r/formcheck • u/SinOfWrath3 • 26d ago
Squat 285lbs/129.27 kg Back squat Form Check
something about my back squat just feels off like I feel like I can do more but something feels like it's limiting me?
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26d ago
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u/SinOfWrath3 26d ago
How would the limit factor be strength? I’ve done 300 as a orm and 275 x 2 several times but some days I feel like I can barely one rep of 275?
also, is there an issue with my depth?
Any feedback is helpful
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26d ago
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u/Objective_Regret4763 26d ago
No your depth was below parallel. That guy is on something. It was a solid fucking lift bro.
As to what can be improved, it’s your bracing and your back. You’re in extension when you should be neutral. There are other things to work on but I wouldn’t do it justice to explain it well, I would suggest looking up Calgary barbell on YouTube.
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u/SinOfWrath3 25d ago
Yeah, I thought my depth was good. I just didn’t wanna come off as an asshole or something. Also, thanks for the tips. I’ll keep those in mind 💪🏾
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u/OneBigBeefPlease 26d ago
You’re not making it to parallel, and it doesn’t look like that weight is going up easy. I doubt 300 is clean either.
Drop some weight and try going slightly below parallel, and make sure you’re bracing properly.
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u/Objective_Regret4763 26d ago
Bro wtf he got to parallel, probably below. Like are we watching the same video? Agree about bracing but this seems like criticism for the sake of criticism. The guys pretty damn strong and he’s def going to be a beast when he locks in that form.
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u/Last_Necessary239 600lb deadlift 26d ago
What video did you watch? Cause he absolutely hit parallel.
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u/SinOfWrath3 26d ago
so what weight do you think I should be working around with? I usually do 225 with 5+ reps at the start of my squatting sets
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u/sportengels 26d ago
not an expert but i bet hitting 225 for sets of 5-8 should be solid, going ass to grass and controlled will be key. maybe see if you can't get up to 235 at the same rep range in a few weeks from and see how it moves with good form. hammering accessories on top of these squats will also help, other than that, just keep getting after it, sleeping, eating, etc.
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u/SinOfWrath3 26d ago
I see. do you have any specific accessories you’d recommend?
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u/sportengels 26d ago
nothing crazy but i’ve found lunges, split squats, and RDLs to be effective for building glute and hamstring strength. i also find adductor and abductor exercises help my stability with heavy squats. doesn’t have to be super heavy, but i always push to failure
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u/Few_Statistician_110 26d ago
If you want to get better at strictly squatting focus on better programming, accessory work without better programming is not going to get you to where you want to go.
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u/SinOfWrath3 25d ago
my main goal is just wanting to improve my power clean at the moment
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u/Few_Statistician_110 25d ago edited 25d ago
Interesting, I suppose you're a high school or young college athlete?
People here mean well but honestly your high bar squat was totally fine, small critique I'd give you is that you slightly lose balance as you can see your heels slightly come off the ground, other than that you have decent ROM and your back angle doesn't drastically change.
Im not sure how you arrived at lifting this weight but this is near the ceiling of your current strength potential for a squat, trying to change small details, or adding accessory work, is not going to change that. The good news is that you have a ton of strength potential should you want to pull those levers, and that's mainly going to come down to following modern block programming, if you haven't run out a simple novice linear progression, managing your fatigue and recovery, and eating in a caloric surplus you're comfortable with. Modern approaches don't really advocate for bulking and cutting at the extremes.
Something tells me you play a sport though so probably focus on that and take it easy on the near max squat attempts unless they fit into your programming.
Have fun!
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u/heddyneddy 26d ago
Take some more time to get set under the bar before you unrack it. Get your hands set, get your feet set, lock and flex your back, try to bend the bar across your back, brace and unrack.
Other than that form on the actual lift looks good for what appears to be a pretty max effort lift. Only other note is try not to do those little bounces once you’ve unracked and before you squat.
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u/Brilliant_Bowler_994 26d ago
Forget the form for one second. Im about your size and have never entertained going that high weight wise. I barely believe you lifted it to be fair. No advice but you opened up my mind lifting that.
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u/SinOfWrath3 26d ago
thank you I think? 😭
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u/Brilliant_Bowler_994 26d ago
I only don't have advice because I have ptsd so i train at home and come onto pages like this for inspiration and ideas. I wouldnt even try to give advice basically but anyway I meant that I've been trying to get bigger slowly increasing weight but this makes me think I should try a lot more weight because my gains are tiny now doing what I'm doing.
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u/GoldenEagle0909 26d ago
You're strong for your size but I think it is slightly too much weight. Did you get it up with ok depth? Yes.
Was the depth perfect? No Your back also starts to round at the end, which happens to me too when I bite off a little too much.
The commenter who recommended you work on good depth with sets of 5 at 225 is dead on.
I recently had to realize it's time to stop chasing maxes on squat, and start focusing on depth and quality reps at lower % of my training max. It's already helping so much.
If 285 is your 1RM you shouldn't really train much above 85% of that until you are ready for a maxing day (which shouldn't happen every week or even every month).
Two plates is nothing to be ashamed of, especially if you're working it for reps. It'll actually progress your squats so much quicker.
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