Please Critique My Squat

[Leanstrong]

Hey -
I wanted to make sure I am doing squats properly before I started piling on weight on the bar....Here's me at 175lbs squatting 175 lbs.

Sorry for the poor quality, I recorded it with my phone. Please feel free to tell me what you think. Thanks!
- Danny

[LudwigVan]

Looks decent to me. It looks like there's some lower back rounding at the bottom, though. And stop looking up -- focusing on a spot on the floor several feet in front of you will help your hip drive.

[jaguar65]

While it looks good to me, it is apparent that your lower back is rounding when you hit the bottom of your squat. JJ and me are both having the same problem; check out these links:

Mine: http://stronglifts.com/forum/rate-my-squat-technique-t12856.html
and JJ's: http://stronglifts.com/forum/please-review-my-squat-t12848.html

[Leanstrong]

Darn, yeah I see the resemblance in our backs at the bottom. Do you think flexibility is the main problem? I usually do squat stretches and other flexibility exercises, but I cannot touch my toes sitting down.

[eLvarouza]

Learn to keep a strong arch in your low back and stretch your hamstrings. Also, don't look up when you squat; it kills your hip drive. Keep your low back tight and shove your hips up.

[nwb]

Man, I second or third the looking down advice. I struggled like hell at 135lbs for squat and made it to 155lbs - don't ask me how, I don't know - and then could NOT get 155 for the life of me. I finally did it, after I remembered Rippetoe saying to keep your chin tucked as if a tennis ball were under it. That helped - I got 3 reps on my 3rd set, remembered that advice, and got all 5 reps on the last two sets and was super happy. I think, also, it stands to reason that when the head is looking up and you kill hip drive, you are exhausting all the other muscles much more quickly.

I got the 155 on my last workout before school went on break, I can't wait to workout again and continue growing.

[alienmuaythai]

You have the same problem I had with the back rounding. When you do a lot of squats without looking at a mirror to your SIDE or at a video, you will end up with funky technique, its ok it happens to everyone. Anyway how I solved that was by keeping the big breath held during the Range of motion, and keeping your glutes squeezed, and your back squeezed fairly hard. You will notice it feels different, there is no "bounce" if you do it correctly, if you round your back, there is a part where you bounce your ass off the bottom portion of your ROM, which is actually easier than doing it right. But you will hurt your lower back doing that.
So yeah review
1) squeeze your glutes, it helps keep your lower back straight
2) take a big breath and hold it
3) squeeze your lower back straight (it takes more effort to keep it straight for the entire rep than to round it out on the bottom)

thats what I did and it fixed it- hope that helps

[Mehdi]

Limit your depth while working on glute/hamstring flexibility. You're going way below parallel, stop just below parallel for now. Are those running shoes btw?

[eLvarouza]

There should be a bounce at the bottom. The bounce is a result of hamstring and adductor tension.

[Leanstrong]

Thanks for all the advice guys! Mehdi - yeah they are Asics running shoes. I know they're not the best for lifting but I like to run for 20 minutes after workouts and I'm too lazy to bring two different shoes. I deloaded my squat back to 135 and am spending much more attention on form. For my flexibility, I am doing 3 sets of 5 reps of overhead squats with the bar to warm up, and also a lot of static stretching after workouts (squat stretch, sit and reach, ect). I will post another video soon, I feel like my form has improved a lot.

[eLvarouza]

Your form will certainly improve with appropriate shoes.

[Leanstrong]

Your form will certainly improve with appropriate shoes.

Probably true, but I think in my case, flexibility is far more an issue. I won't sweat the small stuff until I have taken care of the big problems and am squatting with decent weight.

[amaeland]

I agree that improving flexibility is more important, but far as I have understood, shoes aren't regarded as "small stuff" in these circles...compressible soles are bad for lifting heavy weights. Pick up some Chuck Taylors, they're good and cheap

[Leanstrong]

Well you guys could have guessed it, I managed to injure my lower back during a workout on new years day. I tried adding weight while using my terrible form, and my lower back tweaked. It does not feel too severe, my flexibility is slowly returning. I have developed a much better kinesthetic sense now, and can realize when my back begins to round. The problem is, now that I know what back rounding feels like, I have just realized how shallow my actual squat is. I am a good 6" away from parallel!
Here is my plan:
- Squat with a light weight, as Rippetoe says the best stretch for the squat is the squat
- Do static stretches daily for 30sec/stretch, including squat stretch, sit and reach, ect. (all post-workout, I prefer static over dynamic stretches, please don't make a debate about it)
Three questions:
1) Is this an effective plan?
2) Is temporarily squatting above parallel with very light weights a good idea, with the intention of increasing depth?
3) How long do you think it will take to break a parallel squat, and is there any way to speed up flexibility gains?

[eLvarouza]

What is the nature of your injury?