Need some help with my squat form.

R

realworksuks

2
Hey, My lower back rounds a lot when I get low into my squat, it starts to round about halfway through. It's basically in the position of a good morning when I get low. I'm talking without any weight.. just body weight it rounds. I have a a question...

How far apart are you suppose to have your feet? My back rounds like crazy when my feet are about shoulder-width apart. I noticed that I can keep my back arched with a wider foot stance. I've read a lot of articles on the squat but it's a freaking tough one to master...

Thanks!
 
probably bad mobility. A wide stance often works better for people with your issues, so I'd recommend using that.
Also, don't squat so low that you round your back. progress in dept over time.
 
Karky said:
probably bad mobility. A wide stance often works better for people with your issues, so I'd recommend using that.
Also, don't squat so low that you round your back. progress in dept over time.
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I was hoping you'd reply Karky, I know you care a lot about form.

What do you mean by mobility? I start rounding my back like halfway through with a shoulder width stance, but when I put my feet out further and make my feet pointed outwards from my body I don't have a problem with rounding my back.
 
When I see people having a problem with rolling their back, I have them move their hands in on the bar, pop their chest out, and look up. 80% of the time, that fixes it.
 
mreik said:
When I see people having a problem with rolling their back, I have them move their hands in on the bar, pop their chest out, and look up. 80% of the time, that fixes it.
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i'm not positive on what you mean by moving hands in on the bar, assuming you mean a closer grip right?

I already do pop my chest out and look up, still can't keep it straight with a narrow stance..

oh by the way, what's it mean when your knees bow out?
 
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I have been trying to correct this form all day, doing body weight box squats, regular squats, different stances, videotaping myself, etc.

I found my squats look the best when I keep a wider stance with my feet pointed outwards...

I don't see a lot of problems with it.. but, is it natural for your back to feel A LOT of work? There is more strain on my back than any other part of my body, just trying to keep it arched throughout the whole movement and keeping the chest up.
 
A couple of months ago i asked this guy who does powerlifting on my squat form, he gave me quite a few good tips.

He also suggested putting the bar quite far down the back, whilst raising the elbows to stop it falling, this prevents leaning forward and rounding of the back as much.

There are many people who use their back slightly for squatting also, i bet some people dont even realise it, putting the bar further down the back also helps using your back as much to bring the weight up.
 
I had to take a break from squatting for a couple weeks due to my main gym being closed over spring break etc.

Anyway, I got back into them today and my program right now is to do one set of 12-15 reps...

So, I figured I would try to lift pretty "heavy" for me. I put on 135 and figured I should be able to get that 12 times... I know I could do it on a smithmachine at least.

Well, I don't know, something about squats just takes all my breath away after the first five reps or so... My heart was racing like crazy after the fifth rep and I really couldn't do anymore.

Does anybody else have this problem? Any tips on how to make it better?
 
realworksuks said:
I had to take a break from squatting for a couple weeks due to my main gym being closed over spring break etc.

Anyway, I got back into them today and my program right now is to do one set of 12-15 reps...

So, I figured I would try to lift pretty "heavy" for me. I put on 135 and figured I should be able to get that 12 times... I know I could do it on a smithmachine at least.

Well, I don't know, something about squats just takes all my breath away after the first five reps or so... My heart was racing like crazy after the fifth rep and I really couldn't do anymore.

Does anybody else have this problem? Any tips on how to make it better?
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Firstly, maybe you were using to much weight? but you said you weren't so i doubt that u were.

Secondly... you say it takes your breath away? are you breathing correctly and enough?

And thirdly.... its probably just in your head a bit that you think you cant do anymore... this happens with squats because they hurt.... people can almost always crank out some more reps if they really tried to.
 
You should chuck a video on youtube and let us have a look at it. Im always breathless as after squats it is a very demanding exericse on intra abdominal pressure.
 
I took this video in my house a month or so ago when I was trying to work on my squat form. It's just bodyweight... but that's how my squat looks.

I will try to get one with some weight on the bar sometime very soon, maybe Tuesday.

Here is the video:



Oh, haha, the video is kinda funny because of my clothes, but I had my shirt off to spot lower back rounding. So just try to ignore it.. haha.
 
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It doesnt look too bad to me, maybe you just need to make your stance a tiny little bit closer and keep your toes forward facing. To me this looks kinda like a mix between a normal and a power squat
 
I don't see the back rounding... I see you lose some arch when you get down in the hole, this is pretty normal, lack of hip mobility causes the pelvic to tilt forward (anteriorly) to compensate. as long as it doesn't go into flexion it is not that big of a deal. We really should see a vid with some weight though.

your toes are pointing out, probably because a lack of ankle mobility. I do the same thing, to keep the weight of the bar over your point of balance you either have to lean forward or let the knees go forward, sometimes letting the knees go forward requires a bit of ankle flexibility that one does not have, and rotating the feet outwards help. it is not a very big deal but it is a good thing to be aware of

the bar does look a bit high, also try to hold your elbows more down, instead of out and pull the bar down into your back (the elbows should "point" the same way as the back). when you pull the bar into your back you use your lats, they flex, you become tighter and more power can be transferred from your legs to the bar :)

on the last few reps it looked like you were leaning a bit much forward. it is not that big of a deal but it does put more weight on your back, if you keep it straight it probably won't cause injury but a more upright position puts more stress on the quads and possibly (in my experience) the glutes. leaning forward brings more hamstrings into it (again, feels like this for me) but what you do here really depends on what the goal is for your squatting.
 
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Thanks for your replies guys. I will get a video tommorrow with some weight on the bar.. There is no squat rack but I will just clean the bar up and put it on my back after. Won't be able to use very heavy weights, but at least there will be some weight on the bar.
 
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