Form How do I fix my squat depth and can good technique mean I won't have to reduce the weight as much

[Poon Goon]

It seems like he keeps looking at his feet and then resetting them throughout the set. Odd.

 

[maximus__]

Well, I am inspired by the TS to join this thread and get criticism and feedback.

I'm coming off a serious injury, but tbh, I've never been very strong. Always excelled way more at cardio like running and biking.

The most I ever squatted was only 225, and even then, I probably didn't go down all the way. I've always had a hard time going low to parallel... Maybe it's a flexibility issue.

Good looking squats mate.

You don't need to chase depth if you can't get there provided you hit the depth you are.
I was all about ATG for years, but just depth is enough.

Basically everything about your squats is what TS needs to do.
Good posture, controlled and pretty much every rep looks the same to a adequate depth that the rest can be maintained.

A little bit of extra tightness for heavier sets would be good, but that looked like a lighter set anyway so I would do the same.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

You need to brace harder and focus on pushing back on the bar during the ascent to avoid coming up with your hips and then doing a goodmorning as you did in your second video. The second video demonstrates that whatever weight you were using it's probably still a bit too heavy for you for now.

You also are looking to the side randomly in the first video. Pick a spot in front of you to look at and look there throughout the set or at the very least don't keep turning your head(you can pinch a nerve, strain your neck muscles, etc).

The depth was good.

 

[godhatesacoward]

Forgot to post this one

 

[Oblivian]

IMO, you have no business doing sets of 10. Lower reps, more sets, and try to make every rep consistent. You vary so much between reps.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

Forgot to post this one

Oblivion is absolutely correct.

You lack consistency rep to rep. Your depth is all over the place. Your stability seems like an issue. Your head keeps bobbing as you keep looking up and down or down to the side. The only movement we should see is you moving up and down.

You may want to do lots of sets of 3-5 reps. This will force you to practice your walk out as well. When you do higher rep sets it becomes increasingly harder to concentrate and maintain good form.

 

[godhatesacoward]

Oblivion is absolutely correct.

You lack consistency rep to rep. Your depth is all over the place. Your stability seems like an issue. Your head keeps bobbing as you keep looking up and down or down to the side. The only movement we should see is you moving up and down.

You may want to do lots of sets of 3-5 reps. This will force you to practice your walk out as well. When you do higher rep sets it becomes increasingly harder to concentrate and maintain good form.

ok ok consistent form 3-5 reps got it

 

[Fug]

Did squats with 185. I struggled more at the bottom compared to 135. Maybe I should get a belt.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

Did squats with 185. I struggled more at the bottom compared to 135. Maybe I should get a belt.

Unless you're competing and have the mobility go lower(disregard if you have injuries or mobility issues). Go ATG or hybrid depth if you can. It will be better on your joints long term.

Your depth is suspect on all reps. You may be hitting parallel on the first however many reps however the last few were all high. You need more consistency rep to rep. I'd also try to get your walk out a bit sharper. Think of it like dance moves. Step back, set right foot, set left foot, deep breath, brace your core focus on whatever other cues that work for you ( like bending the bar, chest out, etc ) then like a piston up and down to the same depth then walk it back into the rack.

I'd maybe try to use a low stool or box to hit repeatable depth.

 

[period]

I'd maybe try to use a low stool or box to hit repeatable depth.

I second that recommendation. Personally, I often use stacked plates so I can adjust the height as needed. That is a big thing for me, since I use progressive range of motion as one of my favourite strategies to progress. The idea goes back to Bob Peoples and Paul Anderson, the former digging a hole in his backyard then backfilling it to work up to a world record deadlift, the latter using a rack for squats.
I usually do higher rep work (e.g. 60 reps with 135 lbs, 40 reps with 185 lbs, 25 reps with 225 lbs) because I see squats as a way to train for being able to lift people more often when drilling takedowns that require that (truth be told, I prefer squatting with people over squatting with a barbell, but I don't always have the training partners handy). This approach is often found in wrestling, Kurt Angle writes about doing something similar prior to the 1996 Olympics, the Russian Sambo team allegedly had a standard of being able to squat with a partner of the same weight class for 40 reps straight, and Bert Assirati was known for squatting with 225 lbs for 10 minutes straight.
I usually work up to a new PR by picking that rep range and using a higher box (e.g. 2" over parallel), then work down to target depth by removing plates. I prefer this approach over adding weight or reps since I feel that I get both used to the load and duration of the set.
EDIT: I use a "touch and go" method rather than box squats. The same effect can be achieved with a piece of string or rope if that's easier to set up.