Steve E. asked...
Hardest thing for this 50 year old is keeping my knees out on my squat. I work hard to have good form. My goal is to squat 500 at 220 lbs. Raw. My 5x5 is 305 at the present time. If you have something you can see that I'm doing wrong let me know.
Your Squat stance is way too wide. Ultra-wide Squatting is for powerlifters who Squat in suits and briefs. When Squatting raw, like most competitive StrongLifts Members do, the sumo stance doesn't work and is guaranteed to injure your groin (speaking from experience, one of the many dumb things I did).
Start by moving your feet 6" inwards and you'll see that you will have a much easier time Squatting the same weight and keeping your knees out. The exact stance depends on the length of your limbs & co, but shoulder-width is a good place to start (I Squat a bit wider because I have long limbs/short torso).
The next thing is to point your feet out. Your left foot is clearly pointing straight ahead, and this will prevent you to push your knees out when Squatting with a shoulder-width stance. So point your feet and knees into the same direction. How much your feet should be out depends on your stance, but as a rule of thumb the wider your stance, the more they should be out (in my case 45°).
After all these tweaks, keeping your knees out when Squatting will be a matter of practice. Make sure you force your knees out as much as you can during your warm-up sets, don't wait until your work sets to focus on this.
It looks like your belt is under your belly by the way. Wear it higher so you can push your abs against the belt. And make sure you copy the Squat technique of guys who Squat raw like you do, not from geared powerlifters.
If you want me to review your technique, post a video of yourself Squatting, Deadlifting, Benching or Pressing on the StrongLifts Fan Page. I’ll select a video every now and then, and review it in a technique clinic like this one.
I bet a buck he is high to, which can also be fixed by narrowing the stance.
Thanks for the pointers Mehdi. I also feel Steve E. is looking straight (into the camera maybe while shooting this video) He can try looking down too :p
Mehdi, how about how far forward he seems to lean? Is that just a function of lack of flexibility? Appears to be an unnecessary strain on the back and shift of the weight too far forward.
I would also like to know what you think about his forward lean. I tend to lean forward using the low bar position and others at my gym (who position the bar higher) have commented about it. How far forward should one’s upper body be leaning?
I’ve improved my form by watching different powerlifting videos on youtube. I’ve found some really good ones that explain the whole movement in squating, like how to keep your back where to place the bar, posture and so on. I watched these because I have had a hard time understanding only text, I need to see the movement and someone to explain.
What injury did your groin sustain? and how did you heal it?
Apologies if this is a dumb question.
What is the RAW in squatting raw??
BTW. I’m 47 6’5″ 230 lbs and just hit my body weight the squat yesterday. Kind of proud…and surprised!! Still a ways to go for 1.5 x body weight and it appears everything is going to get tougher.
I get looks for going barefoot (well socks on) shoes were throwing me off and keep getting grief from guys saying I’m squating too low.
Also ask why I don’t use the shoulder pad. I can’t get the bar low enough on my shoulders/back with the pad on.
Thanks Medhi for the help. I have lifted in meets with all the gear, bench shirts, squat suits and deadlift suits, but I’ve never thought of it as true strength. I want one more shot of true strength versus true strength. I’ve been away from powerlifting for six years because I did’nt like wearing all the gear. Raw is the way to go. To all you young guys get out and support raw powerlifting.
Jim, RAW is without gear such as a squat suit or knee wraps.