TL Health and Fitness Initiative 2013 - Page 142

On October 19 2013 06:39 MtlGuitarist97 wrote:

The stance really isn't that much wider than shoulder width (it looks pretty bad in the videos, I will admit) but I really can't go narrower. I really just don't have the mobility yet.

On October 19 2013 06:39 MtlGuitarist97 wrote:

The stance really isn't that much wider than shoulder width (it looks pretty bad in the videos, I will admit) but I really can't go narrower. I really just don't have the mobility yet.

On October 19 2013 11:29 BrTarolg wrote:


The reason you're collapsing is because you're lacking tension in the right areas to keep your form straight.
Things that can *help* with this are
- Practising being really tight and strong and slow with a lighter weight
- Taking a breath and holding it in tight
- Tensing your abs and even the way you hold the bar on your back
- Thrusting and lifting using the power of your quads and hammies, and NOT your back to lift the bar up
- Going down slowly and deliberately and stopping BEFORE a resting position (as deep as you can to do so) and then thrusting from there - (i.e, don't compromise your lower back at the bottom of the squat to get your glutes deeper, instead work on your flexibility instead - for most people this will simply come naturally as you squat more. A deep squat comes from the angle from your femurs to your hips, not by bending your lower back - this causes buttwink)
- Lifting shoes. Yeah, it helps distribute your weight and keep your weight on your heels and keep your more stable etc.
- Staying more upright, you're squatting hi bar like a man after all

Generally once you get used to squatting, most of these things just become automatic and not a problem

On October 19 2013 12:11 BenKen wrote:

Good stuff here.

If I could add to this Mtl, I have a friend that seems to have similar problems with form when he squats. Like, the guy can squat-morning 165x5, but it looks terrible (no offense, yours isn't as bad as my friend's).

One thing we tried today was first just seeing if he could even get into "ass to grass" position at the bottom of the squat. No weight, just get in position. He couldn't even do it without falling backwards, and had to help himself down by holding on to the rack. Yeah, part of his problem is mobility and he's been stretching and everything, but honestly I think stability is a bigger problem for him. He just doesn't have the strength in the right places (abs, hips, quads) to hold his body in the correct position to not fall over.

He was, however, able to do it while holding a 25lb plate at full arms length straight ahead of him to counter-balance his tendency to fall backwards. So he did a set with a 25lb plate, and then a few sets with a 10lb plate. His abs and quads were burning by the end of it, but it looked way better than what he was doing before. I don't know if this will work for you, but you might want to look into it.

Maybe during warm ups just see if you can hit the correct position at the bottom of a squat and hang out there for a bit as part of a dynamic stretching routine. It's a pretty common way to get loose for all types of athletes.

Obligatory Kstarr video:
+ Show Spoiler +

On October 21 2013 06:07 MtlGuitarist97 wrote:
I am not working out today because all I did was work on squat stuff and try to do some ab exercises. I probably shouldn't substitute this for a whole workout, but I don't think I can squat after just holding the bottom of the squat position for a while and I don't want to just bench and work on cleans. I may do some dips and pull ups instead, but I'll see how I feel a bit later tonight.

Anyway, here's what I was doing. I took BenKen's idea (since IgnE suggested that I do goblet squats and I can't actually do goblet squats with a narrow stance and my front squat looked like shit) and held a plate out in front of me. It was only 10 lbs, but it seems to have done a lot for my squat. I'll keep doing that and try to do it every single day on top of stretching. I don't know if I can keep deeper while keeping my back naturally arched (or as close to it as my mobility permits).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eizmCVyv3_w&feature=youtu.be