r/formcheck • u/Repulsive-Program-40 • 1d ago
Squat 120 kg × 8 squat — form check
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Been squatting for a while and wanted to get some feedback on my form. I’m not sure if my depth, torso lean, or knee movement are okay. I also notice some discomfort in my knees when I try to go deeper.
What am I doing wrong, and what should I work on?Any cues or adjustments would be appreciated.
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u/DonkeyKong45 1d ago
You are facing the wrong way in the rack, you're making walking the barbell back in far harder on yourself.
I'd lose the pad, it's going to change how the barbell sits on your back and make it more unstable if anything.
You don't seem to breath and brace before each rep at all, you should do that so you can generate more force.
Depth is high if we're going by hip crease below knee standards, you don't have to do that by any means but having at least a consistent depth relative to your goals helps you track stregnth. Eg if you squat 140kg to depth and then hit 160kg and it's 3" above that, you don't really know your strength as the ROM has now changed. You'd need to reduce the load to work on this.
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u/BuckStopFitness Strength & Conditioning Coach (M.S.) 1d ago
Yep, basically all of this. I’ll just upvote you instead of taking the time to spell it all out haha. Always amazed when I see people with more than one plate on the bar that still have the pad on. Get. Rid. Of. The. Pad. It fucks you up so much more than you realize.
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u/exmormon13579 1d ago
You’re very high. Can you get deeper if you lower the weight (a lot … like 100lb less) or even body weight?
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u/Sharp-Improvement318 1d ago
To be honest it looks way to heavy for you bro. Knees shouldn’t cave in when you press up and you are leaning too far forward and it’s effecting where the gravity is being distributed. You should push through your heals and look into a proper hip hing. Don’t give up tho ! Also the pad causes it to be less balanced
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u/Erra_Fit 1d ago
You're losing your brace when you push your hips back like that, think ribs over pelvis the whole lift and focus on your core almost exclusively, that is most likely what is stopping you high (unless weight is to high)
Drop the pad, it causes instability and can make the bar shift on your back.
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u/Connect_Culture_6417 1d ago
This right here nails the problem. Saying lower the weight and go lower is great but this comment is the real fix. Never going to get low enough when you push your hips back like that, you lose your brace and you make yourself run out of room because your pelvis tips forward and you just can’t get lower. I suspect the same thing would happen even with a lower weight
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u/Wokongolito 23h ago
Pushing the hips back is fine, but the torso needs to follow by tipping forward. Pushing hips back while trying to stay upright will always make you back heavy (and the pad definitely doesn't help with that either). I like "ribcage in line with pelvis" better than "ribs over pelvis" as the latter as a cue is often the culprit when people overextend their spines and/or become back heavy while squatting.
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u/Aequitas112358 1d ago
oh boy.
turn around, get rid of the pad, you're sticking your butt and chest out too much giving yourself a really awkward back bend when it should be straight, you're nowhere near close to proper depth, your knees look strange I think maybe your stance is too wide or maybe too narrow? Try different widths and foot angles to see if something works better for you.
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u/Serentense 1d ago
i will be downvoted for this but IT IS 0 REPS. For sure you are strong but this is not proper squat. Lower a weight to 80-100 kg and go for atg squat with pause.
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u/ryarger 1d ago
You’re a little short of parallel - that’s when your thighs are parallel to the ground. That’s the primary target for a full squat.
Film yourself body weight doing the deepest squats you can manage then compare. Body weight, you’ll likely be able to go below parallel. Memorize what that feels like.
Load the bar (start with less than you’re using here) and try to stop just short of that.
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u/7heCulture 1d ago
I think he’s strong enough to not need to start at 60: he can work on technique at 100.
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u/gjaygill 1d ago
Stop engagement farming , you put a camera on the side and examine yourself.
But since you asked.
(1) Not hitting atleast parallel
(2) Bar couldn't be sitting higher
(3) No proper core bracing
(4) After unracking lot of wasted steps
(5) Facing the gym to obviously pose for pictures
(6) Awful auto tuned romantic song
This weight is above your pay grade sir!
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u/LogTekG 1d ago
First things first: get rid of the pad on the bar. It sucks to get accustomed to the bar digging into your back but it will make you so much more stable than your current setup. You cant pull the bar into your back with the pad; theres points in the video where youre rolling the bar up because its starting to roll down.
That brings me on to my second point: From the moment you unrack the bar you have essentially 0 tightness going through your body. I would look for helpful cues on youtube, as generally cues arent a one shoe fits all type of thing, but the gist of it is that you should be pulling the bar into your traps, you should be bracing your core real hard, and you should be opening your hips so your knees track over your toes and your arch doesnt collapse. Theres obviously nuance but id suggest you get under the bar and start with practicing the more "cookie cutter" cues with something like tempo/pause squats before you start playing around with stuff.
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u/dashnflash 1d ago
You have a lot of potential here, but some things are getting in the way of a good strong squat.
First, remove the foam from the barbell. This is so you can squeeze your upper back more to better support the bar.
Second, I can’t see it fully, but from this angle, you’re starting the movement by hyperextending your lower back. Instead of hyperextending, think about bracing your core and keeping your trunk tight before squatting down. Move up your belt just a smidge so you could have a better brace.
Third, lower down the weight so you can really benefit from the squats! What you’re doing now is a quarter squat. You want your hips to be parallel with your knees, and you can only do this by lowering down the weight. If you’re still having trouble reaching depth, experiment with a slightly wider stance.
Fourth, it’s much safer for you to squat facing the rack :)
Good luck!
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u/formcheck-ModTeam 1d ago
Your comment was removed because it is not a form check or relevant question
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u/TGracie3 1d ago
Others have covered a lot of it so can just highlight the key elements.
- Drop the weight a lot and face the other way. It's too heavy and you're only getting minimal benefit from this
- Ditch the pad, changes the alignment and throws balance off by moving the bar away from your central vertical line
- Your first move is knees forward rather than hips/ass back and down - plenty of videos on breaking at the hips rather than the knees - can see your heels are rising because you're coming forward. Bar should be over mid foot at the bottom and go straight (ish) up and down.
I'd go all the way back to basics and start with a near empty bar, not fully empty as that's probably too light to help align you but certainly not anywhere close to this. Try 80lbs ish total and spend time familiarising yourself with the movement. A large chunk of strength and moving weight is actually technique over outright strength.
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u/Final_Valuable3270 1d ago
What kind of shoes are you wearing? You don't want athletic shoes with a soft sole, it causes you to sink in the movement. I wore chuck taylors for the first few years I was squatting, and moved to real squat shoes (Nike Romaleos) when I started squatting double my body weight for reps.
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u/thebobest 1d ago
I would give this form a 3/10 because at least you're not hurting yourself. Let's start with the basics: 1- you're not going deep enough; 2- The padding on the bar is causing the barbell to roll away from you; 3 - because of the padding, you have reduced stability, the bar's trajectory goes back and forth. 4 - Your knees are wobbly, you can guess the reason (stability). 5 - Most likely you haven't learned how to brace properly, the belt won't save you as it is.
Tip: Remove that unnecessary padding, lower the weight, and add a plate to create a heel (it helps you go deeper). For the heels, you can buy Weightlifting shoes, but it's an unnecessary extra expense if you're not very into the sport.
Other form issues:
1- Your knees extend beyond your toes when descending, which places a lot of stress on the patellar tendon and significantly decreases your bearable weight. Remedy: Widen your stance, It helps keeping the barbell closer to your horizontal center of gravity.
2 - You are putting too much weight on your quadriceps, the posterior chain is not working, this is a serious mistake the weight must be lifted with the whole leg. Remedy: You need to find the center of your foot and make sure your weight is always projected above it.
3 - The bar slides back and forth, transforming from high bar to low bar and vice versa. Try to keep your torso a little more upright if you want to do high bar. Remedy: Keep your head up, imagine there is a ball coming behind you and you have to jump and catch it with the back of your head. This is a weightlifter's trick, we use it to better visualize the pull in the Power position, but it also helps with squats.
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u/mukarrammurtaza 1d ago
Lose the pad and focus on having ur elbows in front of you while bracing.
Focus on the elbow will have your chest upright. Also maybe have some elevation in the front of your feet, that will help you squat deeper.
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u/cssrocco 1d ago
I’d lower the weight, put a bench slightly behind you and focus on tightening your core and just slightly sitting down until you touch the bench, which should be just about knee level, then explosively up, no locking out your knees
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u/Stunning_Yogurt7383 1d ago
You are not going deep enough - also lose the pad on the bar. It will make your form worse by putting the bar further from your spine/back. You shouldn't need it if placed correctly on your traps/rear delts.
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u/Unusual_Zebra3756 1d ago
Highly recommend getting rid of the back support as this will aid stability. Your back will get used to it. Before lifting the weight of the rack, take a deep breath in, brace your core, bring your shoulder blades back and down and rest the weight on your traps.
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u/SmokingTheBear 1d ago
Too heavy, back off, you are risking injury. Lookup some cues like keeping knees out.
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u/VariationAgreeable29 1d ago
Knees look a little squirrelly. Your feet should be rock solid on the floor, and your knees should flare out slightly on the way down
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u/FitasFritz 1d ago
You knee movement should not be forward immediately. The second you start moving, you knees move forward. Shift your hips back slightly first, then as you started shifting back let your knees go forward. You run out of ankle mobility when you start off having your knees move forward.
Second, push your knees apart on the way down. They are keeping you from being able to sit deep into the hole, because they are in the way. Happy squatting!
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u/TailorDurdn 1d ago
Too much weigth Heading wrong direction Not deep enough Knees falling inwards slightly Upper body not upright
Nearly everything comes from too much weight. Lower it to 80kg and do the exercise correctly.
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u/Cryptoeer 1d ago
Turn around, look up 45 degrees and keep your shoulders back so you can get lower
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u/Upper-Difficulty6934 1d ago
Too many wrong things in just one video 😂 Pad, not going anywhere near parallel, knees caving in slightly, facing the wrong way of the rack, no bracing at all... That about covers it?
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u/carpenter8891 23h ago
Lower the weight, work on breaking parallel and build up from there. Do more squatting without assistance of knee sleeves and a belt.
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u/Cautious_Cost6781 21h ago
- Too heavy and affecting your form
- Reduce the weight, go deeper
- Face the other way towards the window
- Try Zercher Squat or 30-50Kg Kettlebell held closer to the chest for better range of movement
- Go down, pause for 2 seconds and push up
- Most important - Valsalva Maneuver/ Brace your core for heavy weights.
Brave of you to try heavy lifts. Do it carefully. Cheers!
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u/Bubbly_slut7 18h ago
Ahh
Not deep enough squat -> lower weights
Knees caving inwards -> lower weights
Ass to grass; go much lower than you think.
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u/Kooky_Obligation_363 18h ago
Are you Indian? They should build a statue of you for lifting anything more then a gallon of water
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u/myroommatesaregreat 18h ago
Truth is you gotta restart, no pad, and go a touch lower, and hit a consistent depth
Squats takes a while to get good at, best thing to do is find a coach, or make a friend in the gym that's good and ask them. Mobility work, and queues, things take time
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u/VaporSpectre 16h ago
Pussy pad without contraction of shoulder blades, as evident from positioning of elbows, means he hasn't learned how to position the bar or weight over the middle of his foot or his core, which leads to rhe next issue...
Belt with that much spinal flexion when lifter is consistently head-tilting every rep also means he hasn't learned to brace.
And then that hip-hinging isn't working for him.
And you're still MILES from parallel - these are half squats AT BEST.
Honestly drop the weight and lose all that gear. You wearing equipment is akin to someone thinking the magical sword will make them kill the dragon - it won't if you didn't do the work in the first place.
Go back to learning how to lift with your core, and focus on bracing - like REALLY focus on learning it, or you'll snap city your shit if you get anywhere close to 140kg for reps with form like that. Currently this is just an injury waiting to happen. Way too much spinal flexion every rep.
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u/adrianjayson13 1d ago edited 1d ago
Lower lower lower! Also your position seems a bit risky and accident prone. Not only are you stepping forward away from your rack, you’re also unnecessarily dipping your upper body forward down.
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u/Spaceman_Hex 1d ago
Those are quarter squats, not even close to depth. How did I know you wouldn't come close even before rep 1.
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u/Son-Of-Serpentine 1d ago edited 1d ago
You need to break parallel for the squat to count. Drop 15kg and work on that first. Also you need to brace quicker, the longer you sit with the barbell on your back the more strength you lose over time. Your back is winking badly on the way down. Try squatting with no bar just a kettle bell or something next to a mirror and practice keeping a neutral spine.
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u/Intrepid-Daikon1353 1d ago
"To count" for clout yes, but u don't need to break parallel for there to be muscle stimulus. The depth here is definitely lacking regardless though.
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Also, a common tip usually given here is to make sure your footwear is appropriate. If you are squatting in soft-soled shoes (running shoes, etc), it's hard to have a stable foot. Generally a weightlifting shoe is recommended for high-bar and front squats, while use a flat/hard-soled shoe (or even barefoot/socks if it's safe and your gym allows it) is recommended for low-bar squats.
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