Fixing the Squat Grip - Starting Strength Seminar 

The coaching displayed here is the best I've ever seen.

Tried narrowing my grip after watching this and it honestly made a huuuge difference. I'ts uncomfortable at first, but you stretch out pretty quick.

I wish I was that flexible. I fight this every set

Love the emphasis on the tightness, way to often forgotten by many lifters!

The squat is such a nuanced exercise and this video is just a testiment to that. This video is fucking gold!

See you guys in the SD seminar!

Love this video! Just starting to do low bar squats and having trouble keeping the bar from "falling:" Not sure if I have enough shoulder flexibility

Say what you want about rip but the man is amazing at teaching

My shoulders and rotary cuff hurt with a close grip even with stretching and warm up exercise for rotary cuff

If your arms are kinda long and lanky and with a close grip you find the bar either rolling up or your thumb is in the air, then slip get a wider grip, keeping the back at the same tightness as you would in a closer grip. This works for me, hope it would help someone. The key is to keep the bar placed on the "shelf" of your back and the hands just hold it in place.

The vid i needed.. really struggle to get hands closer to shoulder with.. any stretches that would help with shoulder mobility or best to just go finger by finger in.. rinse and repeat? Great info.

@startingstrength, what would you recommend for biceps tendinitis with squatting?

how come I couldn't find this video sooner? Wasted a lot of time trying to figure out what to do this video simplifed it in a few minutes.

Okay, so elbows slightly further back than in line with the body. My queue for this is I lower my elbows until I feel my mid-traps press against the bar.

i get it. elbows down. shoulders back to form the shelf for the bar at or just below the spine of the scapula ? correct? What if you lack shoulder mobility and have severe impingenment due to injury and surgery and cant get in the position for the low bar placement? Can you still low bar squat?

I'm a bit confused about shoulder extension. Seems that in this other video there is a bit shoulder extension in order to keep the bar? I mean, seems the cue has chamged from elbows up to elbows down? Thanks man! Appreciate all your help and knowledge. Greetings from Spain!

when I dive, I just exhale and bring my scapula together as much as possible. not the greatest shoulder mobility but working on that too. right bicep feels kinda overstretched on the outside after a heavy session... will try to ask someone to take a picture from behind me for reference I guess

I've watch a video where it's said that elbows should be up but I don't remember if it was an older or a newer version. Is it elbow down or up?

"Elbows stay down, elbows stay down" Mark says here. 3rd edition of the blue book says elbows go up to lock the bar onto the shelf. Two entirely opposite instructions.

Great examples of tactile cueing! (but a little intense for those of us w/ personal space hang-ups)

I can not find the right spot on my back for a low-bar squat to save my ass! It always feels like the bar is going to slide down my back. A little higher up and then it's sitting on the bone of the spine of the scapula. I even have a bruise now on my left shoulder on the spine of the scapula. In the end, I always have to resort to doing high-bar squats to get my sets in. Also, squatting is murder on my shoulders and it even hurts my elbows some too.

I ended up just switching to high bar. Low bar fucked with my elbows and shoulders (and hips) way too much. It always hurt. It never felt right. And I gave it a good try; over a year. I tried all sorts of corrective exercises, stretches, Lacrosse ball rolling, etc. High bar fixed all that shit for me, feels much more natural, and lets me just focus on the squat, rather than the pain and discomfort.

I dont have the flexibility to hold a elbows down, my grip is wider and Im forces to use high squat

What is the cause of excessive wrist extension and in the hands holds the bar? I also know that there is no way I can get my grip in that close with elbows down.

Can someone please tell me if this is the low bar squat or the high bar squat?

How come when I tried this my elbows hurt so bad I couldn't finish my other sets? Also the bar was rolling up and down my back with every rep. I usually grip the bar wider and raise my elbows and it feels way better

The change from elbows up, to elbows down makes me wonder how many shoulders they've blown out. Edit: I have been experiencing some pain in my left shoulder after squating with the elbows up technique mentioned in the AoM, and the video posted in 2012 on this channel.

Ok, so that "elbows down" is a change from previous instruction, ie. video 12/21/12.

In a previous video a year or so ago Rip explained to push the elbows back in order to tighten the back and make a strong shelf. Now I’m a little confused. Gonna try this out next workout.

I'm struggling with my flexibility 😞

4:04 "Ok Daddy"

I have a tough time keeping my elbows in the right position. They tend to float around too much, even as I try to keep them in place. I often will end up having one elbow in a rather different position than the other. Something I badly need to work on.

Damn those hands are close

Who is the man in the Rogue t-shirt?

what happened to "elbows up"

In this video: 1:54 "elbows down" ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g2tyOLvArw0.html 7:35 "elbows up" So which one is it mark?

Byess...it does.

I've been using shoulder extension... I feel ashamed.

Fuck man, why do I remember Starting Strength teaching elbows up? Been doing it wrong for a while.

If I take a week off or drink too much the close grip is awful. But if I don't use it my elbows hurt. The solution is don't drink too much and don't take a week off.

SOS! Please help. I live in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 without access to starting strength experts in person so I’m piecing this altogether from videos and that’s it because it’s mostly bro-science and amateur PTs over here. Starting strength has got me way stronger than I thought possible but I’ve hit some roadblocks: My elbows (particularly the right) are excruciatingly sore in the low bar position no matter how much I try to force my shoulders to externally rotate. I’ve exercised all my life but just can’t get the bar on there without throbbing pain in my tendons that stays with me all week. The last time I tried this program I had to stop and go back to high bar squatting. The only way I can sit the bar on the spine of my scapula is by extending my upper arms out behind me, and have my hands out wide. Again, with lots and lots of pain (worse each week). I’ve tried band dislocations, I’ve tried warming up my scapula, retracting it as hard to the point I’m blue in the face but this pain is inevitably leading to injury. Should I just not do this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance. Is it possible to do this stuff without a coach or am I just gonna injure myself?

I've had no issues with this style until recently when I started doing the smolov. Everything is working great except my dam forearms hurt like crazy. On my last base week got day 3 and 4. After which I get a little break so I'm hoping it's because of over abuse (cause I've been squatting for about year and a half 3 times aweek). But this program has me squatting at 70%-85% for 30+ reps, so it's probably me getting fatigued and breaking my form especially on day 3.

Ah. The narrower grip makes the shoulder blades do the right "shelf".

My elbows hurt watching this

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHD grip

So what are you supposed to do when you build up your upper back to the point that you can't grip over the bar anymore? I want to see what happens when someone's anatomy doesn't allow them to grip narrowly, what do you suggest then?

I would like to see a discussion between Rip 2012 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-g2tyOLvArw0.htmlm34s and Rip 2018.

I only do high bar squats and the only thing grip matters for is to make sure Im in the middle of the bar. I don't see why squat grip is complicated.

Why do they all keep the thumb over the bar, anybody knows? I've always gripped the bar fully

So are the elbows supposed to be down or up? 😣

What I’ve come to learn and completely disagree with Rip on is having the grip that close. It gave me bicep tendonitis. Once I widened it (Index finger on ring of the bar) the pain went completely away and I can still keep my back tight

Ah, the LP of neutral wrist when squatting.

anyone else completely ruin their shoulders and elbows (and biceps) doing these squats? i've tried many different techniques and can't avoid extreme joint pain from squatting.

Can't believe I just saw a "V Shred" ad on a Starting Strength video. Google, your algorithms are fucked. 😂

0:21 'ooo lemme get a look at this.. I'm sure she won't mind'

Woo hoo....I've been squatting wrong for like 10 months... Feels depressing as all shit to drop the weight and start again with just the bar. But it's better late then never, I'd rather do that than injure myself. And maybe I'll soon stop making a dick of myself at the gym. My naughty wrists though... Really like this trainer ☆☆☆

I wish I could squat with Rip right behind me putting his hands on mine

I thought Rip always coached to keep the elbows up?

Oh fuck that’s what I was doing wrong

Ripetoe knows what he's doing I'm sure of it😏

What about us inflexible pieces of shit that have to grip at the sleeves?

My pinkies go in the ring and I've never had an issue.

Very strange. In earlier videos he says elbows up to build tension and support the bar, in this video he says elbows down... Very hard to follow advice this way.

Watching this video only know. Mark is a sifu.

You are not pulling elbows down if you have larger traps/and or Lats, the Pain is unbearable, wake up feel the damage

How can something that feels so completely unnatural be correct?!?!?!

I tried this its horrible pain hahaha

"You keep it up with tight" Mark Rippetoe

Teaching not for weightlifting