Best advice that cleaned up my squat, "glue your feet to the floor and balance over mid foot," not sure why because it seems kind of obvious, but a conscious effort to "plant" my feet prior to descent made the whole movement easier.
This is called "The Master Cue" in Starting Strength. It's an interesting way the brain works. Just like imagining a weight going up before you even lift makes you stronger.
These video from Alan and BBM are just brilliant, I've returned to the barbell after a number of years off, long term ankle injury leading to hip issues. Had operation to ankle with good results. Now close to 50 years young and following the sound advise on here my strength and flexibility has never been better... 👍
I am a new personal trainer and do HOURS of research when I am building a program for a new client (new trainer struggle bus). Just wanted to say I really appreciate education I get watching your videos. It helps takes the written word and make it make sense. Just too good.
That's nothing. Stefi Cohen (a girl) just did a squat slightly over 4x bodyweight. Not quite to the nice depth of this guy, but that's still a hell of a lot more impressive.
@@EmoPeter2000 What difference does a lifters weight make? I mean, isn't every healthy person equally able to lift 4x body weight regardless of what that weight it? Anatomy doesn't vary on the basis of how big you are, does it?
@@David-xg5uu It isn't such a neat linear relationship. Eddie Hall's 500kg deadlift was under 3* bodyweight, but that is still gonna be significantly harder than any 3* bodyweight deadlift at the lower weight classes.
Back in February I hurt my back from squatting N haven't squatted since then. Recently I found out Alan's channel watched his squatting videos been squatting just with body weight with similar body mechanics N Today I low bar squatted 115lbs N it felt good squatting With perfect form but it aggravated my low back....... If only I found your channel sooner Alan Thrall , now life will never be the same.
If it's a muscle tear try the star method or try to start lighter there is probably a weight where you can squat pain free and then work it up. In the long run that will most likely be better for your back.
Hey dude I know I'm really late but I am going through the same thing as you. I never suddenly hurt my lower back but instead I gradually beat up on one side squatting that anytime I squatted it aggravated my right side to extreme pain. I went 6 months no squatting until I found the strong lifts 5x5 squat stretches video. Every stretch I did never seemed to hit the spot I injured until I did the twisting to the sky one. I can now squat mostly pain free and am slowly stacking up to where I was. Hope this was helpful, if u cant find the vid through the website then I can link it for you.
After fucking around with so many different cues, the only thing that ended up working for me was "Feel strong and stable." Having that on my mind pretty much fixed everything. Balance shifting and/or knees coming in doesn't feel stable, and a back angle that feels too vertical/horizontal or is shifting around at the bottom doesn't feel strong. It's not just "move the weight". It's "move the weight with strength and stability". If you're like me, then your body will know what to do.
Changed my form after watching the video. Does squatting this way use your lower back muscles as well? Felt some tightness in my lower back after the workout.
These pointers helped alot. Especially the balance on the heel. Im one of those. Thanks for calling out on putting balance on front and back to get the idea where to be. Always Low bar ftw 🙌. Way more comfortable while doing them. I used to hate squatting. Would stand bar wants to roll. Lower neck would hurt. Ive went up in weight comfortably with the set up. Thanks
I saw that I needed to keep my shoulders tight so I had my elbows up way too high, with the wrist flexion and everything. Starting feeling low-back pain this week, and I've always struggled with keep my weight from shifting forwards, I think this is it- I'm accidentally shifting the weight forward, causing more pressure on the spine to keep me upright. Thanks so much for the tips!
Did this fix your issue? I came here because I have low-back discomfort (not exactly pain, but the sensation of overstretching something I guess). I took video of my squat and the only thing I found is my elbows are maybe flared high.
One problem with the "below the scapula" cue, is the the bar is horizontal, while the spine of the scapula is diagonal. Therefore, the bar is, I assume, below the acromion, but above the medial end of the spine of the scapula?
that was extremely helpful for me. i have had endless squat issues and the outside of my feet lifting up off the ground. now i have a good idea of how to fix that and work more on my technique. thanks!
The thing I really want to know is how to stop left arm pain caused by low bar squats. I've googled this, and it seems pretty common that the left arm in particular gets some sort of tendinitis or something from the shoulder, down the outside of the biceps, and into the forearm. It's so painful it screws up press and bench press sets and hurts for days afterwards. Last night, I tried placing the bar a bit higher than usual and resting my palms/wrists on the bar instead of pushing with them while keeping my elbows a bit higher. It helped the pain quite a bit (although it still hurt some), but it didn't feel as tight and stable. I've seen a lot of posts about this on the SS forums but no clear cut answer.
I've tried wrapping my thumb around in the past, but it hurt my wrists. Tonight, I focused on keeping my back/shoulder blades really tight as you suggested, and that helped quite a bit. I still had some pain by the third set, but it wasn't nearly as bad.
this is the best squat tutorial in the whole universe...helped me a lot..i could add 15 kg more to my max squat just by following the cues mentioned here...
Wonderful review of focusing into common errors. Me? Guilty of using too much back coming out of the hole. Gonna try to keep me eyes, head and chest focused as my cue.
Great video and information, always a great refresher to watch but the last tip was something Ive struggled with so Im going to give that a go next time. Thanks!
I recently tried shifting the balance towards my heel to see if that helps with my tendon inflammation. No, nothing to do with that. It's entirely just overuse from increasing weight too quickly and muscle outgrowing the tendon.
Thanks for sharing that your knees can shoot too far out...I've been doing this without realizing it and my squat felt a lot better today when I focused on it
Awesome video!!!! Thank you so much all who were involved with the making of it. Bout to go piss some people off and take all the damn plates for my squat lol
Hey Alan (and or fans reading this)... I've been watching a lot of your videos (I really enjoyed the one of you coaching non-professionals and working to correct their form live) and have been trying to get into low bar squatting. I must admit I've never really even done high bar, only goblet squats so far. I have a few problems and I'm wondering what exercises/stretches would be good to remedy the following... I think my ankle mobility is bad because my knees don't track well over my toes, my shoulder mobility is bad because I can't get my hands over the bar with my shoulders back to hold the bar, and I seem to always have butt wink (it doesn't hurt but it's noticeable). What recommendations do you have to slowly and surely remedy this?
So what is the difference between hip drive and a good morning squat? I've been really focusing on pushing my knees forward and breaking and my knees and hips at the same time. as well as nipples and eyes to the ground in front of me. I was a really bad good morning squatter. I still feel like my squat is two motioned but the bar and my hips continue to move on the way up. I don't feel the squat in my back but in my legs. Is there a good way to tell if this is a good morning squat or am I just being too hard on myself? Thanks!
I'm having a problem of wrist extension and then too much pressure gets put on my wrist and it's very painful. This is only happening on my left wrist. Still trying to solve it.
Thats interesting about the grip. I went to a starting strength certified coach and was taught to grip it differently than here. I think whats presented here makes more sense so I'll have to experiment a bit.
Hmm I wonder if my wrists are a bit in flexion, I don't really feel the bar move but my elbows, more pronounced on the right side tend to move, shooting back and up during the squat and trying to search for any solutions on Google hasn't turned up much.
In high school we were always taught to look at the ceiling when we were squatting, eye on the prize sorta speak. What are the differences in looking down compared to up?
Griffin Langhans. Go watch the Art of Manliness squat video (just because it's one of the shortest versions of Rip teaching the low bar squat). Rip demos the advantage of looking down instead of up.
I need some help on bringing my feet closer together and getting my knees out. My squat is too wide and I have two months to fix it. Great info as always.
I"d say the most common squat error at least at my gym is... not squatting.
followed closely by "half-reppin'"...or worse..."quarter-reppin'".
TheHaiku2 where I go people think the squat rack is for doing really shitty deadlifts. I can't even call them rack pulls.
at my gym theres a LOT of people that i never, ever see training legs, its actually quite impressive hahaha
That's a pandemic. People juice instead of training legs.
Wild Bill same thing at my gym...
Never a bad video if they have Austin or Jordan giving advice. People should feel grateful that they are receiving these tips for free
Blake BernsteinFit IG live squad!
Blake BernsteinFit I love these guys. A gift from the lord himself!
Trueee #IGSquad
Jordan Connolly yes this is explained very well.
Psh, I don’t run ad block ain’t shit free about me having to watch that 8 second ad lol
Best advice that cleaned up my squat, "glue your feet to the floor and balance over mid foot," not sure why because it seems kind of obvious, but a conscious effort to "plant" my feet prior to descent made the whole movement easier.
This is called "The Master Cue" in Starting Strength. It's an interesting way the brain works. Just like imagining a weight going up before you even lift makes you stronger.
Instructions not clear, how did you remove the glue?
Spreading the earth apart with my legs is the only way for me to engage my glutes and not just quads.
Yeah that's why I carry a bottle of gorilla glue in the ol gym bag 😜
Austin's RPE 10 Face is scary af
Indeed, I was sitting here the whole video with my baseball glove in case of his eyes popping out.
That guy nose a lot.
oni?
Seriously. I want him to squat with a blood pressure cuff. Looks like his neck veins want to blow up.
That's not RPE 10. That's probably just his 8 lol
Alan, you didn't say whether we should train untamed or not. Now I don't know what to do with my life 😭
TRAIN UN-TAMMMUUUHHH
@michael degroot Naaa
You should train tamed
@@makstod6903 He didn't tell me my train was coming on time
I was once one of those guys doing the straight shins in a squat. Moving my knees forward of my toes made all the difference in the world!
Eye popping insights. Thank you sir.
old but gold
The ol’ Baraki stare
These video from Alan and BBM are just brilliant, I've returned to the barbell after a number of years off, long term ankle injury leading to hip issues. Had operation to ankle with good results.
Now close to 50 years young and following the sound advise on here my strength and flexibility has never been better... 👍
I am a new personal trainer and do HOURS of research when I am building a program for a new client (new trainer struggle bus). Just wanted to say I really appreciate education I get watching your videos. It helps takes the written word and make it make sense. Just too good.
Thank you for taking the time to post this video. I appreciate it. I look forward to using it on my next workout session. Cheers!
3x bodyweight squat at the end. That's some serious strength! Im working my way up to 2x body weight!!
I'm working my way to 1x. Because I'm weak. Weird thing is, I can bench as much as I can squat. Something's wrong.
Had the same issue, but thanks to this and Allan's video finally my squat took over the bench :-P
I LOVE the content you, Austin&Jordan bring us. Simple, straight to the point and informative. It all makes sense that way, thank you!
Watching Austin's squat gives me instant power to re-rack all the weights scattered by people in gym. Thanks senpai🙏🏻💪🏻🔥
his eyes looked like they were going to pop out. my goodness! the strength you guys have! love these videos!
3x body weight squat, that dudes a fkn beast
That's nothing. Stefi Cohen (a girl) just did a squat slightly over 4x bodyweight. Not quite to the nice depth of this guy, but that's still a hell of a lot more impressive.
@@Jason-wc3fh That's very impressive too, but this guy's a lot heavier.
@@Jason-wc3fh equipped and not natty + pissing all over the floor
@@EmoPeter2000 What difference does a lifters weight make? I mean, isn't every healthy person equally able to lift 4x body weight regardless of what that weight it? Anatomy doesn't vary on the basis of how big you are, does it?
@@David-xg5uu It isn't such a neat linear relationship.
Eddie Hall's 500kg deadlift was under 3* bodyweight, but that is still gonna be significantly harder than any 3* bodyweight deadlift at the lower weight classes.
600 LBS at 199 LBS is awesome!
Not as impressive as 495 lbs by a girl weighing 123 lbs.
@Jason... just FYI Stefanie Cohen is heavy into juice, and her squat didn’t even break hip crease.
Cole Tipton and she was relying on wraps
@@Jason-wc3fh Theres always that one guy.
You have to squat your own weight in this process, so it's really an 800 lb squat. Right? Probably not quite that simple.
5:46 I lost my lunch laughing
@Romeo M I bet he's still searching.
Alan needs to have a long think about what he's done here.
Ok boomer
Such good clear coaching. Loved the point about how fixing balance over the foot fixes lots of upstream issues.
1:49 Damn man, I need that picture as a poster on my wall.
Austin Baraki is the man! Thanks for these tips!! Really helped me big time.
Back in February I hurt my back from squatting N haven't squatted since then. Recently I found out Alan's channel watched his squatting videos been squatting just with body weight with similar body mechanics N Today I low bar squatted 115lbs N it felt good squatting With perfect form but it aggravated my low back....... If only I found your channel sooner Alan Thrall , now life will never be the same.
If it's a muscle tear try the star method or try to start lighter there is probably a weight where you can squat pain free and then work it up. In the long run that will most likely be better for your back.
injuries will heal usually even if it takes time dont worry (although i write that comment pretty late)
Hey dude I know I'm really late but I am going through the same thing as you. I never suddenly hurt my lower back but instead I gradually beat up on one side squatting that anytime I squatted it aggravated my right side to extreme pain. I went 6 months no squatting until I found the strong lifts 5x5 squat stretches video. Every stretch I did never seemed to hit the spot I injured until I did the twisting to the sky one. I can now squat mostly pain free and am slowly stacking up to where I was. Hope this was helpful, if u cant find the vid through the website then I can link it for you.
The chest pointing at same place queue is really good advice thank you
This series are pure gold!!!
i think pointing out the chest to the where to look at on the floor will fix my problem in the next session thank you so much
After fucking around with so many different cues, the only thing that ended up working for me was "Feel strong and stable." Having that on my mind pretty much fixed everything. Balance shifting and/or knees coming in doesn't feel stable, and a back angle that feels too vertical/horizontal or is shifting around at the bottom doesn't feel strong. It's not just "move the weight". It's "move the weight with strength and stability". If you're like me, then your body will know what to do.
Very helpful pointers here, thanks Austin!
Making the tubes just a little bit better one video at a time! Great content, Alan!
4:55 Exercise for finding and staying over the mid-foot in squatting.
Changed my form after watching the video. Does squatting this way use your lower back muscles as well? Felt some tightness in my lower back after the workout.
Does low bar help build pecs & my chest split?
Yep getting stronger overall will produce more hormones ....which makes everything grow but you know that
Silent Mike bigger squat = bigger deadlift. Bigger deadlift = bigger back. Bigger back = bigger bench. Bigger bench = bigger chest
craig airey lol thats true
Common misconception, squatting does not help build your ass-chest
Yeah, the elbow tendinitis will take your bench to levels unknown prior.
Thank you for all the videos you post about low bar squatting they have been super helpful to someone who is unfamiliar with this style of squatting.
These pointers helped alot. Especially the balance on the heel. Im one of those. Thanks for calling out on putting balance on front and back to get the idea where to be. Always Low bar ftw 🙌. Way more comfortable while doing them. I used to hate squatting. Would stand bar wants to roll. Lower neck would hurt. Ive went up in weight comfortably with the set up. Thanks
i like how he talks about the importance of keeping a more horizontal back angle while rising and he goes vertical at the end of the video.
Super informative! Please do more of these with Dr. Baraki for the other main lifts. Thanks!
One of the best squatting videos I've ever seen.
I saw that I needed to keep my shoulders tight so I had my elbows up way too high, with the wrist flexion and everything. Starting feeling low-back pain this week, and I've always struggled with keep my weight from shifting forwards, I think this is it- I'm accidentally shifting the weight forward, causing more pressure on the spine to keep me upright. Thanks so much for the tips!
Did this fix your issue? I came here because I have low-back discomfort (not exactly pain, but the sensation of overstretching something I guess). I took video of my squat and the only thing I found is my elbows are maybe flared high.
most perfect explanation/demonstration of low bar squat!
That squat at the end was beastly!
Amazing video, helped me with some of my mistakes, especially doing low bar with high bar technique and not using hip drive
Best tutorial yet on low bar. Great job guys.
Love Austin Baraki vids - they clarify so much misinfo I've "learned" from bro science over the years.
Very helpful about holding that back angle before straightening out at the top.
Non-specific corrective exercises at 5:46.😂😂
Thanks for putting these videos out here! It helps!
One problem with the "below the scapula" cue, is the the bar is horizontal, while the spine of the scapula is diagonal. Therefore, the bar is, I assume, below the acromion, but above the medial end of the spine of the scapula?
Austin did this drill with me personally and it helped my squat out big time, great guy...
Watching these videos lets me know that I need a coach
Didn't discuss breathing but I can see it - You ROCK Allan
that was extremely helpful for me. i have had endless squat issues and the outside of my feet lifting up off the ground. now i have a good idea of how to fix that and work more on my technique. thanks!
Screw that, I'm going with your non specific corrective exercises 😂😂😂
Those corrective exercises looked hella fun.
That’s why I feel my lower hip sometimes... because I keep my shin straight and not passing my toes when going down... great advice
That last tip was golden for me. Thanks so much.
The thing I really want to know is how to stop left arm pain caused by low bar squats. I've googled this, and it seems pretty common that the left arm in particular gets some sort of tendinitis or something from the shoulder, down the outside of the biceps, and into the forearm. It's so painful it screws up press and bench press sets and hurts for days afterwards. Last night, I tried placing the bar a bit higher than usual and resting my palms/wrists on the bar instead of pushing with them while keeping my elbows a bit higher. It helped the pain quite a bit (although it still hurt some), but it didn't feel as tight and stable. I've seen a lot of posts about this on the SS forums but no clear cut answer.
I've tried wrapping my thumb around in the past, but it hurt my wrists. Tonight, I focused on keeping my back/shoulder blades really tight as you suggested, and that helped quite a bit. I still had some pain by the third set, but it wasn't nearly as bad.
this is the best squat tutorial in the whole universe...helped me a lot..i could add 15 kg more to my max squat just by following the cues mentioned here...
Come on AZB!!! I thought you were going to say it!!! I watched the whole dang video while anticipating those 2 magic words at the end!!!
Mike Soto HYEEP DRAHVE
HYYEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAPPPPP DRAHHHHHVVVVVVVE
More videos like this please. Very informative! Thank you.
Wonderful review of focusing into common errors. Me? Guilty of using too much back coming out of the hole. Gonna try to keep me eyes, head and chest focused as my cue.
This video is a blessing mhen, u have my gratitude 💯
Very helpful thanks guys
Love the simplicity!!! Thank you
Great video and information, always a great refresher to watch but the last tip was something Ive struggled with so Im going to give that a go next time. Thanks!
Geezus, the first tip hit me in the face. It's exactly what I've been struggling with. Learned me some!
Great explanation Alan, thumbs up
had to go back and watch the "non specific corrective exercises' illustration about 4 times LOL! Golden!
I recently tried shifting the balance towards my heel to see if that helps with my tendon inflammation. No, nothing to do with that. It's entirely just overuse from increasing weight too quickly and muscle outgrowing the tendon.
Thanks for sharing that your knees can shoot too far out...I've been doing this without realizing it and my squat felt a lot better today when I focused on it
Great info guys ! Thank you
Great stuff - enjoy the barbell medicine team.
Great stuff. Is there any video where Austin has described or have given clue about the high bar squat..??
Extremely helpful!
Alan, thanks for introducing austin and jordan to us!
Awesome video!!!!
Thank you so much all who were involved with the making of it.
Bout to go piss some people off and take all the damn plates for my squat lol
Hey Alan (and or fans reading this)... I've been watching a lot of your videos (I really enjoyed the one of you coaching non-professionals and working to correct their form live) and have been trying to get into low bar squatting. I must admit I've never really even done high bar, only goblet squats so far. I have a few problems and I'm wondering what exercises/stretches would be good to remedy the following... I think my ankle mobility is bad because my knees don't track well over my toes, my shoulder mobility is bad because I can't get my hands over the bar with my shoulders back to hold the bar, and I seem to always have butt wink (it doesn't hurt but it's noticeable). What recommendations do you have to slowly and surely remedy this?
this is awesome! thanks for sharing
Very cool. Learnt a lot just through this one video.
Gold... this video is absolute gold!
the corrective exercise was pretty hilarious.
2:08 salty jordan not impressed
I Fucking love your videos man. I watch them before I hit the rack. Thanks for providing such great resources
So what is the difference between hip drive and a good morning squat? I've been really focusing on pushing my knees forward and breaking and my knees and hips at the same time. as well as nipples and eyes to the ground in front of me. I was a really bad good morning squatter. I still feel like my squat is two motioned but the bar and my hips continue to move on the way up. I don't feel the squat in my back but in my legs. Is there a good way to tell if this is a good morning squat or am I just being too hard on myself? Thanks!
If the weight is shifted over your toes then its a good morning squat.
I'm having a problem of wrist extension and then too much pressure gets put on my wrist and it's very painful. This is only happening on my left wrist. Still trying to solve it.
Great video man! Appreciate it, always the best advice
Excellent advice!
I was always taught to drive through the heel, so I've always tried to balance towards the rear. Damn.
Thanks for make our technique better.
5:47 i only did this exercise and i gained 700 pounds on my squat
3:08 that bar tilt tho
Good thing the spotter was there to catch that when it slipped out Allen 5:46
Thats interesting about the grip. I went to a starting strength certified coach and was taught to grip it differently than here. I think whats presented here makes more sense so I'll have to experiment a bit.
now the same stuff but with high bar squat plz
Number one issue with high bar: Not doing low bar.
would love to see this exact video, but for the high bar squat
Hmm I wonder if my wrists are a bit in flexion, I don't really feel the bar move but my elbows, more pronounced on the right side tend to move, shooting back and up during the squat and trying to search for any solutions on Google hasn't turned up much.
I kind of have a problem with gripping the bar it's really uncomfortable unless my grip is really wide
thanks alan and austin so much/died at 5:45
Best video of how to low bar.
guy at the end reminded me of that scene in total recall.
This a great video, excellent instruction.
In high school we were always taught to look at the ceiling when we were squatting, eye on the prize sorta speak. What are the differences in looking down compared to up?
Griffin Langhans. Go watch the Art of Manliness squat video (just because it's one of the shortest versions of Rip teaching the low bar squat). Rip demos the advantage of looking down instead of up.
End up doing a good morning 😂😂😂😂
I need some help on bringing my feet closer together and getting my knees out. My squat is too wide and I have two months to fix it. Great info as always.