Barbell Tips on finding Squat groove

[Zeohawk]

Hello, I am an experienced lifter but relatively new to doing it the "right" way in regards to form and programming. I am feeling confident about my form for bench, deadlift, and OHP, but the back squat has always been a difficult lift to get right for me. I have sustained a couple minor injuries from doing it in the past and am starting to feel close to 100% so I'm ready to get back to mastering the squat. I've read all of Pavel's books except for 3 and I feel that goblet squats are relatively easy for me to do; they are the only type of squat I've been doing for the last couple months, but I need more resistance.

Today I went to the gym and just tried a few types of squats with just the bar to grease the movement. I ended up trying some front squats, zercher squats, and back squats and the first two felt fine and it seemed easy to find a place to "sit back" and hit depth properly since having the weight at the front of the body helped balance me out. However, the back squat still feels awkward to me, and it's the type of squat I've always known and want to get comfortable with. I'm wondering if any of you have any tips in regards to finding the groove for the back squat. It's likely that it was difficult this time partially because I haven't done it in a while, but it's always been a move that's been hard to feel confident about. Often times I find myself readjusting my stance over and over, whether it's because it feels too wide, too narrow, or my feet don't always feel perfectly even. And then I get concerned about hip width or where my knees and feet are pointing.

Obviously if I had a video for a form check I would post that if I could. I'm guessing the more I get back into it the easier it'll be and it could also be that I need to work more on hip and ankle flexibility, but I feel that I'm quite good and mobile in that regard. Any ideas on feeling more stable in the back squat and feeling locked and loaded on the way down and in the hole? Thank you very much!

Edit: Forgot to say I'm a low bar squatter, it seems to feel more comfortable to me. I did try both high bar and low bar today though.

 

[Steve B.]

You should be tight right before you move down ward.
A deep breath(hold it),squeeze the bar,slight arch in the back,lower yourself under control don't dive into the hole.
Paused squats might help you here.
Simply get down to the bottom and hold the squat for a short period of time 2-4 seconds.
Stay tight,then come back up.
You have to keep tension or you'll more that likely fail.
Note -use a lighter weight than you normally squat with.

 

[Antti]

Get under the bar and find the good spot for the bar. Make yourself as short as possible. Grip the bar as narrow as comfortable, screw your shoulders in, pull your elbows up to the front and as close to each other as possible. Take a deep breath into your abdomen. Push your stomach out and try to pull your navel to your butt. Walk the bar off. Find a stance where you feel your weight solidly on your big toe, little toe and your heel. Open up your groin so that your private parts hang loose, and keep it that way. Fix your gaze on a spot at eye level, where it will stay for the whole set. Take another deep breath and gather more tension. Descent back and down as fast as you can with total tension and stability. Go below parallel and start the ascent by the stretch reflex. Push back and up on your ascent. Come up as fast as you can with total tension and stability. Stand still for a second or two when fully erect. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Anna C]

The back squat can take a lot of coaching. I get coached on mine every single session. And it seems, like the kettlebell swing, it's not something that you get right and then you're good. No... as you get stronger, your body changes, you increase the weight on the bar, you constantly need to work on staying tight, getting the movement right, and avoiding bad habits.

The best quick tips I can give are 1) ALWAYS squat to depth (hip crease just below the top of the knee), and 2) keep the weight balanced over your mid-foot for the whole movement.

Post a video when you can, and we'll be happy to help.

 

[Steve Freides]

@Zeohawk, if you’re familiar with S&S, take the instructions for the goblet squat, and follow them but with a bar on your back. If my example is useful to you, I do this with about 2/3 bodyweight, but I have never been a regular or heavy squatter, so you may wish to go heavier. I do the same with the two-bell front squat, and about the same weight. I compete at 66 kg and use a pair of 24 kg bells and about the same weight on a bar. It’s enough to make you notice but not so much that you can’t descend, exhale and hang out in the hole, and then pressurize and come back up. The weight, with the long pause and prying, is about a 6-8 RM, more like a 10-20 RM with just a brief pause at the bottom.

-S-