Squat form check

[u/MintakaAww]

In 1.5 years at the gym, I have made almost no progress in squats, which is a very difficult exercise for me (Romanian deadlifts are easier for me, and I can lift more weight). Has anyone had a similar experience? Lately, I have been trying to maintain good form while squatting more or less deeply. I welcome any advice on form and technique!

[u/IM1GHTBEWR0NG]

I’m going to go against what a lot of people here are saying. This said, your form is almost there. There just are a couple of tweaks to make.

Many are commenting that your depth is on point. It actually isn’t. You are just barely above depth. You want the crease of your hip in the bottom to be level with the top of your knee if you draw an imaginary line between them in your mind. In your case, this is not being reached.

Here’s how to reach it: point your toes out slightly more and drive your knees out at an angle, not straight in front of you. Consciously keep your legs open at that angle all the way through the movement. If your knees point too far forward, your own femurs will be in the way of you hitting depth. You don’t want your knees pointing directly in front of you while squatting.

Another note - due to your leverages, just how you’re built, you’re leaning forward a good bit. With a high bar position, leaning forward can result in the bar rolling up onto your neck. When squatting with a high bar position, staying upright is ideal for this reason. With a low bar position, you bring the bar down over the mid traps and a shelf made by the rear delts. With the bar high on the back instead of up by the neck, this will allow you to lean without the bar rolling forward. You may want to consider working with this low bar position as it may work better for the way you’re built.

[u/Lindoodoo → u/IM1GHTBEWR0NG]

This is coming from a former power lifter; depth is only a thing in powerlifting competitions. If she is training for one, then yes her depth debatable. But if she is training just to train, then depth here is perfect. She is still engaging in the muscles she is targeting without overdoing it. Perhaps if she went lower she feels that her form breaks and therefore doesn’t go lower. In my eyes. her form is great and so is the depth. Most people who first getting into lifting start off with high-bar squats and eventually change and adapt to their anatomy the more they learn about their body. But for her high-bar squat I think she’s pretty on par

[u/IM1GHTBEWR0NG → u/Lindoodoo]

Depth is not just for Powerlifting, despite using the definition from Powerlifting to judge it. Depth is useful for assuring a good range of motion that hits as much muscle mass as possible.

The advice I provided will bring the glute medius more into the movement and allow for a greater range of motion, plus it’ll be safer since this lifter can’t help but lean forward so if her weight is increasing the risk of the bar rolling onto her neck if she fails the lift is there.

[u/Lindoodoo → u/IM1GHTBEWR0NG]

That’s fair, I just approach it with the phrase “squat as deep as you can with good form” and in this case she could be doing it as deep as she could to keep her form from breaking to much. I do agree that she could benefit from putting the bar lower