How do you learn proper form for Deadlift and Squat?

Ask one of the trainers at LA Fitness to help you with your form.

I agree on the Starting Strength book. I have a copy, and each exercise is covered in great detail. He literally spends something like 40-60 pages on each exercise.

if there are trainers around, have one show you the basic movements.

Watch some vids on YouTube by Allen Thrall of Untamed Strength, he breaks them down extremely well.

Some of the best info anywhere here.
http://www.exrx.net/index.html

I had very little coaching in the beginning and by the time I got a coach, what I had learned from Starting Strength and YouTube, (specifically Alan Thrall, Omar Isuf and CanditoTrainingHQ,) had given me a base with which my coach was satisfied, (meaning not too many bad habits to retrain.) The most important thing, I found, was to recognize that while all the barbell movements have some basics that are universal, each person's body is different and it is therefore important to be constantly evaluating your own form, making adjustments and learning new things. I started out with StrongLifts 5x5, (which, if I'm not mistaken, is developed based on the principles in Starting Strength,) because the program allows you to start with the absolute minimum amount of weight so that you can work on your form with a reduced risk of injury compared to just hoisting up what looks right. (You can do the same with SS, but the volume in SL is a bit higher and I felt that helped build form better.) Every time I lifted, I would focus on a new cue for each lift, (i.e. squeeze your glutes HERE, break at the knees for THIS lift, straighten your knees HERE, etc.) by working on one or two cues here and there I was able to build an effective squat, deadlift and overhead press. Eventually cues fade from being something you have to think about to something you just do intuitively and you can begin to analyze other parts of the lifts.

It's important to remember that any bad habits you develope now will set you back in the future. If you can't teach yourself to squeeze your traps when you deadlift, for example, you might be fine until you go for that new PR and notice that you look like Quasimodo and have to drop your weight by 40% to retrain your Central Nervous System. Start light and focus on form. If you're new to lifting you WILL see gains - they're called beginner gains - from the simple fact that you're doing the movements. No need to load up the bar and develop a bad habit, or worse, hurt yourself.

In summary, I'd say analyze your form constantly, (video works well,) seek to constantly learn new cues and focus on making them intuitive and do a program where you can start with the bare minimums. You might feel like a goober for squatting with such a light weight for so long, but your future self will thank you for taking the time to train your CNS to do this stuff right.




In terms of deadlifting, mats should be fine. Don't slam your weights, muscle and CNS "memory" are developed throughout the whole movement; if you can pick it up but can't put it down, decrease the weight a little and focus on the whole movement. Putting the weight down should be the exact opposite of lifting it up and constantly engraining the movement pattern will benefit you in the long run. (It should also be added that if you drop the weight you're robbing yourself of sick forearm/grip gains.