[David Bolton]

A while back I posted asking questions about Squatting technique. I'm 15yrs old and have no one really to teach me how to do it. I have reserched a lot about it and have been practicing a fair bit. I want to use the Squat because i have no doubt it will help with my boxing. Okay here's the video of me Squatting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oeEsHpibYw

I have no dobts that i am doing someone wrong. I would appreciate a bit of feedback.

Thanks

[TheNerdKing]

Actually your form is damned good.

I'd need to see a bunch of other angles to be sure of everything but it looks really good.

Bit of advice.

Drop some of the weight and work on having a fast, explosive lift.

Work on 5x5 twice a week for a few months and you should see some good improvements.

Try Monday - Thursday.

Mon:

Back Squats:
5x5xwhatever // fast and explosive

Thursday:

Back Squats:
2x8xwhatever // fast and explosive
2x3xwhatever // heavier but still try to be fast and explosive

Fill in that with a couple of your favorite assistance movements and your squat should get better fast.

The only way to get a good squat is to squat a lot so twice a week is kinda nice.

Remember to eat like a horse. 5000 calories a day. Tons of protein.

Good luck and keep posting here.

[Green Monkey]

Your depth is good.

You're carrying the bar too high on your shoulders and, maybe as a result, you're doing something funky with your arms when you start back up. Your elbows are coming forward and they're under the bar by the time you are halfway up.

Try squeezing your shoulder blades together and bringing your elbows back. That creates a place to rest the bar, other than on top of your shoulders.

On the first rep, you did some odd rocking back and forth thing that honestly scared the shit out of me. Work on more stability and never, ever lock your knees out like you did at the end of the first rep.

Third rep was your best. You did the whole "reach back with your ass" thing and your form was steady and good.

Just a nit pick, but you might want to work on bringing your toes in until your feet are straight - I did the toes out thing forever until I read on a PLing site that you're actually supposed to have them as straight ahead as possible. Not really sure why.

[oyaji poi]

eh, greenmonkey hit some good points, but a few things could be clarified.

if the elbows go back, your body will go forward. hold your arms out like you're being robbed. now move your elbows back. which direction does your body go? forward? the weight on your back is doing all it can to bend you forward and staple you to the floor. when you come up out of the bottom of the squat, the first thing to move is your head, you push it back into the bar. with your elbows pointing down and forward the motion pushes your head back.

so elbows down and forward, not back.

Source: Pretty much every article on squating at t-nation and elite lifts, but this one will do.

And Dave Tate says elbows forward...

Your toes can point forward, but most people point them out. Your legs should be shoulder width or wider (for a powerlifting style squat=big weights), usually for most people, given their body structure, pointing out is preferable. When I started pointing my feet out more, my knees stopped hurting and I learned to squat. Before that I couldn't squat because it hurt my knees. This helped alot, as did "spreading the floor". I'm still weak as shit, but no more pain and my numbers and form are getting better and better.

[ephman]

You're very young, squatting takes awhile to get used to and don't ever try for a one rep max. At your age you might be better off doing legs twice a week, a heavy and a light day.

on the heavy day do more weight and less reps. like five sets, the first two being warm ups of 5-8 reps, then do three sets of three to five reps. don't go with less than three reps until your form gets really good and you feel comfortable with heavy weight on your back. take more time to rest in between the sets on this day too but not too much, three minutes max.

on the light day focus on explosivity. do something like the 5x5 or even 10x5 with really light weight (it should be really easy for the first five sets or so but it starts to hurt later on, especially if you only take a 45 second rest). focus on popping up but don't do anything jerky, keep it smooth or you could hurt your back. take less rest time.

you're only 15 don't get too caught up in your max squat, just focus on keeping really good form and not hurting yourself and in a few years you'll be a squatting beast.

[Lusst]

Originally Posted by oyaji poi

And Dave Tate says elbows forward...

That is a great, great article.

[DEVILsSON]

Dont lean forward at the beginning of each rep. GO back with your ass and then down.

Keep elbows from going back and forth. They should be fixed downwards. At one point you had them high forward like your were doing frontsquats...

Go wider.

Dont Rock back and forth.

[cmurder3612]

hmm looks pretty decent if i had to say anything......

1. Bar looks a little high on your back which looks like it is causing you to have trouble being stable and the start of your squat.

2. Feet look pretty wide but if thats comfortable to you then dont worry bout it

3. Dont pause so long in between reps, it lets you recover too much. Recovering is good but your on the squat rack for the pain and break those legs down a lil bit. Maybe take one pause like that at the end of your reps which could allow you get out a couple more but dont rest too much.

4. Dont get too caught up in form!!!!! Intensity is mucho important on the squats they are HARD and few people like to do them RIGHT because they are hard. As long as you aren't hurting yourself your good to go

[takeahnase]

Originally Posted by cmurder3612

4. Dont get too caught up in form!!!!! Intensity is mucho important on the squats they are HARD and few people like to do them RIGHT because they are hard. As long as you aren't hurting yourself your good to go

I'm not sure about this one. You can well be "hurting" yourself and not feel pain (immediately).

[DEVILsSON]

Form is critical....so I'd worry about the form.

I have to agree on putting bar lower a bit on your shoulders/back....

I would still go wider with the stance....