- Knees out.
- A low bar movement requires you to sit back into the squat more, instead of staying more upright and going between your legs in a high bar.
- Keep tension in your legs throughout the movement.
- Your footwear isn't great, you want something with a very flat and solid sole.
- Need to practice how to properly move your hips and hinge. At the moment you initiate the movement by tilting the hips and dropping the chest.
 
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Thanks for the advice. I pushed a few tough reps squatting with a broom using your advice and I can feel the difference already.

LiE said:
- Stance is too narrow.
Click to expand...
The narrow stance seemed to one of the best fixes. I always tried to keep my knees from extending beyond my toes and focussing on sitting down and bringing the ass back but its near impossible with that stance. It also makes it a lot easier keeping the knees out and stops them from extending beyond the toes. I can definitely feel the glutes being more involved and the weight has been brought off the toes and more towards the heels.

With low bar squats will there be a slight lean forward as opposed to the more upright doing high bar?

LiE said:
- Keep tension in your legs throughout the movement.
Click to expand...
I definitely didn't focus well on keeping tight during the reps. WHen tring to keep tension should I tense the glutes, abs and shoulder throughout the motion and just take a deep breath before the descent and hold it?

As regards the shoes, I knew that a flat soled shoe is better compared to a running shoe so I used the ones in the video but I would agree that their probably not the best. There's a slight raise towards the back.

LiE said:
Need to practice how to properly move your hips and hinge. At the moment you initiate the movement by tilting the hips and dropping the chest.
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate on that a bit more please?

Thanks again for the help!
 
Doing low bar will make you more sloped yes, but you'll be sitting back in to the movement more.

You should have your core braced, actively push your knees out otherwise they will collapse in at the bottom of the movement. Pull the bar in to your back and engage your lats.

Look up hip hinging, you don't want to tilt the hips as this will hurrrrrrrrrrt.
 
Hip hinging probably isn't the exact term I should be using, as a true hip hinge relates more to other lifts. The thing to focus on is being tight and breaking at the hips (it's covered in the link posted above).

The bar/weight will always need to stay over your mid-foot, so if you imagine as you sit back your upper body angle with change (note: not spine) to keep the weight where it needs to be.

Watch some videos of icecold, djdom or myself to get an idea how how the low bar squat looks.
 
I watched the video by djdom and I have a lot better idea of how to do them. I'll read the guide tonight and try it out tomorrow and I'll post a video again next Monday with hopefully a lot better form.
 
LiE you were actually right about the hip hinge.

Mark, there is a video under deadlifts in the OP that is relevant to you.

You REALLY need to learn how to generate spinal stiffness through core bracing, your back is flopping around like a ****.

What? I said fish?

Bad joke PB.
 
I've been watching this video (the one I think icecold is referring to in the last post) to deal with the point about keeping tension.

I think I'm being simple but could anyone explain what the change was in the video. Is the point to basically clench your ass cheeks together?
 
Watch it again, and again, she even goes in to the bad movement and he points it out to her.

Spread the floor with your feet, turn your knees out, don't engage aggressive APT.

Look at the Vid at 1min, her backs ridiculously curved inwards for want of a better word. At 2mins he's showing what I mean by turning your knees out.

Edit: yes that's about deadlifts, but its what ice is referring to
 
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Basically, by 'screwing' your feet into the floor, you generate torque and stability, allowing you to move better.

Ice, what do you think about this article?
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/teaching-the-hip-hinge/

The hip hinge isn’t a squatting movement. Being able to separate these two patterns is very important. Hip hinging is emphasized in deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, Olympic lifts, swings, and even in some upper body rowing and scapular stabilization movements.
Click to expand...

At first I thought sure, squatting isn't a a hip hinge movement per se, but thinking about it, it pretty much is in so many ways. The videos and exercises they list to teach hip hinge don't have anything similar to a squat but it does translate over to how to keep a neutral spine and how to move the hips properly during a squat. Interesting stuff.
 
No, not at all. But this really isn't simple stuff.

Spread the floor with your feet, externally rotate your femurs (upper legs, i.e. point your knees out), prioritise spine neutrality and stiffness, stick arse back.

Initially her spine was over extended, which provides limited stability in a broken way. Later, her spine was straight because her hips were organised and she was generating stiffness with her core.
 
So if I was to break it down very simplistically, when keeping tension in the squat I should:

  • Take a deep breath
  • Brace core by tensing abs
  • Turn knees further our which in turn will keep legs tight?
Also what do you mean by agressive APT?


*Hadn't read posts after delvis's so I'll edit it after reading
 
LiE said:
Ice, what do you think about this article?
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/teaching-the-hip-hinge/



At first I thought sure, squatting isn't a a hip hinge movement per se, but thinking about it, it pretty much is in so many ways. The videos and exercises they list to teach hip hinge don't have anything similar to a squat but it does translate over to how to keep a neutral spine and how to move the hips properly during a squat. Interesting stuff.
Click to expand...
Meh, yes and no.

It isn't the most exaggerated form of hip hinging, but you are still very literally hinging at the hip.

For me, the definition of a hip hinge involves spine and hip (and all of the musculature and tissue therein) mechanics. This is where it's a useful coaching tool. If you can't maintain a stiff spine when you undergo flexion at the hips in a deadlift/RDL/whatever, you're probably going to have problems maintaining a stiff spine when you squat.


EDIT: p.s. I've only skimmed that article, but I've been using some of those teaching tools. Pretty cool :)
 
mufcmark said:
So if I was to break it down very simplistically, when keeping tension in the squat I should:

  • Take a deep breath
  • Brace core by tensing abs
  • Turn knees further our which in turn will keep legs tight?
Also what do you mean by agressive APT?


*Hadn't read posts after delvis's so I'll edit it after reading
Click to expand...
Bracing your core by tensing your abs is so wrong that it's almost funny :p

Core:
anterior core (abz)
glutes
lats
internal/external obliques
transverse abs
pelvic floor
lower back bits


APT (anterior pelvic tilt) is part of her spinal extension pattern. You aren't doing this, but you do not have any core stiffness.
 
Been looking at the form after doing a few reps and I could see the difference keeping tight has on the back. Without being tight my lower back arches or rounds but by tensing my core and turning the knees out my back is a lot straighter like in the video.

Thanks for all the help again, really appreciate it!
 
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