Critique my squat brahs

[Cutty]

Your hips go up before your back/chest do. Very strong overall. Try to practice starting your up motion by driving your back into the bar. You have the strength to do that weight but when you drop head and chest you're losing your leverage. Overall it looks really good, just go a little lighter and drill the form and you'll be golden.

[J_Byrd]

I guess I see things a little different than the others. I think your stance is too wide. I feel that most raw squats should be just wider than shoulder width. 2 big fundamental mistakes to me are the knees coming in on the transition up, and losing some upper back tightness thus causing some rounding. I think the lose of tightness is an air issue. Some people will tell you to hold the air in the chest, others in the stomach. I am a stomach guy, but either way holding that air in should help with the rounding. As far as the knees go, just keep forcing them out.

The depth is great, walk out looked good, and the weight was light for all the small errors that are going on. Keep up the great work!

[Cutty]

Not thread jacking but JB, what if you don't have the mobility/flexibility for par/a2g squats unless you go wider?

[jdmalm123]

Originally Posted by Cutty

Not thread jacking but JB, what if you don't have the mobility/flexibility for par/a2g squats unless you go wider?

Stuart McGill, PhD

Assessing the Acetabulum for Optimum Squat Performance (Pelvic Rock)

This one comes from Dr. McGill's book, "Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance" which is excellent and I would recommend it to any clinician or coach.

"The depth of the anterior labrum of the hip joint acetabulum is a major determinant of the ability to squat deeply. In order to find the optimal hip width (or amount of standing hip external rotation), have the athlete adopt a 4-point kneeling stance. From neutral, rock or drop the buttocks back to the heels. Mark the angle at which spine flexion first occurs. Then repeat with varying amounts of space between the knees. Look for the optimal knee width that allows the buttocks to get closest to the ankles without any spine motion. This is the hip angle that will produce the deepest, and ultimately the highest performance squat. It is much wider than most people think."

[J_Byrd]

Originally Posted by Cutty

Not thread jacking but JB, what if you don't have the mobility/flexibility for par/a2g squats unless you go wider?

I would work a narrow stance squat as accessory work regularly. No belt, toes out, lighter weight, and keep working it down each rep. Eventually your body will allow you to take them deeper and deeper.

[Cutty]

Right on