Review of squat form for competition please

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Lazarus52980

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Sep 14, 2010
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Since there seems to be some people here who have done powerlifting competitions before, could I please ask for a look at this video (its only 9 seconds) and tell me if his form is adequate for a competition?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AA-EpHptvHM&feature=youtu.be

If it's good, I am really excited for him to compete this July in Iowa. :)

IF it makes any difference, it will be an AAU event, competing in the 66 lbs. weight class in the 8-9 year old youth division.

 
surfsatwerk

surfsatwerk

Lifer
Mar 6, 2008
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Plenty of depth imo, he just has to break parallel in most feds. The most important thing that got me in my first meet was the commands. Make sure your kid knows if there is a "start" and "rack" command and waits for them so he doesn't get red light for an otherwise legit lift.

Edit: Noticed you said it is an AAU meet. They do have those commands I mentioned previously. Bench press is a pita because your head has to on the bench and heels on the floor. It's an adjustment if your kid isn't training with those things in mind.
 
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z1ggy

z1ggy

Lifer
May 17, 2008
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Doesn't he have a coach that could tell him if his form is right? Or is this another indirect brag thread...
 
Koing

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
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Lazarus52980, depth is legit but yeah watch out for the commands that he will need to get use to.

Take it easy and let him enjoy himself :)

Koing
 
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Lazarus52980

Senior member
Sep 14, 2010
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z1ggy said:
Doesn't he have a coach that could tell him if his form is right? Or is this another indirect brag thread...
Click to expand...

Not intended to be a brag thread. I am his only coach/trainer, but that does not mean I know much of anything... I want to be as sure as we can be before we go.
 
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Lazarus52980

Senior member
Sep 14, 2010
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Koing said:
Lazarus52980, depth is legit but yeah watch out for the commands that he will need to get use to.

Take it easy and let him enjoy himself :)

Koing
Click to expand...

yes, good advice. I only watched the videos yesterday to learn the commands myself. We will have to drill them for the next few months.

Is there any rhyme or reason to the timing of them by the judges? Does he have to stand perfectly still with the bar before being allowed to squat? For how long? Once he has completed the lift, what are the judges looking for before they let him rack the weight?
 
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Pantlegz

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2007
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Lazarus52980 said:
yes, good advice. I only watched the videos yesterday to learn the commands myself. We will have to drill them for the next few months.

Is there any rhyme or reason to the timing of them by the judges? Does he have to stand perfectly still with the bar before being allowed to squat? For how long? Once he has completed the lift, what are the judges looking for before they let him rack the weight?
Click to expand...

Typically the commands are given pretty quick. In my experience as soon as you're set for the squat they just say lift after the squat there is a second or 2 before they give the rack command. For me it felt very natural. Similar with bench, aside from waiting for the press command at the bottom after the weight has some to a stop once it's stopped at the top there is a brief pause, just a couple seconds again, before the rack command. Deadlift is simple I don't remember a command to lower the weight. I've only competed a couple times so I'm sure there are others with more experience.
 
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Lazarus52980

Senior member
Sep 14, 2010
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surfsatwerk said:
Noticed you said it is an AAU meet. They do have those commands I mentioned previously. Bench press is a pita because your head has to on the bench and heels on the floor. It's an adjustment if your kid isn't training with those things in mind.
Click to expand...

I assume that he will be allowed to have a pile of weights or something like that to have his feet on? He's only 8, and his feet do not touch the ground when he lays on the bench (we normally bench with his feet up on the bench)
 
surfsatwerk

surfsatwerk

Lifer
Mar 6, 2008
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Lazarus52980 said:
I assume that he will be allowed to have a pile of weights or something like that to have his feet on? He's only 8, and his feet do not touch the ground when he lays on the bench (we normally bench with his feet up on the bench)
Click to expand...

I believe so.
 
SP33Demon

SP33Demon

Lifer
Jun 22, 2001
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How close are his hands? I can't tell from the video, but it appears his elbows might be flaring out due to his hands being too close together. Just double check that he has a comfy wide grip that's wide enough.

Overall looks pretty good. If you're worried about having his feet on weights, may want to look into getting him 3/4" Olympic shoes to stabilize his base. I'm not sure they're allowed to stand on them for AAU, you should email an AAU judge and check.
 
z1ggy

z1ggy

Lifer
May 17, 2008
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Lazarus52980 said:
Not intended to be a brag thread. I am his only coach/trainer, but that does not mean I know much of anything... I want to be as sure as we can be before we go.
Click to expand...

Not sure if it's available around you but when I power lifted, I had a coach. Local gym, all they did was power lift. He was (obviously) way more knowledgeable than my dad.
 
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Lazarus52980

Senior member
Sep 14, 2010
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z1ggy said:
Not sure if it's available around you but when I power lifted, I had a coach. Local gym, all they did was power lift. He was (obviously) way more knowledgeable than my dad.
Click to expand...

My sons lifting was sort of a gradual evolution. It started with him asking if he could lift too after watching me, and it built up as I started enjoying the time we spend working on it (even if I did a lot of STUPID things learning how to coach him), and he started to get a lot better at it; Far better than I ever thought he could. We had not intended to do anything but prep for football, but since this event is only a few hour drive from us, we thought it would be fun.

More to the point, I do not know of any gyms in my area that would even consider taking a child as young as Timmy, and even if they did, the lifting is something he and I do together. Even if we fail every lift at the UAA event and never go to another one, it's a father/son bonding thing that I would not even consider letting someone else do with him.

Also, in the interest of stating the full truth, part of me wants him to go because the current AAU record in his weight/age class for squat is 105 lbs. The lift in this thread is 110 lbs.. Being able to set a record like that would be great fun for both of us. :)
 
pauldun170

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
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I don't like the butt tuck he is doing at the bottom. Take a break from worrying about "ass to floor" and deal with that tuck. Bad form and potentially dangerous in the long run.
Try the tape method so he knows where to bottom out and use proper techniques to help him get rid of it and maintain form throughout the motion.
 
surfsatwerk

surfsatwerk

Lifer
Mar 6, 2008
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5
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pauldun170 said:
I don't like the butt tuck he is doing at the bottom. Take a break from worrying about "ass to floor" and deal with that tuck. Bad form and potentially dangerous in the long run.
Try the tape method so he knows where to bottom out and use proper techniques to help him get rid of it and maintain form throughout the motion.
Click to expand...

http://70sbig.com/blog/2010/10/the-butt-wink/

Hopefully after learning some of the anatomy and conceptual lessons here you have a better understanding of why the &#8220;butt wink&#8221; is horse shit. In general, trainees should shove their knees out when squatting and this will allow proper depth. ... Properly coached squats don&#8217;t really have &#8220;butt winks&#8221;, and if they do, I think it can be explained by their anatomy (and they aren&#8217;t a big deal anyway).
Click to expand...

From my own experience I train with a guy who squats well over 500lbs who displays the dreaded "buttwink". The guy is 38, so if he was going to have injuries from it I'm sure they would have happened by now.
 
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pauldun170

pauldun170

Diamond Member
Sep 26, 2011
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surfsatwerk said:
http://70sbig.com/blog/2010/10/the-butt-wink/



From my own experience I train with a guy who squats well over 500lbs who displays the dreaded "buttwink". The guy is 38, so if he was going to have injuries from it I'm sure they would have happened by now.
Click to expand...

I recommend the OP do some research and make his own decision on whether to follow your advice or mine.

When I was 38, I could get away with a lot of crap.To counter your link (though I recomend OP search google on his own)
http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles...quat-defining-characteristic-human-existence/
 
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S

smackababy

Lifer
Oct 30, 2008
27,024
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surfsatwerk said:
The guy is 38, so if he was going to have injuries from it I'm sure they would have happened by now.
Click to expand...

I drive drunk every night, and have yet to crash or kill anyone and am 38. If it was really that dangerous, surely I would have crashed by now. Just saying...
 
surfsatwerk

surfsatwerk

Lifer
Mar 6, 2008
10,110
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