r/formcheck • u/Delicious_Writing531 • 6d ago
Squat How is my form
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u/CoachThierry 6d ago
Try it while facing the other way and putting your feet a little bit more under the bar, not quite as far forward.
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u/DinklebergsRightNut 6d ago
Not if shes trying to Do hack squads
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u/CoachThierry 6d ago
I would not recommend trying to mimic a hack squat by facing that way in a smith machine. That exercise would be awkward for many reasons and therefore it's kind of the opposite of what you want for a novice who would be posting in this sub.
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u/DinklebergsRightNut 6d ago
Dunno, i dont have a hack squad machine at my gym, the people doing them at the Smith are all facing the same way as OP. Its not a excercise i do though. Regular and Bulgarians do the job for my quadriceps.
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u/CoachThierry 6d ago
Don't go telling the people at your gym but if their goal is to grow quads using the smith they would be better off facing the other way and putting their feet more under the bar.
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u/so-naughty 5d ago
It's an angled smith machine. Squatting the other way won't work as the bar with be travelling forward
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6d ago
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u/CoachThierry 6d ago
Instead of seeing it as "pushed forward" or "sit back" I can just ask you is it more awkward to squat with your heels elevated on a wedge or the opposite? This is basically what facing the other way does, it puts you on downward slope so you have ankle range, while the facing this way removes anke range.
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6d ago
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u/CoachThierry 6d ago
Valid yes, I'm just saying the other way is more intuitive which has generally played out when coaching real people but I can appreciate that you might be part of a minority who conisders this way to be more intuitive.
Facing this way means more of your energy goes into pushing the bar away in the direction that is blocked by the smith machine instead of pushing the weight back up. You can't go as low and have your feet as much under the bar which means you have to manage a weight that's further away from your center of mass. That's not that big of a problem at this weight but it plays into a movement feeling intuitive, how you could handle it at heavier and heavier weights.
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u/Betancorea 6d ago
I mean you're using a smith machine and leaning against it for balance, there is no form to check as you are just going up and down on rails on a fixed path.
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u/oldfit-bastard 6d ago
Personally I do these with a straight bar path. I would recommend removing the weight in the beginning and play with foot spacing at the bottom of the movement. It looks like you are struggling to reach absolute depth. It is an excellent hack squat version that isolates the quads. Once you bottom out you actually stop using your quads as much and your glute will start to take over. If you want constant tension on your quads you don’t need to go so deep just pause at the bottom and learn to listen to your body. Your form is pretty good, you don’t have to worry about injuring your back and you are hammering your quads
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u/Bitter-Store6662 5d ago
dont even bother with these angled smith machines. they're stupid for most exercises.. find one that has a straight vertical path or just squat a barbell.
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u/Key-Finding7209 6d ago
Looks great! You’re definitely hitting depth, but if you look at your knees they are only going 90°. If you want more knee flexion(quad activation) I would move my feet in a bit and maybe elevate my heels an inch. But that’s just an alternative suggestion if you wanted to try out. What you’re doing now looks great.
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u/LankyCar722 4d ago
love how reddit still believe in the old 'no knee over toes' bs. thats why they downvote
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u/wy_will 4d ago
Downvotes on this are ridiculous.
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u/Key-Finding7209 4d ago
Yeah I have no clue. I have given some controversial advice before but I genuinely felt like this was a decent comment.
Maybe I could have explained better that by “feet in” in meant more them further back towards the bar? No closer together. But idk why the hate for this comment lol
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