Started SL 5x5 1 month ago, please check my form and don't laugh

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vadimknobel
vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I filmed myself warming up for squats, doing squats, warming for deadlifts and doing deadlifts.

I never filmed myself before.

I think I'm going too fast, not squatting deep enough, and not straightening up all the way on deadlifts. Can you please watch and confirm / critique.

Take it gentle on me, I have a thin skin, but at the same time don't be afraid to give me pointers. Thanks.


https://youtu.be/J9hCTJ3DKyI
https://youtu.be/8yjaj8YgoN4
https://youtu.be/IbbCnRacy40
https://youtu.be/GapAC6-hfT4
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Replies

  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    edited September 2015
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    I'm no expert, but I can see that for the squat, you need to go lower and it looks like you are rounding your back. Everything else is hard to see at that angle. For the deadlift, it looks like the weights are starting over your toes instead of mid foot, and you are rounding your back really bad. I would stop both and work on form with lighter weights.

    This is a good guide for how to do a squat - http://stronglifts.com/squat/

    I tried to find the deadlift form videos that I saw the other day that were really informative, but I can't find them right now.

    Hopefully someone can come along and post more useful information.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    the squats were fine-ish. not sure why your squat stands are set so low that. as for the DL....you got your back into a flat position before you began your lift. and then you immediately rounded it for the start of the first pull and then every pull after that
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    So on your squat, your feet rotate in as you push up. That's usually an indication that your knees are moving inward on the ascension. Feet should stay flat on the floor through the entire movement and knees shouldn't come inward.

    You're rounding your back on your deadlifts. Pull your shoulders back and push your chest out. That will help flatten out your back.

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  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Get another rack so you don't rack your back.

    The squats look as though you aren't getting full range of motion. It looks like you are hunched over when you come back up. Set your rack higher to prevent injuries and help your form. Do you gotta get somewhere? Maybe go slower and be more deliberate in your squats.

    The deadlifts look like form is off. Maybe try keeping chest up and scapular region tight as you push the floor with your heels. Try to lift in unison--(butt down) legs straightening along with hip hinge. Tighten glutes at end of movement.
  • ShellyBell999
    ShellyBell999 Posts: 1,482 Member
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    Looks to me like you're a bit hunched over on the squats.
    You are also using the balls of your feet rather than your heels and hamstrings to push/stand back up.
    What everyone else said about the DL.
    And seriously, get a taller rack.
  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    thanks for the advice so far, the rack is adjustible but it's a pain to adjust so I just keep it in bench press position.

    I'm gonna slow down and mind my form more on my next workout. I'm gonna film it again to see what I'm doing wrong.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,404 Member
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    This might help:
    http://youtu.be/jEy_czb3RKA
  • Qskim
    Qskim Posts: 1,145 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    the squats were fine-ish. not sure why your squat stands are set so low that. as for the DL....you got your back into a flat position before you began your lift. and then you immediately rounded it for the start of the first pull and then every pull after that

    Would you say de-load on the deads until he got it right?
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    mrsbaldee wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    the squats were fine-ish. not sure why your squat stands are set so low that. as for the DL....you got your back into a flat position before you began your lift. and then you immediately rounded it for the start of the first pull and then every pull after that

    Would you say de-load on the deads until he got it right?

    He's doing stronglifts, which is all about progressively adding weight to the bar after you've completely all your sets correctly. Correctly means that he can't just get the weight up, but that he has to be able to do it with proper form. In other words, as long as he's doing what he's currently doing, he can't add weight to the bar. That's assuming that he actually wants to do SL5x5 and not mutated version of it that he invented "for the challenge" or whatever he said in his previous thread about it.

    Anyway, there's a chance he can do them right at this weight if he follows the advice given to him by others in this thread. He's demonstrated that he can get into position, and it may be lack of concentration or not being aware of body position that has him discarding proper form as he starts to pull. That's my roundabout way of saying that just lowering the weight doesn't improve the form. I suspect the main issue is lack of body position awareness so he may well round his back with an empty bar too. You build that awareness by doing rep after rep after rep until you can feel the difference.

    So yes, his best course of action would be to lower the weight and do SL5x5 the way it's intended, with a LOT of reps at a reasonably low weight so he can have your form locked in by the time it gets challenging **which should NOT be week 2**
  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    God my deadlifts are embarassing, next workout I'm gonna lower the weight way down and work my *kitten* off on form
  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    rileyes wrote: »
    This might help:
    http://youtu.be/jEy_czb3RKA

    that video is great I'm totally gonna try to imitate that, and work on not rounding my back by using my hammies
  • Walter__
    Walter__ Posts: 518 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    the squats were fine-ish. not sure why your squat stands are set so low that. as for the DL....you got your back into a flat position before you began your lift. and then you immediately rounded it for the start of the first pull and then every pull after that

    Neither his squats or deadlift were fine. His feet are collapsing on the squat, and he never finds a flat back for his deadlift even from the very beginning.



    Op,

    Squat: your feet are pronating (rolling in) and your knees are caving in. Try pushing your knees out.

    Or if pictures help: what-your-knees-should-not-be-doing-during-a-squat1.png

    You're on the right, but if you push out your knees you should end up looking like the guy is on the left.

    Deadlift: First and foremost - your priority, in order to stay safe, is maintaining a neutral spine.

    Right now, you're pretty much just rounding your back to pick up the weight. Your back is in a bad position from the very beginning. You start bad and end worse. In your 255 vid, I did notice you at least tried to get into a neutral at the bottom. But you don't know what that feels like so you never find it.

    The easiest way to be in and stay in a neutral spine position is to start that way from the very beginning. You want to start establishing a load order so that you're consistently setting up for the lift the proper way. This is a very good video on the subject:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-DJu0bEVPw


    You don't have to do things exactly in that order, but that's definitely a good guideline. It also covers the mobility requirements you should aim for (4:00 mark).

  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    walterc7 wrote: »
    DavPul wrote: »
    the squats were fine-ish. not sure why your squat stands are set so low that. as for the DL....you got your back into a flat position before you began your lift. and then you immediately rounded it for the start of the first pull and then every pull after that

    Neither his squats or deadlift were fine. His feet are collapsing on the squat, and he never finds a flat back for his deadlift even from the very beginning.


    fair enough. i never noticed his feet in the squat until Niner pointed it out. i was wrong
  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    Hey guys thanks for your input. Today I did the B workout in SL 5x5. I focused on my squat form. I tried to go slower, go lower, and not evert/externally rotate my feet (push my knees out). I don't think I succeeded completely. I noticed that I tend to shift the center of mass on my feet in order to keep balanced in such a way that I put too much pressure on the balls of my feet and the instep.

    I also did bench presses with lowish weights and rows. I find in bench presses my biggest challenge is to synch my arms to avoid tilting the bar. In rows I think I might be rounding my back and not sure if my elbows are in proper position. Please watch below and critique.


    https://youtu.be/gZ0WKkW7rN0

    https://youtu.be/X1jgKxepTf0

    https://youtu.be/ynbiRqwnkXs


    https://youtu.be/F9idVS60m4k


  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    And this is why some exercises have a learning curve, preferably with a trainer. Maybe try a gym for a while? It is not a matter of strength but I suspect you will end up hurt because of bad form sooner or later.
  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    And this is why some exercises have a learning curve, preferably with a trainer. Maybe try a gym for a while? It is not a matter of strength but I suspect you will end up hurt because of bad form sooner or later.

    thanks for your input, anything specific that stands out in terms of correcting the form?
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    vadimknobel wrote: »
    aggelikik wrote: »
    And this is why some exercises have a learning curve, preferably with a trainer. Maybe try a gym for a while? It is not a matter of strength but I suspect you will end up hurt because of bad form sooner or later.

    thanks for your input, anything specific that stands out in terms of correcting the form?

    I am no expert, but
    1) I would go back to body weight squats and correct the feet/knees. This is an accident waiting to happen, sorry. Forget squatting low, you do not have stability
    2) Deadlifts, I do not know if I would call them deadlifts, you cannot deadlift with a rounded back. And it is not you lose strenght as you go, form is not good at any point. You cannot properly deadlift and look at yourself in a mirror, but perhaps in this case it would help. Find a mirror, turn your side to it, grab a broomstick instead of the bar and keep repeating the motion until you start feeling and seeing what a flat back feels like
    3) Rows, you are not bending forward. You are bending so little, they do not look like rows.
    4) Bench press, I cannot judge from this angle, but there looks like something funny is going with your grip.
  • rileyes
    rileyes Posts: 1,404 Member
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    My husband sucks at breathing technique. I tell him to pretend he is going under water so he fills his lungs before going down into a squat. Then I tell him to breathe out when he is back up. That is supposed to help brace your core. I can't really tell your breathing patterns but wanted to pass that on just in case.

    Your squats look much better and more deliberate. I wonder if you set the camera back a bit and more of a profile view (I angle the camera to a wall mirror so I get profile and front or 3/4 view of my lifts).

    Someone else posted this and it really helped my bench press form:
    http://youtu.be/34XRmd3a8_0

    On the row I would bend more at the hips and thrust the elbows to the ceiling so the bar just touches your gut. I'm still learning that one so that's all I got.

    Did you get the free Strong Lifts 5x5 app? There is a section where he demonstrates each lift. Also Starting Strength is a detailed book on each lift.

    If you keep the weight low and keep filming yourself and correcting form you can do it without a trainer. Just don't take any shortcuts and maintain focus with every lift.

  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    rileyes wrote: »
    My husband sucks at breathing technique. I tell him to pretend he is going under water so he fills his lungs before going down into a squat. Then I tell him to breathe out when he is back up. That is supposed to help brace your core. I can't really tell your breathing patterns but wanted to pass that on just in case.

    Your squats look much better and more deliberate. I wonder if you set the camera back a bit and more of a profile view (I angle the camera to a wall mirror so I get profile and front or 3/4 view of my lifts).

    Someone else posted this and it really helped my bench press form:
    http://youtu.be/34XRmd3a8_0

    On the row I would bend more at the hips and thrust the elbows to the ceiling so the bar just touches your gut. I'm still learning that one so that's all I got.

    Did you get the free Strong Lifts 5x5 app? There is a section where he demonstrates each lift. Also Starting Strength is a detailed book on each lift.

    If you keep the weight low and keep filming yourself and correcting form you can do it without a trainer. Just don't take any shortcuts and maintain focus with every lift.

    ok thanks will try
  • vadimknobel
    vadimknobel Posts: 165 Member
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    aggelikik wrote: »
    vadimknobel wrote: »
    aggelikik wrote: »
    And this is why some exercises have a learning curve, preferably with a trainer. Maybe try a gym for a while? It is not a matter of strength but I suspect you will end up hurt because of bad form sooner or later.

    thanks for your input, anything specific that stands out in terms of correcting the form?

    I am no expert, but
    1) I would go back to body weight squats and correct the feet/knees. This is an accident waiting to happen, sorry. Forget squatting low, you do not have stability
    2) Deadlifts, I do not know if I would call them deadlifts, you cannot deadlift with a rounded back. And it is not you lose strenght as you go, form is not good at any point. You cannot properly deadlift and look at yourself in a mirror, but perhaps in this case it would help. Find a mirror, turn your side to it, grab a broomstick instead of the bar and keep repeating the motion until you start feeling and seeing what a flat back feels like
    3) Rows, you are not bending forward. You are bending so little, they do not look like rows.
    4) Bench press, I cannot judge from this angle, but there looks like something funny is going with your grip.

    I was doing bodyweight squats before, in large volumes, like 5x20, but proper form was always challenging.

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