Form critique thread, post your videos here.
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smittybuilt19 wrote: »I appreciate the feedback Dope! I am finally getting comfortable squatting. I don't dread squat day anymore haha.
You and me both. And I've actually been making gains. Amazing!
Just kidding, I still dread squat day. Just not as much.0 -
Working on staying more upright without squat shoes or a belt. Any comments, other than the terrible video quality (sorry)?
http://youtu.be/HzPL7HojuF8 0 -
Now I need to post form videos so I can get a sweet-*kitten* video reply. Also, needs more Sara cameos.
Yeah, I'll try to get Sara to appear a few times before she leaves in a couple of days. We shall see though.
Don't know if I'll stick to video replies or not but it's easier to express myself that way and it also gets me comfortable making videos so that's a plus for me
Here, your squat's much better than mine (despite my DL being much stronger, oddly enough). Maybe you can pick out something to improve on. Any glaring (or minor) problems to note?
(~90% of 1RM, but only rear shot that I have, this is after a full workout which is probably why it looks so hard)
(very near 1RM)
(very near 5RM)
Bonus points if you imitate Sara's accent.
This is not the sweet video reply from someone knowledgeable like you were hoping for. Just some comments from a brother in iron who can't lift as much as you.
1) It looks like you're leaning too far forward. This is something I'm working on myself. This will make your squat pretty inefficient depending on the degree, but in your case it is mild. There are multiple potential causes for this, but in my case, it results from core weakness and faulty cues. I do heavy cable crunches, weighted hyperextensions, and beltless squats and deadlifts to improve this. With your equipment, I would substitute good mornings for hyperextensions, and weighted crunches for cable crunches.
2) It also seems like you are somehow off balance and almost fall forward during some of the reps. Your butt also shot up in one of the reps. Remain tight. You also might benefit from some additional training frequency, more first reps, that kind of thing, so that the pattern becomes ingrained.
3) Your depth is consistently very clearly below parallel, which means you are moving less weight than you are really capable of in a 1RM scenario. Well, I should qualify that with "depending on the fed." For some you have to sit on the ground, LOL.
4) A big gulp of air should go for the ride along with the barbell. Breath only at the top. I tend to not follow my own advice on this one, for heavy singles at least.
Your squats look good and it was hard to find anything worth mentioning, so all these points are very minor.
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whodidntante wrote: »Working on staying more upright without squat shoes or a belt. Any comments, other than the terrible video quality (sorry)?http://youtu.be/HzPL7HojuF8
Not bad...for a sweet half squat, brah.0 -
whodidntante wrote: »Working on staying more upright without squat shoes or a belt. Any comments, other than the terrible video quality (sorry)?http://youtu.be/HzPL7HojuF8
Not bad...for a sweet half squat, brah.
It was the last squat rep of the day, I had some creatine in my eye, I was training fasted, I lost an hour of sleep due to the time change, I felt rushed because the gym was closing soon, and I was distracted by news of the Arnold. I couldn't possibly hit depth under those conditions. LOL.
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whodidntante wrote: »Working on staying more upright without squat shoes or a belt. Any comments, other than the terrible video quality (sorry)?http://youtu.be/HzPL7HojuF8
Those safety bars are too high. If you were hitting full depth (hip crease BELOW knee height) I think you'd be catching them, or very near. Otherwise looks OK.
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whodidntante wrote: »whodidntante wrote: »Working on staying more upright without squat shoes or a belt. Any comments, other than the terrible video quality (sorry)?http://youtu.be/HzPL7HojuF8
Not bad...for a sweet half squat, brah.
It was the last squat rep of the day, I had some creatine in my eye, I was training fasted, I lost an hour of sleep due to the time change, I felt rushed because the gym was closing soon, and I was distracted by news of the Arnold. I couldn't possibly hit depth under those conditions. LOL.
All jokes aside, other than that you look excellent.
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Hi all. I am having some problems progressing in my deadlifts. I have been doing SL 5x5 for 4 months. I have been slowly progressing in all of my lifts except DL. Current weights for Squat - 110 lbs, bench, 65 lbs, OHP, 51 lbs, row, 85 lbs. For some reason though I can't make 100 lb DLs. I am not sure if it is a form issue, a mental issue, or a back issue. My back is fine now but many years ago it "went out" on me and I try to take it easy. I have two videos of this morning's lifts. One is at 80, the second at 90 lbs. I have raised the starting height of the bar to try and address this issue. I thought it was going to help but after about a month I still haven't gotten to 100 lbs. Any help would be appreciated! TIA :-)
1x5 @ 80 lbs
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oU9U0OVZ3yg
1x5 @ 90 lbs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rzCNV6K4G4 0 -
ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »Hi all. I am having some problems progressing in my deadlifts. I have been doing SL 5x5 for 4 months. I have been slowly progressing in all of my lifts except DL. Current weights for Squat - 110 lbs, bench, 65 lbs, OHP, 51 lbs, row, 85 lbs. For some reason though I can't make 100 lb DLs. I am not sure if it is a form issue, a mental issue, or a back issue. My back is fine now but many years ago it "went out" on me and I try to take it easy. I have two videos of this morning's lifts. One is at 80, the second at 90 lbs. I have raised the starting height of the bar to try and address this issue. I thought it was going to help but after about a month I still haven't gotten to 100 lbs. Any help would be appreciated! TIA :-)
1x5 @ 80 lbs
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oU9U0OVZ3yg
1x5 @ 90 lbshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rzCNV6K4G4
It looks to me like you're primarily trying to use your upper body to LIFT the barbell off the floor. I'm getting this impression by the elbow flexion at various places through the lift.
I'd like to see you change your thought process on this and I'm going to give you a cue to try and lets see how that changes the mechanics of the lift.
I'd like you to think about your arms as tight cables and your hands are hooks that hold onto the bar. All they do is connect your shoulders to the barbell and nothing else. So in other words they are to do nothing except for hold the barbell, no pulling with the arms or bending of the elbows.
Once you get into your starting position and you have your hands on the barbell I'd like you to take a deep breath stick your chest up (this will extend your spine and if done properly your arms should be extended (no elbow flexion) and everything should be tight.
Once you are tight I'd like you to push the earth away with your feet rather than lifting up on the bar.
So basically you will get everything tight, you will hang onto the bar and you will drive the floor down with your feet rather than pulling up on the barbell.0 -
Thanks SideSteel. I'll give these cues a try tomorrow and check back in.0
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So, here's a video of me, after practicing the cues for several sets. Any better?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7mLrj6-Ax5A0 -
I think my shoulders might be too forward of the bar too?0
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So I re-valuated the videos and in addition to the forward lean I also noticed that my back seems to be very horizontal as compared to good DL videos on youtube and here.
When getting fitted for a road bike last year I was told that I have long femurs. Don't know if that makes a difference here but it looks like I strain the most while setting the bar down to get it to clear my knees.
In any case, here is a video from this am of a warmup set at 80 lbs. I think it is better then the last one.
Any additional suggestions very welcome. Thanks
[url="
http://youtu.be/8kZt9tEcgPs"] youtu.be/8kZt9tEcgPs[/url] :-)
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You're still flexing your arms.0
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ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »So I re-valuated the videos and in addition to the forward lean I also noticed that my back seems to be very horizontal as compared to good DL videos on youtube and here.
When getting fitted for a road bike last year I was told that I have long femurs. Don't know if that makes a difference here but it looks like I strain the most while setting the bar down to get it to clear my knees.
In any case, here is a video from this am of a warmup set at 80 lbs. I think it is better then the last one.
Any additional suggestions very welcome. Thanks
[url="http://youtu.be/8kZt9tEcgPs"] youtu.be/8kZt9tEcgPs[/url] :-)
The first rep looks better but some elbow flexion starts to creep in. Watch rep 1 and compare it to rep 3 for example, and look at what happens at the elbow.
I hate to give you yet another change but I can see something else occurring here as well -- It looks to me like your legs are getting in the way of your arms. So you can either grip a bit wider (typical answer) or you can bring your stance in.
As a very general rule, I think most people should begin learning the deadlift with their arms parallel to each other (vertical). For YOU, this will require you to bring your stance in to allow the grip to also come in.0 -
ScientificExplorerGirl wrote: »So I re-valuated the videos and in addition to the forward lean I also noticed that my back seems to be very horizontal as compared to good DL videos on youtube and here.
When getting fitted for a road bike last year I was told that I have long femurs. Don't know if that makes a difference here but it looks like I strain the most while setting the bar down to get it to clear my knees.
In any case, here is a video from this am of a warmup set at 80 lbs. I think it is better then the last one.
Any additional suggestions very welcome. Thanks
[url="http://youtu.be/8kZt9tEcgPs"] youtu.be/8kZt9tEcgPs[/url] :-)
The first rep looks better but some elbow flexion starts to creep in. Watch rep 1 and compare it to rep 3 for example, and look at what happens at the elbow.
I hate to give you yet another change but I can see something else occurring here as well -- It looks to me like your legs are getting in the way of your arms. So you can either grip a bit wider (typical answer) or you can bring your stance in.
As a very general rule, I think most people should begin learning the deadlift with their arms parallel to each other (vertical). For YOU, this will require you to bring your stance in to allow the grip to also come in.
Additionally, regarding spine position, this is largely a function of anthropometry. For example when I pull conventional my back is almost parallel to the floor. (One of the reasons I don't pull conventional). I do find that with people learning the deadlift it can also be positional to a large degree, so that MAY change with you as you learn the pull and correct positional issues but for the most part once that's done, your position will default to wherever the hips need to be for the bar to be under the scapula and over the midfoot.
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Thanks @n3ver3nder and @Sidesteel!
I'll keep working on this and videotaping myself and try to post some improved lifts incorporating all of the advice by the end of the week.
Cheers!0 -
One thing that helped me from bending my arms. Flex your triceps. Try it right now. With your triceps flexed, you can't bend your arm. Try it when you deadlift next time, it might help train you to stop bending your arms. It will help you make your arms "as long as possible".
Honestly your form isn't bad in general other than that. If you have long femurs you may struggle with hitting your knees on the way down, I know I did. I had to deadlift a lot like SS, with a nearly horizontal back. So I switched to sumo (like he did). It may be something for you to look into as well.0 -
n3ver3nder wrote: »whodidntante wrote: »Working on staying more upright without squat shoes or a belt. Any comments, other than the terrible video quality (sorry)?http://youtu.be/HzPL7HojuF8
Those safety bars are too high. If you were hitting full depth (hip crease BELOW knee height) I think you'd be catching them, or very near. Otherwise looks OK.
I've thought of lowering them before and will next time. My usual squat rack is the one just behind it and it was in use when I started my session.0 -
So I have been practicing all week. The first lifts were done before checking back in here:
youtu.be/xRkMoacLkSQ
The second set below was done after checking in and reading comments from @DopeItUp These comments I think were very helpful. Take a look and let me know if this looks better. It feels better to me if that is important. Today I was able to lift 100 lbs for 3 x 5. I think I will be able to progress a bit more at 1 x 5 (normal SL 5x5 progression for DLs).
youtu.be/avfVtNSG4BI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN80XTfk5q4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umMEOWsXgXY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrQvV11a26E
