[Azure]

I'm pretty newbie with weight lifting. I've been listening to a PodCast called "The FitCast" for about nine months now and it has inspired me to lift/do HIIT three days a week. I bought a program called Turbulence Training several months ago, which I was doing at home and they were HARD workouts--involving supersets. It includes photos of the movements so you know what you're doing. I've never been sure about my form, though, and I didn't stick to that program for long.

I'm back at college, living on campus, so I have access to the gym again. Tonight, I sucked up the courage to ask the handsome, buff guy at the desk if he knew anything about the weight stations. Turns out he's one of the three people hired as strength/conditioning coaches for my University, he designs the programs for the University athletes. I said I wanted to learn to squat with a bar, and he said he'd show me. Well, first we worked on squatting without a bar, and it turns out that I had squats ALL wrong. It was grueling work just trying to get my posture right.

I'm still sketchy about it, but he gave me the basics and I'm going to practice at home. I'm just so proud of myself for venturing into the "guy's" side of the gym--where there are heavy free weights I can use--to learn how to start squatting. When I've learned how to squat properly, I'll ask that guy (I can't remember his name!) to help me learn weighted squats with a bar. I'm so excited to be learning how to lift for real.

Just thought this would be a good place to be excited about that!

[Mel]

This is GREAT place to get excited about that. Congratulations on making the first move to the "real" side of the gym

Learning good form is paramount in squatting or virtually any other free weight exercise. Kudos to the trainer for teaching you FORM first without the bar.
If you aren't used to it, just body weight squats in perfect form are a good workout in themselves!

Mel

[Azure]

Mel-- For sure! Just trying to get my form right for about ten minutes had me sweating! It's really hard for me to get my thighs parallel to the floor while keeping my kneels above my ankles and keeping my back straight...I think my muscles there must just be really weak. I'm going to keep practicing, though!

My next trip to the gym for weights, if that guy's there, I'm going to ask about the right form for upper body free weight exercises. I have an idea, but I want to make sure I'm doing it right! I'm going to attempt to go again on Friday to do the weights

Good to be here and and the better side of the gym!

[Depalma]

Welcome Azure!

You picked a great exercise to build your program around. I'm a big fan of squats and all its variations too!

While no instructional videos can replace the one-on-one instruction that the trainer at your gym is providing, here are a few things that you can use as home to help you as you work to develop your form.

The first is a video by Dan John. The first part is applicable to you. It really focuses on learning to squat properly before using a bar. Being a fan of the fitcast, you are probably familiar with this one.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...81301858251744

The second is a link to the exellent Squat Rx series on you tube. Most of this is more advanced than what you need to be concerned with right now, but #1 does show an excellent drill for learning to keep the back flat at the bottom of the lift.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...3D688F10C4DE1F

Right now, struggling with your form is probably not so much an issue of the muscles not being strong enough. It's probably a combination of needing to regain some flexibility and relearning movement patterns. After all, we are natural born squatters. Watch a baby that just started walking who goes to pick up something off the floor. They almost always go down in a perfect DEEP squat. Make sure to do some post-exercise stretching and do some mobility drills as part of your warm up. For squatting, you particularly want to focus on ankle and hip mobility.