# Critique my squat



## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 21, 2018)

I've been dealing with pain in my groin when I start getting heavier and I've been working with a trainer to fix it to no avail. Most recently I injured my lower back on this lift and now Everytime I get to the bottom of the movement I feel pain in my lower back. Getting sick of all these injuries. 
Any form ideas or input would be much appreciated. This was about 80% of my 1rm.


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## Gibsonator (Oct 21, 2018)

form looked good, couldnt tell if you were filling your stomach with air each rep. need to work on strengthening your back. deads, bentover rows, rdls. abductor exercises and foam roller pre squat. maybe get some squat shoes and throw a belt on once you get yo the weight thats bothering ya. once your back and legs get stronger you shouldn't have the problem.


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## Jada (Oct 21, 2018)

Form looks really good


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## Viduus (Oct 21, 2018)

As everyone else stated, form looks solid to me. Maybe work on other leg muscles? 

If you hop on a leg adduction machine, do you feel the same pain? It could be related to squeezing to keep your knees from going out.

Proper squat form but injured/strained/week adductor muscles.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 21, 2018)

Gibsonator said:


> form looked good, couldnt tell if you were filling your stomach with air each rep. need to work on strengthening your back. deads, bentover rows, rdls. abductor exercises and foam roller pre squat. maybe get some squat shoes and throw a belt on once you get yo the weight thats bothering ya. once your back and legs get stronger you shouldn't have the problem.



I do notice when I use plates to elevate my heals the pain in my groin is a little less prominent. I've just been cheap and don't want to spend money on squat shoes. May take like a week off to let my body heal and ease back into a power trainer.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 21, 2018)

Viduus said:


> As everyone else stated, form looks solid to me. Maybe work on other leg muscles?
> 
> If you hop on a leg adduction machine, do you feel the same pain? It could be related to squeezing to keep your knees from going out.
> 
> Proper squat form but injured/strained/week adductor muscles.



I have been working on banded squats to strengthen my it band area and glute med.
   I don't feel it on the adduction machine just mainly in a squat or when I pull my leg up to my chest when lying on my back. I'm beginning to think it's just an overuse issue because all of the things I've tried haven't really helped.


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## Viduus (Oct 21, 2018)

Thatgoodfellow said:


> I have been working on banded squats to strengthen my it band area and glute med.
> I don't feel it on the adduction machine just mainly in a squat or when I pull my leg up to my chest when lying on my back. I'm beginning to think it's just an overuse issue because all of the things I've tried haven't really helped.



Adduction is the squeeze - opposite of a banded squat. Feeling it while lying on your back is interesting... there goes my theory!


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## PillarofBalance (Oct 21, 2018)

Contrary to what's stated above your form is not good. The way you squat, you belong in a heel. This will allow you to hit depth which you are not doing currently. 

Option B is stay in a flat shoe and learn to sit back more. I usually coach people thru a box squat for this. 

Your upper back looks good and you aren't wobbling around and understand how to get tight so that's great and arguably the hardest part to master. 


What I would also like to hear about is your warm ups... Walk me thru what you did before this set.

Also kudos on posting a vid man. So many questions like this go unaswered cause guys won't post a vid.

Do you compete in PL?


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## Seeker (Oct 21, 2018)

buttwink needs to be fixed. Its there and needs to be addressed. Most buttwinks are the cause of poor hamstring and quad flexibility, mostly hamstrings. Proper hamstring mobility stretching can fix that.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 21, 2018)

PillarofBalance said:


> Contrary to what's stated above your form is not good. The way you squat, you belong in a heel. This will allow you to hit depth which you are not doing currently.
> 
> Option B is stay in a flat shoe and learn to sit back more. I usually coach people thru a box squat for this.
> 
> ...



Well I can definitely hit a deeper squat and i am planning on competing in a PL meet in March. I used to go deeper but some of the power lifters at my gym said I don't need to squat as deep as I was, so I ran with that lol And got a little lazy with depth. 

My warm on squat days is to hit the assult bike or stair machine till I get a little sweat going then I usually get into a 90 and 90 position and do other hip opening excercises. I sit in a squat untill I feel comfortable and then I will get in a wide stance and laterally lunge to each side untill I feel like my hips are nice and ready to hit the bar.
I used to roll out quads and IT band and hips but I don't do that Everytime now.

Also my work up see will be to hit the bar only for like 10 then 135 for 10( sometimes with a band just above my knees) then usually 185, 225 for 1-3 untill I get to my working weight.


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## PillarofBalance (Oct 21, 2018)

Thatgoodfellow said:


> Well I can definitely hit a deeper squat and i am planning on competing in a PL meet in March. I used to go deeper but some of the power lifters at my gym said I don't need to squat as deep as I was, so I ran with that lol And got a little lazy with depth.
> 
> My warm on squat days is to hit the assult bike or stair machine till I get a little sweat going then I usually get into a 90 and 90 position and do other hip opening excercises. I sit in a squat untill I feel comfortable and then I will get in a wide stance and laterally lunge to each side untill I feel like my hips are nice and ready to hit the bar.
> I used to roll out quads and IT band and hips but I don't do that Everytime now.
> ...



Add in a couple light sets of Romanian deads with dumbbells for sets of 10. 

And do more warm up reps. If your working weights as shown is around 275, that's not a lot of opportunity to move. Squat the bar for a couple sets of 10 of until you feel loose. Then squat 95 for sets of 8 to 10 until you are FULLY LOOBED AND READY FOR PENETRATION. Then go 135 for 5, 225 for whatever your work sets call for and work up slower. 5's and 10's are your friend.

Remember that warming up doesnt mean a prescribed number of reps and then go. It means get warm. Feel prepared to go heavy. If you don't, keep warming up. 

In fact warm ups are a great way to bump overall volume without burning yourself out.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 21, 2018)

Seeker said:


> buttwink needs to be fixed. Its there and needs to be addressed. Most buttwinks are the cause of poor hamstring and quad flexibility, mostly hamstrings. Proper hamstring mobility stretching can fix that.



Really you think that's buttwink? I have been incorporating a lot more mobility excercises into my routines so hopefully soon it will be fixed.


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## ECKSRATED (Oct 21, 2018)

Only thing I would add is forcing knees out a little more in the hole which will allot u to sit back more like pob said. 

You keep hurting your back because it's not healing 100 percent.


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## Seeker (Oct 21, 2018)

Thatgoodfellow said:


> Really you think that's buttwink? I have been incorporating a lot more mobility excercises into my routines so hopefully soon it will be fixed.



yes it was pretty obvious. As I mentioned add in more hamstring mobility stretching. It will help with your hamstring flexibility. Sometimes it could just be one hamstring causing this. You'll see once your hamstrings have more elasticity you buttwink will be non existent


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## snake (Oct 22, 2018)

Well you heard it's good and it's not good. I personally don't see a problem but I'm not you. How did your form feel before you hurt yourself?

I would pay heed to what X said, you need to heal your body or this will haunt you. If it were me, and it was serious enough, I'd cut out squats for 2 weeks and start back slow with 135 for reps. I'd also avoid low reps for a long time. Hope you find your answer.


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## Gadawg (Oct 22, 2018)

I think the biggest problem with this video is the "music" your gym plays


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 22, 2018)

snake said:


> Well you heard it's good and it's not good. I personally don't see a problem but I'm not you. How did your form feel before you hurt yourself?
> 
> I would pay heed to what X said, you need to heal your body or this will haunt you. If it were me, and it was serious enough, I'd cut out squats for 2 weeks and start back slow with 135 for reps. I'd also avoid low reps for a long time. Hope you find your answer.



I was on this 8 week power trainer I found online and everything was going pretty good up untill I tweaked it. It's gonna be tough but I know my body needs a break. I'll just go do some heavy sled pushes for workouts untill it starts feeling better.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 22, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> I think the biggest problem with this video is the "music" your gym plays



Agreed. Headphones are a man's best friend.


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## snake (Oct 22, 2018)

Thatgoodfellow said:


> I was on this 8 week power trainer I found online and everything was going pretty good up untill I tweaked it. It's gonna be tough but I know my body needs a break. I'll just go do some heavy sled pushes for workouts untill it starts feeling better.



Maybe I should have included other leg work when I said squats. Take the 2 weeks from all leg work. Some stretching may be beneficial and 3 days of naproxen. I would forgo anything that evolved my back and legs, including cardio.


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## Uncle manny (Oct 22, 2018)

Lots of great feedback. You should also consider front squats if your taking a break from back squats.


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## snake (Oct 22, 2018)

Uncle manny said:


> Lots of great feedback. You should also consider front squats if your taking a break from back squats.



U.M. has a good suggestion here once you get back into it. A slant board can also help.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Oct 22, 2018)

snake said:


> U.M. has a good suggestion here once you get back into it. A slant board can also help.



Ya he does im definitely gonna take a break. I have some other nagging areas that could use some time off too before they are addressed. Thanks for all the responses


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## Thatgoodfellow (Nov 18, 2018)

Gotta say I appreciate the advice everyone gave me. Added in some lifters, a better belt, and some correctional work and now my squat is feeling better than ever.


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## Seeker (Nov 18, 2018)

looked pretty good!


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## jennerrator (Nov 18, 2018)

Excellent!!!!:32 (20):


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## snake (Nov 20, 2018)

Thatgoodfellow said:


> Gotta say I appreciate the advice everyone gave me. Added in some lifters, a better belt, and some correctional work and now my squat is feeling better than ever.



Just some suggestions that may help.

I know you want to get all amped up for your lift but don't do it at the cost of not using a good set up and a controlled take out. Don't rush, no one is going to take it away from you. You may also want to shorten up that walk out. You not only waste energy walking it across the gym but the more steps you take back, the greater the chance of injury. When you're standing there, the weight is loaded on both legs, when you step, it shifts and the weight stays the same. Most PLers love a Monolift for these reasons. Shorter steps will be better.

I like the sleeves, that's new, right? Form looked good to me but I was one who didn't have a problem with your last vid. 

I am only going to say this once, then it's up to you to do as you please but stop the low reps. You're coming off multiple injuries for God's sake, be careful. Yeah that was not a max but your just inviting trouble.


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## Straight30weight (Nov 20, 2018)

What is “buttwink”? Serious question, I’ve never heard of that.


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## Flyingdragon (Nov 20, 2018)

Here is my squat workout last week......


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## Seeker (Nov 20, 2018)

Straight30weight said:


> What is “buttwink”? Serious question, I’ve never heard of that.



butt winks should be avoided because it increases force on your spine.  A buttwink occurs when your lumbar spine rounds and your pelvis tilts a bit at the bottom of the squat in a posterior fashion.


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## Seeker (Nov 20, 2018)

^^^^ to add because of some peoples hip anatomy they just can't squat to depth without a buttwink


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## Jin (Nov 20, 2018)

Flyingdragon said:


> Here is my squat workout last week......



I always pictured you as a twink.


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## Straight30weight (Nov 21, 2018)

Flyingdragon said:


> Here is my squat workout last week......


Horrible depth


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## Thatgoodfellow (Nov 22, 2018)

snake said:


> Just some suggestions that may help.
> 
> I know you want to get all amped up for your lift but don't do it at the cost of not using a good set up and a controlled take out. Don't rush, no one is going to take it away from you. You may also want to shorten up that walk out. You not only waste energy walking it across the gym but the more steps you take back, the greater the chance of injury. When you're standing there, the weight is loaded on both legs, when you step, it shifts and the weight stays the same. Most PLers love a Monolift for these reasons. Shorter steps will be better.
> 
> ...



 I agree with you on the low reps. I started this power trainer that starts out with lower weight and high volume so I think that will help me ease back into the top sets later on. My back has been feeling great on squats lately. I will definitely work on that set up and walk out. Taking these videos really helps me. Thanks man.


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## Thatgoodfellow (Nov 22, 2018)

Flyingdragon said:


> Here is my squat workout last week......



Is that Tom Platz?


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## Seeker (Nov 23, 2018)

Your 3 step walkout and placement is fine. You're just walking back too far. All you need to do is walk back just far enough to clear the rack


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## Flyingdragon (Nov 23, 2018)

Straight30weight said:


> Horrible depth



Says the guy staring at my sexy butt crack


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