Candid Camera

I see increasing numbers of people at the gym using their phones to make videos of themselves. I assume that the vast majority of the people that make these videos intend to post them to social media as proof they showed up.  

Today, the guy in the squat rack next to me unpacked a floor-standing tripod to video himself. Between the placement of the tripod right in the walkway between pieces of equipment, and the rest of us showing basic courtesy to not walk in front of his phone while filming, the guy made himself into a significant nuisance. In the end, his form was terrible, so I hope the video was not for sharing but rather for learning.

In any event, if I were videoing myself for squats, here’s what I’d look for:

• Are my knees traveling out as I descend, and do I blast out of the bottom by pushing out with my knees to activate my glutes?
• Does my squat depth make sense for what I’m trying to accomplish?
• What does my back angle look like? Does the bar stay over my midfoot in a vertical line for the entire rep?
• What is my head and neck doing? Am I looking straight ahead/at a spot on the floor, or am I craning my neck up during the concentric part of the movement?

I’d note that nowadays with almost everyone bringing their phones onto the gym floor, certain folks seem confused about where to put their phones during sets. Yesterday the guy next to me rested his phone in an empty slot on the dumbbell rack. Right where my 70 lbs dumbbells came from—and right where they were going back to.

 Crunch.