Squat form help

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 2:51 am

I've been having trouble with squat form as well as any lift that involves keeping back straight. When I do these lifts back arches a lot. Is there any tips or exercises I can do to improve this to get back perfectly straight for all of those lifts?

Boss Man · Post by **Boss Man** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:28 am

Do you use a weight lifting belt?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 1:22 pm

yea for the heavy squat lifts, but I don't for the low reps.

Sportsman4920 · Post by **Sportsman4920** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 3:53 pm

Does your back arch anytime you squat, or just with heavy squats?

Also, which way is your back arching? Is your stomach coming out too far, or is the back bulging backwards?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:07 pm

When I do power cleans and squats I arch back forward when I go down.

Sportsman4920 · Post by **Sportsman4920** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 4:59 pm

Try using a very light weight, such as just the bar itself, and practice doing squats or cleans in front of a mirror. Position yourself so you can see yourself from the side. Practice doing the moves with proper form. This will allow you to develope muscle memory, which is key for keeping proper form when doing heavier weight. It will also allow you to get a sense of what proper form "feels" like, which is essential if you're not performing the exercise in front of a mirror.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 5:08 pm

how far apart should legs be while squating, cleaning, and other?

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Sun Feb 25, 2007 8:32 pm

from archives:

Squat Weaknesses
Ã¢â‚¬Â¢ Bottom Ã¢â‚¬â€œ start with a good arch, tighten abs and sit backÃ¢â‚¬Â¦force knees out to sides on way downÃ¢â‚¬Â¦may need more hip work. This can be done with seated adductions with a band around kneesÃ¢â‚¬Â¦also try Wide Box Squats with light wt and high reps (10) but only rise Ã‚Â¼ - Ã‚Â½ the way up and back downÃ¢â‚¬Â¦donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t let chest drop on the way downÃ¢â‚¬Â¦hams may not be strong enough to sit back on. To use a box that you can sit back on with good form on speed day. Ova the next few weeks lower the box Ã‚Â½ - 1Ã¢â‚¬Â

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Mon Mar 26, 2007 4:40 pm

comfortable stance is wide. Will there be a difference if I do wide or close stance for squats in how they work body?

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 1:04 am

close stance will hit mostly thighs as you won't be able to get down very low

medium will share the load between thighs, glutes and hams depending on how low you can get

wide will hit the glutes and hams more than med

basically it's how low you go i'd say and you're stance will be the biggest factor in that

you need to break parallel to hit the glutes and hams meaningfully

what are you actually squatting/training for?? (looks, sport, powerlifting etc)

Joe · Post by **Joe** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:43 am

mix between looks and sports; nothing like huge or anything

nitecrawler · Post by **nitecrawler** » Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:12 pm

I Think most important is the head position , if you are looking towards the celling then your back would automatically be straight.

Sorry for hijacking your thread but question is what is advisable :
1. low weight and going low or
2. High weight and going down till parallel only.

I am currently doing mix of both i.e in a week 1 time low and other time just parallel.

swanso5 · Post by **swanso5** » Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:01 am

in that case probably a medium to wide stance going 1 - 2" below parallel to hit glutes and hams as well which is where your explosiveness comes from for sports...too wide or close and you'll compromise what wt you can use