I have been struggling with my dead lifts lately. I cannot seem to get all 5 reps in on one set. Could you tell me if it is my form that is off? Otherwise I am thinking that maybe it is grip strength? This is at 180lbs.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BbyD7xjKIUA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks!

edit: hmmm...my link won't work :frown:

edited again: Try this one

http://youtu.be/BbyD7xjKlUA

I have been struggling with my dead lifts lately. I cannot seem to get all 5 reps in on one set. Could you tell me if it is my form that is off? Otherwise I am thinking that maybe it is grip strength? This is at 180lbs.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BbyD7xjKIUA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks!

edit: hmmm...my link won't work :frown:

edited again: Try this one

http://youtu.be/BbyD7xjKlUA

The second link works, and great job on getting 180!

My comments:

Do you use chalk or something similar at all? If it's your grip and not your form, chalk is super helpful at heavier weights.

ETA: Are you doing a double overhand grip or a mixed grip? If it's overhand, try switching to a mixed grip instead (made a huge difference with me)

Is it possible for you to take a second video directly from the side (this one is more of a 45 degree angle)? I can't really see how you're setting up in terms of where your feet are, if that makes sense, because the big plate is getting in the way.

The only thing I can suggest on your form right now is to pull your shoulders back a bit more, someone else in this group told me to think of it as trying to put my shoulders in my back pockets. That'll engage your lats a bit more.

Other than that, I can't see anything really off on your form, looks pretty good to me.

Can I get some eyes on my squat form please? I'm embarrassed to post, but I need help.

I'm a newbie just a few weeks in and previously I was having trouble with depth. I think I've sorted that out now, but the bar isn't staying in a vertical path and I'm shifting the weight forward and back a bit.... I'm dipping my shoulders right before I come out of the hole (probably to get some momentum) and I wonder are my knees too far forward? Am I bringing my butt up too fast? I imagine there are other things going on as well that I'd rather fix now, at 70 lbs, than when the weights get really heavy and I get hurt.

http://youtu.be/igsAl16h_sU

Anyone have any OHP vids they can post? I'm still not sure if I'm doing mine correctly; where is the right place on the bar to grip? I know the bar should rest right about on the top of the sternum, but I'm not sure if I've been putting my forearms in the right position. Bro at the gym told me yesterday to only bring the bar down to my nose then push back up (ummm, no, I don't think so) and to basically have my ring fingers on the non-rough ring on the bar. The wider grip did feel better, but I still did them with full ROM (down to my chest, up all the way, etc).

I follow the step by step on this page: http://stronglifts.com/how-to-overhead-press-with-correct-technique/ I do that for all the exercises, they each have an instruction page.

It helps a great deal! I can feel the shift, but can't for the life of me figure out how to keep it from happening. I think the shoes may very well be part of it, I never thought of that. My toes aren't on the ground at all in these shoes -- they feel like they are, but they aren't. Flat feet would definitely make it harder to shift forward. I will give it a try with bare feet (or flatter shoes) and see what happens and also try to keep some of the other cues (chest up, elbows forward, shoulder blades together, push the floor) you mentioned in mind.

I did do box squats when I was first trying to figure out depth, but then I felt like I was sticking out my butt too far rather than just letting it drop. Depth got better when I started driving my knees out and letting my butt drop, but then I started having the problem with the lean.

Thoughts on the way my hips come up first? OK? Not OK?

Thanks for the suggestions, I really appreciate.

You're supposed to sit back and let your butt drop Hips are definitely coming up too fast, but I think if you fix the forward lean it'll all come together pretty nicely (it's hard to come up straight when the weight of the bar is so far forward).

You want the bar to stay over the mid foot at all times. Your squats look a bit more like good mornings because of how far forward you get. And while it's a good exercise when performed correctly, you're going for a squat here and it puts a lot of stress on your lower back that you most likely don't want.

Squats @ 90 lbs:
http://youtu.be/0kHiiEdafa8

Overhead Press @ 65 lbs:
http://youtu.be/nb_IFyYHDU8

That last rep was hard, lol.

Dead lift @ 135:
http://youtu.be/NTU8HR1CXw4


I know the views may not be optimal for all the videos, but was my first time recording today! On my DL, I noticed that my hips are coming up before my torso, so glad I took the video.

Squats look good, although you do get your knees forward quite a bit, so do make sure your heels do not pop up when you get to the bottom of the rep (it's tough to see since the rack is hiding most of your feet). ATG don't mean a thing if you're on your tippy toes! BTW, you're doing pause squats. Don't know if that's what you intended!

Your legs look wobbly on the OHP and you're pushing the bar away from your face while you should be leaning back just a bit to get a better straight line..Try keeping your butt engaged when you do it, it makes a world of difference!

Similar problem with the deadlift: you're kinda pulling the bar away from your knees. If you focus more on pulling the bar back towards your shins your back should rise a bit more in time with the hips, giving you a more effective bar path and better leverage altogether. You're wearing pants so really you shouldn't be too afraid of actually hitting your shins (heck, you make it look all kinds of light and easy, so imagine what a correct bar path would do for you!)

I did notice that on the squats too (about the knees), I'm trying to concentrate on keeping the bar over my feet, so is it a bar position problem or...like what kind of cue can I use to correct that? I don't feel that my heels are coming up at all, but I'll make sure next time.

OHP as well, I'll stay at 65 and see if I can get that less wobbly, also the bar path. Do people just generally stay leaned back when doing these?

The pants are specifically because it was DL day. Lol. However I didn't get any bruises that day so I'll work on it. Thank you!

Bar path on your squats is actually pretty straight, but I think you might be tilting you pelvis forward a tad and/or shifting your weight a bit forward at the bottom. Try not stopping at the bottom and see how it feels. If you lose balance on the way up IMO you need to focus on keeping your weight back on your heels, even if it costs you a bit of depth.

As for the OHP, you really only want to lean back until the bar gets past your head. After that it's easier to push the bar up if it's directly over your head. You just don't want to do that little curve around your head because that takes a lot of effort. And you also don't wanna lean too far back and turn it into an incline press. That's bad for the back, among other things. It looks easy on paper, but the OHP is just as technical as the rest of the lifts, haha

I think your form looks pretty similar to mine. We both have our knees coming forward slightly, which I have been trying to correct. But the bar looks pretty well over mid foot. I went to look at your height, 5'0" and I'm 5'2" so I'm wondering if that is just a natural squat position for shorties. lol My trainer told me to concentrate on pushing my butt back a little more and bringing my torso down and forward a bit.

Do you have a youtube account you can post the video on?

Could you check out my form please. Thanks!

http://youtu.be/sJNH9bGRykw

Your heels come up slightly and the weight comes to the balls of your feet, I was doing the same thing. Also, you're looking at the floor, which might actually be causing the weight to come forward. Look straight forward, or even just baaaarely up, and pick a spot on the wall to look at.

Looking good though.

Thanks I will work more on that!