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I'm trying to go have enough depth in my squats. I can do parallel just fine with say 240, but when doing now 5x5 on the cruise, I can't squat deep enough. It's like I lockout at a certain depth (probably about 60 degrees), doing 5x5 with 285lbs.

I don't know if I'm just mentally blocked that I may fall or what. Feet are about shoulder wide, pointing to the outside. Chest and shoulders are pulled back, knees coming down sticking out. The only problem is the depth of the squat.

Could it be that it's just too heavy? I can do 5x5 fine with that weight, but not having enough depth. Any squat freak care to help me out with this?

My 1st reaction is go lighter, that's what i am always being told. Move up in increments of 5 or 10 lbs from 240 to the point that you cant get as deep as you want.

Maybe its psychological , like fear of not getting out of the hole. Grab a buddy and work through that.

You could also change up , do front squats , box squats etc ..


my 2c..which is only worth about that

Hank! wrote:My 1st reaction is go lighter, that's what i am always being told.

I would definitely agree with this. If you cannot go down to just below parallel I am a firm believer that you cannot handle the load properly. I was once guilty of not going all the way down as well. I thought I could squat 285. Now I squat with 210 but go almost all the way down to my ass touching my calves. I get a much better range of motion and I believe you get much stronger as a result of this because you are recruiting more of your muscles.

Don't feel weak because you have to scale back your weight. You will only be helping yourself to get that perfect form.

That is my two cents which is basically a regurgitation of the information in the book "Starting Strength" by Mark Rippetoe. its an amazing book for anyone who is serious about lifting, and lifting correctly and efficiently. It is filled with anatomical information, pictures, and unlimited tips and tricks surrounding the olympic lifts.

Second best 30 bucks I have spent behind the Blueprint.

xxtotuxx wrote:I'm trying to go have enough depth in my squats. I can do parallel just fine with say 240, but when doing now 5x5 on the cruise, I can't squat deep enough. It's like I lockout at a certain depth (probably about 60 degrees), doing 5x5 with 285lbs.

I don't know if I'm just mentally blocked that I may fall or what. Feet are about shoulder wide, pointing to the outside. Chest and shoulders are pulled back, knees coming down sticking out. The only problem is the depth of the squat.

Could it be that it's just too heavy? I can do 5x5 fine with that weight, but not having enough depth. Any squat freak care to help me out with this?

A. Try this: Have a training partner "flag" you, for every rep that isn't parallel.

The punishment?

You have to do TWO reps with that weight, just to get back to that rep and count it.

And you thought waterboarding, was torture..

Brutal! I wish I did have a training partner to help me with my form though. I think I tend to over estimate my strength and in an attempt to look beefcake at the gym I will ruin my form to move more weight.

sovabrat wrote:Brutal! I wish I did have a training partner to help me with my form though. I think I tend to over estimate my strength and in an attempt to look beefcake at the gym I will ruin my form to move more weight.

You're not the only one. I'm comfortable with the weight, but will do that recommendation of adding 5 pounds and seeing if I can manage to have enough depth. If I can, I'll add 5 pounds more.

Have only been squatting with barbell for about 6 months so I'm no expert. Looking back, squatting in the smith sucks, feels so unnatural.

RobRegish wrote:

The punishment?

You have to do TWO reps with that weight, just to get back to that rep and count it.

And you thought waterboarding, was torture..

Haha, love it. Whenever I used to do single-legged romanian deadlifts, if the raised foot would touch the ground, then I would make myself do two more.

xxtotuxx wrote: You're not the only one. I'm comfortable with the weight, but will do that recommendation of adding 5 pounds and seeing if I can manage to have enough depth. If I can, I'll add 5 pounds more.

Have only been squatting with barbell for about 6 months so I'm no expert. Looking back, squatting in the smith sucks, feels so unnatural.

i agree about the smith. we don't really have a facilities at my gym for squatting - no squat rack, only a smith. i got to about 130kg with 5X5, and then gave up squats because there was no where to do them.

i jsut bought the super squats belt that rob talks about - i had a rest of 6 months at least from squats, but let's jsut say it's humbling to be down to 60kgs using the belt! (i am getting better results out of 60kg than 130kg in a smith though)

dropthebeats wrote:

RobRegish wrote:

The punishment?

You have to do TWO reps with that weight, just to get back to that rep and count it.

And you thought waterboarding, was torture..

Haha, love it. Whenever I used to do single-legged romanian deadlifts, if the raised foot would touch the ground, then I would make myself do two more.

Wouldn't even attempt this. Coordination issues...

sovabrat wrote:Brutal! I wish I did have a training partner to help me with my form though. I think I tend to over estimate my strength and in an attempt to look beefcake at the gym I will ruin my form to move more weight.

haha... I lol'ed ....


Going lighter would be the first thing...

Do you have mirrors around where you squat? Might be able to watch your form that way.

If it's really a psychological thing you can try squatting in a power rack and set the bars just barely below your lowest point. That way if you get stuck it's an easy escape/no fear of falling with the weight on your back. Power racks are where it's at

beefcake66 wrote:

sovabrat wrote:Brutal! I wish I did have a training partner to help me with my form though. I think I tend to over estimate my strength and in an attempt to look beefcake at the gym I will ruin my form to move more weight.

haha... I lol'ed ....


Going lighter would be the first thing...

Do you have mirrors around where you squat? Might be able to watch your form that way.

If it's really a psychological thing you can try squatting in a power rack and set the bars just barely below your lowest point. That way if you get stuck it's an easy escape/no fear of falling with the weight on your back. Power racks are where it's at

I always squat inside the power rack, I normally set it so that if I go down to the point where my ass touches my calves, it will hit the supports. Do this with no weight to get an idea on how low you should/can go and then add weight. Keep adding weight until you cannot get down to that point. This is probably going to be your optimal weight with good form. Build up from that.

One thing about the mirror to be careful about is that it doesnt give you a fixed reference point to look at. Pick a spot that is 6 ft in front of you on the ground and keep your stare focused there. Imagine (or do) placing a tennis ball under your chin and keeping it against your chest. This is the optimal head placement for squating, and it might even fix some of your flexibility issues. I see some people looking straight up when they squat which will actually limit the distance you can squat into.

I didnt know that about head position I always try to look straight or even up..thanks for the tip

Hank! wrote:I didnt know that about head position I always try to look straight or even up..thanks for the tip

Yeah I saw some tutorial vids on youtube about squatting and the guy said to always look up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkF9QD7o ... r_embedded

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6cgnxY8 ... ure=relmfu

xxtotuxx wrote:

sovabrat wrote:Brutal! I wish I did have a training partner to help me with my form though. I think I tend to over estimate my strength and in an attempt to look beefcake at the gym I will ruin my form to move more weight.

You're not the only one. I'm comfortable with the weight, but will do that recommendation of adding 5 pounds and seeing if I can manage to have enough depth. If I can, I'll add 5 pounds more.

Have only been squatting with barbell for about 6 months so I'm no expert. Looking back, squatting in the smith sucks, feels so unnatural.

Unless you eventually want some type of serious back or knee problems, I would advise NEVER use the smith press for squats...because in many cases, sooner rather than later you will be in some severe pain that will take a long time to heal properly, if at all...

Personally I love the V-Squat by hammer strength...regular squats cause back issues for me, so I tend to avoid them...