I've struggled with squats quite a bit. I realize they are an important lift but I feel I just have not been able to perfect them. I've watched the Dan John video over and over. I've practiced the goblet squat and the third world squat. I seem to be able to do these things fairly well without the barbell on my back but as soon as I start using some weight my form seems to go all to hell.

I feel myself leaning forward and putting more weight on the front of my feet instead of through the heal of my foot. If I try to maintain form I feel as if I'm going to fall backwards.

I've been doing them barefoot as of late as well as with a 12" box under my butt. I make sure my butt touches the box. I think my knees go too far forward and my shins do not stay very vertical. I seem to have to bend at the waist too much in order to maintain my balance. Then, when driving up through the squat.. it's not my legs that give out it's my back that has trouble keeping up.

I'm trying to do my squats like John Cena in the following youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tI_Jq8eM4U

Seriously good form!

I don't know what it is. Flexibility?

-E

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

Read part 4 of the Squat breakdown. It might be able to shed some light.

Flexibility is probably my problem I just don't know if it's the hammies though. It would seem that I would feel my hamstrings stretching or tightening through the movement.

I'm not arguing I'm just trying to make sense of it.

I carry a fair amount of weight on my stomach. I think it could be getting in the way but also seems like it would help offset the barbell weight on the back.

I'm going to try and get some video of my squat and dead lift.

My formula for sqats is to feel the force from my back all the way down to my legs. I concentrate on standing erect, and try to be as straight up as possible (like a stand at attention), look forward and pretend that I'm blasting into space with my eyes looking up.

Does this make sense?

Take a look at this exercise. It helped me to improve both squats and stiff leg dead lifts. It looks weird doing that in a gym, but it loosens you up for deeper moves.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sXUOP11WKp4

I'm in the same boat. Actually my boat is half under water. I've recently come to the sad conclusion that I'm incredibly inflexible. It has rendered any attempt I make a squatting a complete failure. My hips, hammies and calves are all tight.

I can't keep my heels down and I bend over way too far. If I try to widen my stance to keep my heels down, I end up stressing something in my hips. When I try to get into the unweighted Starting Strength squat or a third world squat form I tip backwards...quickly.

So lately I'm making the effort to stretch all these parts daily...sometimes twice. In a week or so I've already noticed some improvement.

I'm gonna do good squats someday if it kills me.

You say its not a problem until you start putting weight on that your form goes down the tubes right? I recently got a buddy of mine started lifting and he hadn't lifted in years so when he started doing deadlift, his lower back was so weak that just plates were difficult for him to pull with proper form. You may feel like you can do whatever weight it is that you're loading up, but try to cut that in half and do 5 sets of 20 or some other higher rep routine to condition your back and promote the mobility in your legs. Its just like anything else, you probably just need to practice. You can equate this idea to football 2-a-days. You spend 2 weeks of hard conditioning to get your body ready to hit, but if you just went all out balls to the wall and started hitting on day one, you'd certainly sustain an injury.