Please critique squat form

[slashkills]

Here is todays ME squat session. Not much better i dont think. Hoping you guys can tear it apart for me. Some things i noticed though are on the 135lbsx5 i was all over the place, very sloppy set. Then the unracking on most was pretty bad. I though depth and arch was better but not quite there. What do you guys think?




135lbsx5-very sloppy
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T3rsU-GWYtw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T3rsU-GWYtw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>


185lbsx1
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x0AdqrV_D4o&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x0AdqrV_D4o&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

205lbsx1
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zatn1eOSyxw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zatn1eOSyxw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

225lbsx1
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/81Q_qyrZcYs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/81Q_qyrZcYs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

235lbs
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hYh0aITuJ9I&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hYh0aITuJ9I&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[Travis Bell]

The 235lb set was still high, but the 225lb set looked close.

You look very unstable with the weight. Looks like you need to work on your core work, specifically hip strength

Your knees are quite wobbly as well. Really focus on pushing them out.

[slashkills]

I have recently started doing sumo deads for the hip strength. I used to pull conventional.

[MarcusWild]

You did a much better job of arching and staying upright. That's great progress for 1 workout later. If you do some accessory work for lower back and abs, then that'll only get easier. Your knees still shift forward a little bit. Try pointing your toes out a little and pushing your knees out more. Your knees are going to want to move. The key is to make sure they move out not forward. If you could make/buy a box I think it'd really help you. That way you'd know you get deep enough on every squat too.

Watch some video of Sam Byrd squatting raw. It's on youtube. I think he has some of the best squat form on the planet. The way he squats is super efficient.

[MarcusWild]

The ultra wide sumo stiff legged deadlifts are awesome for hip strength.

[Notorious]

You aren't hitting depth in any of your reps.

[Travis Bell]

The ultra wide sumo stiff legged deadlifts are awesome for hip strength.

Agreed.

slash, I read through your log and noticed you have super low volume. On squatting you only had 9 total reps including warmup

Is there a reason for this low volume?

[slashkills]

Honestly im not sure why i dont do more. Now that i think about it though im going to do more. Im thinking for the amount of weight im lifting about 20reps per workout should be good. Thanks guys. Thats some great advice. I have a low box that i just made recently. Its about 2" below parallel. I was going to do some box squats today but opted not to to try some of the things people recomended the other day.
From what you guys are saying these are the most important issues i should address now. So this is what ill spend some time doing.
#1) do more reps per work out to help form.
#2) low box squat more to get comfortable with depth
#3) Push knees out not forward
#4) Train my core more.

Stupid question but, i though core was abs and lower back. What else is a core muscle?

[MarcusWild]

Core is lower back and abs. The key is to train it with heavy weight though. All that body weight informercial crap sucks. It won't help you squat big.

Here's my last squat workout. My form is "pretty good" according to Louie when I went to his seminar. I definitely still have things to work on though. Since you're raw, you'll want to be narrower but it's the same concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkGSiPh5OwA

[joey54]

Here is what I see. First, put the bar one peg down on the racks. You are almost at a lockout there and it is easier to push up a little bit to unrack. Second, you need to start by sitting back, looks like you are just going down to me. Like others have mentioned, you look unstable. A better arch is needed. Really stick your chest out and high, sit back, drop your butt between your legs, and let your knees come out a bit. Have you watched Sensei's videos? I suggest just working with 135 lbs until you can squat with perfect form for sets of 5 and slowly increasing the weight. You get the form down, you will be at 315 in no time. You have some natural strength in you.

[Travis Bell]

Don't use an excessively low box to help you achieve depth, use a parallel box or 1in below. Reason being, you still need to work on your form. Making you go crazy deep is as harmful to your form as squatting high is. Once you get things more solid, you can drop the box a little lower and you'll be good to go.

[slashkills]

Ok ill raise up the box to an 1" under. Thanks for all the help guys.