Hey, im going to be doing probably Bulgarian split squats, and depending on how much the power lifting gym costs, back and front squats, and goblet squats. Anyway, i been hearing alot of different views on looking up and looking down during the squats. SimonS in his video says to look up, not directly up, but at around 30 - 40 degree, like looking at the top portion of a wall. Mark rippetoe says to look down while doing the back squat On the video mark rippetoe put up about the back squat, alot of comments say that he is crazy and you should look up Bretconreras says to look down... does it really matter, some say its extremely bad to look down, some say it doesnt matter, some say it helps with the squat i dont know... so i ask you guys. what do you think?
I'm sticking with the looking at the top of the wall theory because it helps promote a straight neck and spine. This is the video in question. I describe where to look from 0.50. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgF2DLdtK2I&list=UUCEvC8J27lX6ns2hNgY3zUQ&index=8&feature=plcp"]Dynamic Hamstring Stretch.wmv - YouTube[/ame]
seriously if you have to ask that question id stick with body weight squats until you can find a good coach anyone telling you to look down is retarded (and i don't care who it is)
To look at the floor is to encourage a rounding of the back which you definately don't want so you want to be looking upwards. If you have a tight bar position with elbows up your neck has limited movement up anyway. Watch all of 'So you think you can Squat' on youtube. Matt tells you all you need to know, whether you're squatting 50kg or 250kg [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkF9QD7oCIA"]EliteFTS.com: So You Think You Can Squat Part 1 - YouTube[/ame]
oh right cool ill be watching that series Icefield, squat coaches dont grow on trees and are not as easy as grass to find. I dont see whats so bad about me asking that question. I assumed it would be up at first, but mark rippetoe is a well known strength coach and he says to look down... and that got me confused. Therefore i asked the question on this forum to help clear my confusion... Anyways doesnt matter thanks for that squat series, i appreciate it. I will try to watch as much as possible before i start squatting tomorrow!
The problem is the difference between lifting a little bit of weight in the Squat and a lot is good technique, without it the chances of injury just go up the more you add to the bar. Most people that train at my gym in their 20s and 30s train with a friend or pair up on the Squat, if only because in small gyms it can be in constant use at peak times. When you go try to buddy up with someone on the Squat, most people start on bar, upto 60kg for a warmup set or two, so even if you only get a couple of sets someone can be watching your back and you wont be holding them up, at least until they want to pile on the plates.
doesn't have to be a coach, it can be a friend who knows how to squat, or just a body builder who squats most guys in the gym will be ahppy to help if you ask them if your unsure of what to do its best to get hands on advice not over the net or even from good videos, its difficult to explain and i honestly probably not worth trial and error with weight on your back hope that makes sense
at the moment I'm going to do goblet squats amd see how I do there. the heaviest dumbbells available is 24 kg in my house and at ggym. the gym I have access to for free is the school gym. everyone there just does bicep curls and chest flys and crunches. they thought my pistol squats worked the back. when I told them they work legs they just gave a very bored look. so its not very good. I'm working towarss getting a proper part time job. its not going to be easy but I've made the first very major steps. only the final bits needed but it'll take about a month or two to get the job. if I can afford the powerlifting gym and go to judo 3-4 times, financially, mentally and physically then ill probably join. for now just need to get a job so I can pay for lots of judo classes!
id like to apologise, reading what i wrote i have come to the conclusion i was a self important a$$ lol no one here is really qualified to tell you what you should or shouldnt be doing, i should have offered the advice you asked for not criticise you, you are doing what thousands have done before you, learning to squat on their own, i survived it, so did most everyone, just start slowly keep it basic and use common sense sometimes the net is a dangerous place, squatting isnt as hard as we sometimes make it out to be, you will be fine!
I finishes watching that "so you think you can squat " series. really good series. what I didn't understanding was the knees amd the foot pressure. can anyone explain what he means by the foot pressure. does he mean all weight should be on heels and outside of the foot? anyways I need to watch those videos again. @icefield its ok man and thanks. I can't even use school gym anymore because the immature idiots were throwing dumbbells and medicine balls about and broke equipment -_-. so it's closed... anyways I will be doing some light weight squats with dumbbells today (was planning to do so in gym but closed -_-), videotape it amd then upload it to YouTube and post it here amd on the members workout thread. don't want to go heavy too quick as I might have bad form I hope some of you more experienced guys can help fix my squat! thanks edit: i understand that foot pressure now. When he keeps saying knees shooting forward, does that mean that the knees are going over his toes, or are going too close to his toes? Also it means that i can never have perfect squat form without going to max. And i cant go max without a proper set up and fix them without a proper coach :/
Depends on the squat. A high bar, olympic style squat is not going to benefit at all from a lower head position. Looking down will probably make your chest drop and your hips shoot up on the way out of the hole. Which is bad. A low bar squat, you can get away with it, but it really isn't beneficial. I look slightly up with my squat (I squat high bar, olympic, very upright). I know plenty of other people that look straight forward. Most high level Olympic lifters squat looking slightly up or straight forward. If I was going to look to anyone who essentially squats for a living, every single day (though it isn't a contested lift, its the most common assitance exercise), I would look to them. Or look at powerlifters, who look either up or forward. Usually forward, but their body position is angled lower, so looking up would be difficult on the neck.
just a small note here: looking down ≠ looking straight down, just like looking up ≠ looking straight up. what rippetoe recommends is keeping the natural alignment of the spine, which in a low-bar spine means that your gaze would be at about 45º downwards (if you're paranoid about looking down, just look up with your eyes). looking down will make your back round because it is by definition a rounding of the back: it is spinal flexion at the cervical level. it is not even CLOSE to being the same as keeping your natural spinal alignment and bending at the hip joints, changing the angle of your entire torso, head included.
