Barbell "Form check"(e.g., Squats, Deadlift, Benching, Presses)
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Yes so I lifted weights for 10 years from 15 to 25 years old before I suffered from a chronic shoulder tendonitis, due to my job but also because I was doing risky exercises such as the behind the neck press, upright rows, bench dips (with 200lbs on my knees). I was reckless to say the least.
To tell you a bit about my injury, i'm very comfortable with pulling movements such as rows, pull ups and pulldowns. But when i'm doing presses my shoulders get really tight and I have a constant tension in my front deltoid. It seems pressing movements are the problem.
I started training again rather recently in may 2020, i'm now 31 yrs old. I've been doing bodyweight exercises mostly but during 3 months I had access to a gym. I'm not satisfied at all with my progress. as you can see here i'm not so strong with the chin ups. Right now i'm doing 4 sets for 8,8,8 and 6 reps.
I filmed my last set that I did for 6 reps :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N615kNFaucg
I have to mention that I can't do full range of motion because my feet touch the gound and I don't like doing them with my knees crossed behind my back. But when i'm at the gym I do them with a neutral grip full range of mention with a lockout.
Also for my stats i'm 5'9 170lbs.
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Yes so I lifted weights for 10 years from 15 to 25 years old before I suffered from a chronic shoulder tendonitis, due to my job but also because I was doing risky exercises such as the behind the neck press, upright rows, bench dips (with 200lbs on my knees). I was reckless to say the least.
To tell you a bit about my injury, i'm very comfortable with pulling movements such as rows, pull ups and pulldowns. But when i'm doing presses my shoulders get really tight and I have a constant tension in my front deltoid. It seems pressing movements are the problem.
I started training again rather recently in may 2020, i'm now 31 yrs old. I've been doing bodyweight exercises mostly but during 3 months I had access to a gym. I'm not satisfied at all with my progress. as you can see here i'm not so strong with the chin ups. Right now i'm doing 4 sets for 8,8,8 and 6 reps.
I filmed my last set that I did for 6 reps :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N615kNFaucg
I have to mention that I can't do full range of motion because my feet touch the gound and I don't like doing them with my knees crossed behind my back. But when i'm at the gym I do them with a neutral grip full range of mention with a lockout.
Also for my stats i'm 5'9 170lbs.
Ty for your training history and video.
Nothing looks concerning with your performance or technique.
I will say your thoughts of certain movements being "risky" is something I want to bring up.
A movement is not inherently dangerous by itself. Unfortunately many sources in the fitness community will state or post things that are absolutely poison to people who haven't done the research.
I'm not saying you should do dips or behind the neck presses, but I am saying they are not risky movements at a appropriate dosage while monitoring your load management over time.
As far as your "tight" front deltoid, again I would use a grip, exercise variation, rep range, intensity, etc...that allows you to do full ROM or at least progress towards it.
Something along the lines...
Instead of close grip BP we might do wide grip incline or a neutral bar instead of a standard barbell.
If you are not increasing the intensity on your body weight pull ups, we might take a rep off and add a set or even change the exercise selection for a training block or few.
Pay attention to your load management and nake adjustments from the data you collect.
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Ok and have you noticed that I lift my legs at the end of my repetitions? Is it bad, should I keep my legs straight if I want to work my back muscles more? I heard it shifts the focus to the abdominal muscles when we lift our legs.0
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Ok and have you noticed that I lift my legs at the end of my repetitions? Is it bad, should I keep my legs straight if I want to work my back muscles more? I heard it shifts the focus to the abdominal muscles when we lift our legs.
I wouldn't be overly concerned about that as it is nothing exaggerated and would simply concentrate on getting sufficient volume at appropriate intensity with progress towards your goals. We expect some abdominal work in just about every lift known and when people attempt to major in the minors they might lose focus at the task at hand. You did just fine and if you have any questions on more advanced training when the time comes feel free to post 😊.2 -
Hi Chieflrg,
First up, thanks very much for the offer to review form. It’s generous of you.
Please could comment on my squat?
I’m a beginner. I’ve squated with a barbell for four weeks, since the gyms opened in the UK. This video is the first and only time I’ve filmed myself.
I’m aiming for the Starting Strength style. Open knee angle, closed hip angle, fairly closed back angle. This was at 80kg. I’ve done slightly more but am trying to learn the move and have decent form throughout.
I’m reasonably happy with what I see but note my tendency for the weight to fall forwards on the way up. One or two could’ve been deeper too.
https://youtube.com/shorts/zhDu0xD_w5k?feature=share
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Dave
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Hi Chieflrg,
First up, thanks very much for the offer to review form. It’s generous of you.
Please could comment on my squat?
I’m a beginner. I’ve squated with a barbell for four weeks, since the gyms opened in the UK. This video is the first and only time I’ve filmed myself.
I’m aiming for the Starting Strength style. Open knee angle, closed hip angle, fairly closed back angle. This was at 80kg. I’ve done slightly more but am trying to learn the move and have decent form throughout.
I’m reasonably happy with what I see but note my tendency for the weight to fall forwards on the way up. One or two could’ve been deeper too.
https://youtube.com/shorts/zhDu0xD_w5k?feature=share
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Dave
Hi Dave. I was having difficulty viewing you vid submission though I found a work around. I'll write a review later on and post 😊.0 -
Dave overall very nice set.
There are some minor adjustment we can do. I would work only one at a time in the order posted from warm ups on. Reminder you are doing nothing inherently wrong we're just are trying to set things to help you long term.
1. Start with knees locked or quads/glutes flexed...both are the same effect. This will give you a repeatable starting position.
2. Your gaze. I would find a place a few feet out and focus there. From where stand and squat on this vid...somewhere between the cage uprights and the steel column would be a good range. I think just past the cage uprights "might" work for you.
3. Cut your depth by a couple inches, this will not only keep your hamstrings engaged yet still hit proper depth just below parallel. Your third rep is a decent height to replicate. If you have problems at first finding depth, you can place a box or stacked plates at the height for 2-3 sessions and just "touch" and rebound. This is just a reference if you find you might need a "feel" where depth is. This will be second nature soon enough.
Once you have these things practiced, post another vid and I can see what technique adjustment if any is needed. You are doing very well and I'm impressed where you are right now.1 -
Thanks Chief.
The funny thing is that before watching that vide, if asked where I looked, I would’ve said on the floor about 4-5” in front. It turns out my eyes are all over the place 😁. I guess there’s a bit to think about.
But that’s really helpful thanks. I was all set to try and go deeper! I shall go and work on those things.
By the way, if anyone can tell me how to embed videos in the post, I’ll do that next time. I couldn’t work out how.
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Hi again Chief,
I have another squat video on which I would really appreciate some feedback.
Last time you suggested I squeeze glutes and lock knees as a starting position, eyes on the floor a few feet in front, and that I squat onto plates to fix the depth. I’ve had a go at all those.
I don’t know whether my box squats were set too high but when I removed the box and filmed myself it looked like I was a few inches short of parallel. I was squatting up to 105kg but ended up dropping the weight back down again to correct this.
This video is third set of 5 and was 10 reps at 80kg. I was going for and got a volume record in this session.
I’m pretty happy with the set. Some of them are perhaps a touch short of parallel but many seemed about right and they felt pretty good.
https://youtu.be/_iHXgGQCJy4
Dave0 -
Hi again Chief,
I have another squat video on which I would really appreciate some feedback.
Last time you suggested I squeeze glutes and lock knees as a starting position, eyes on the floor a few feet in front, and that I squat onto plates to fix the depth. I’ve had a go at all those.
I don’t know whether my box squats were set too high but when I removed the box and filmed myself it looked like I was a few inches short of parallel. I was squatting up to 105kg but ended up dropping the weight back down again to correct this.
This video is third set of 5 and was 10 reps at 80kg. I was going for and got a volume record in this session.
I’m pretty happy with the set. Some of them are perhaps a touch short of parallel but many seemed about right and they felt pretty good.https://youtu.be/_iHXgGQCJy4
Dave
Nice. Yeah your depth was right there on this vid from I can see. I believe the sixth & final one was borderline. The camera heights can play havoc sometimes on what we perceive to be depth.
You certainly cut off the right amount of depth here in my opinion. Also you're holding a better back angle throughout the lift and looked more consistent. Very nice set sir!1 -
That’s great to hear I’m on the right lines. Thanks for the pointers, Chief, they seem to have helped.
Sometime I may ask you for thoughts on my deadlift.
Dave0 -
I'm wondering if you could critique my form on the neutral grip dumbbell bench press. This is my last set I did 70lbsx10, 70lbsx9, 75lbsx8. Here i'm doing 75lbsx8, i'm wondering :
1) Am I going down low enough for hypertrophy purposes?
2) Is there any benefits of switching to a barbell neutral grip bench press with the Swiss bar? I know I can press more weight, but what can I gain from switching to a barbell? Also is it worse switching to a barbell when you have poor shoulder mobility?
i'm doing the neutral grip because I have poor mobility on my right shoulder, i'm working on it but i'm stil not there yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dal-yuY_638
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I'm wondering if you could critique my form on the neutral grip dumbbell bench press. This is my last set I did 70lbsx10, 70lbsx9, 75lbsx8. Here i'm doing 75lbsx8, i'm wondering :
1) Am I going down low enough for hypertrophy purposes?
2) Is there any benefits of switching to a barbell neutral grip bench press with the Swiss bar? I know I can press more weight, but what can I gain from switching to a barbell? Also is it worse switching to a barbell when you have poor shoulder mobility?
i'm doing the neutral grip because I have poor mobility on my right shoulder, i'm working on it but i'm stil not there yet.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dal-yuY_638
1. You have a quite large ROM from the vid, so if you respond fairly sensitively & your programming has sufficient volume at adequate intensity I would feel its reasonable that you will elicit a response.
2. You are correct under most conditions you will be able to utilize a higher intensity with a BB vs. DB. Depending on your programming & how you respond this can allow for higher intensity and/or volume. Basically gives you a wider spectrum at rep ranges for certain intensities.
I wouldn't be overly concerned what variation you use as long as you respond and recover from the training. If you feel you have a limited shoulder issue one way vs another, then we go with comfort and adherence. There isn't necessarily a better way that is universal to all individuals.
You look fine here as far as technique but I might suggest cutting 1-2 reps out of that last set. This will dose a good amount of stimulus but allow for better recovery in almost all types of programming. This assuming you had maybe one rep left in the tank at most.
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Yes I did my last to failure, I thought training to failure was better for hypertrophy purposes but at the time I hear it is not optimal for strength gains, I thought the two were related?1
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allother94 wrote: »I’m new to these exercises. Please be gentle...
All 5 videos here: https://www.facebook.com/100041301323657
Links to each below...
https://www.facebook.com/100041301323657/posts/119870856066291?sfns=mo
https://www.facebook.com/100041301323657/posts/119870319399678?sfns=mo
https://www.facebook.com/100041301323657/posts/119866689400041?sfns=mo
https://www.facebook.com/100041301323657/posts/119867872733256?sfns=mo
https://www.facebook.com/100041301323657/posts/119869206066456?sfns=mo
Ok, there will be a few things to work on. Don't get overwhelmed and think you have to fix all in one session. It takes a lot of reps to better ourselves. I'm going to list this things in order I'd like you correct or start cueing yourself before your attempts. One cue a day will be much more efficient on correcting issues.
Squat
1. Do not use plates under your heals. It isn't beneficial to correcting anything and can make balancing more difficult as weight progresses. I'd like you solid starting from the ground up.
2. This leads us into shoes. I prefer you using a sole without cushions that are squishy. Wrestling or soccer shoes are my cheaper preference. Chucks are cheap and can work for some people though it wouldn't be my first recommendation for squats but some do well with them. You might prefer to buy a pair of lifting shoes for squats which is always my first preference.
3. Lets drop the barbell down your back about .5-1" for a few sessions and see how it feels.
4. Hands should be gripped tight around the barbell to keep it from losing position and it also helps keep back tight for bracing the upper back. This might require you to move hands out at first until your mobility stretches in time with just normal reps and sessions.
5. Lets start by moving toes out about 15 degrees and adjust later if needed.
6. Google Valsalva maneuver and start practicing it before every rep.
7. When you break at your knees I want you to push knees out and forward at same time and keep them there. Knees should track over the toes which will put your femur at the same angle as your feet. Don't worry if this seems a bit hard at first. Just get knees out over your toes.
8. Practice, practice, and practice. Things will naturally get better over time and as weight increases. Our bodies are wonderful examples of adaptation.
Deadlifts
1. Shoes. Chucks are a decent option here especially since you are pulling conventional. If you have some other flat sole shoes use them for same reason we don't want squishy shoes for squats. As we grow stronger, squishy gym shoes start to compress more and then we start shifting our balance.
2. Before you lift a another rep. I'd like to see you more aware of your back. Particularly the extension of your lower lumbar. This might feel as if you are extremely arching at first. We want to try to achieve full extension if possible.
3. Youtube search "How to Deadlift: Starting Strength 5 step deadlift". It's one of the better videos on how to start from your experience. Alan in recent years has learned a lot from his former coach and in this video he recites what he learned very well. I think you would benefit from pulling the slack and setting your back with more extension the most.
I strongly suggest you post update videos here as you continue along every few weeks. With my help, we can be more efficient on correcting these issues.
Good luck!
I've always gone shoeless for a large portion of leg day. Granted I don't have a pair of chucks but it's a better option than runners. Could probably benefit from some chucks for deads but don't fix what's not broken I guess.0 -
Hi again Chief,
I have another squat video on which I would really appreciate some feedback.
Last time you suggested I squeeze glutes and lock knees as a starting position, eyes on the floor a few feet in front, and that I squat onto plates to fix the depth. I’ve had a go at all those.
I don’t know whether my box squats were set too high but when I removed the box and filmed myself it looked like I was a few inches short of parallel. I was squatting up to 105kg but ended up dropping the weight back down again to correct this.
This video is third set of 5 and was 10 reps at 80kg. I was going for and got a volume record in this session.
I’m pretty happy with the set. Some of them are perhaps a touch short of parallel but many seemed about right and they felt pretty good.https://youtu.be/_iHXgGQCJy4
Dave
Ngl some of that knee locking looks downright dangerous. At that point you're transferring the weight from your muscles directly onto your joint resulting in negligible muscle work and unnecessary joint stress. You can pull the hips in while maintaining mild bend to the knee.
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Yes I did my last to failure, I thought training to failure was better for hypertrophy purposes but at the time I hear it is not optimal for strength gains, I thought the two were related?
It's not completely without controversy, but most of the literature I've seen on the topic says that the results you see staying at a RPE of 7-9 are the same as you see when going to failure (RPE 10), at least as far as hypertrophy is concerned. And any slight advantage you might get going to failure is negated by the fact that you're going to have to rest and recover more because you're pushing to failure, which will put more stress on your body, particularly your connective tissue/joints which take longer to recover, in general. Also trying to push yourself to failure means you're more likely to have a form breakdown and thus more likely to injure yourself.
So my personal opinion, based on the science I've looked at, is that in the short term there might be a slightly better hypertrophy response as a result of going to failure regularly but it is completely negated by the recovery requirements it puts on your body and the risk of injury. This is particularly true of compound movements like bench pressing, squats and deadlifts, for example.
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Yes I did my last to failure, I thought training to failure was better for hypertrophy purposes but at the time I hear it is not optimal for strength gains, I thought the two were related?
It's not completely without controversy, but most of the literature I've seen on the topic says that the results you see staying at a RPE of 7-9 are the same as you see when going to failure (RPE 10), at least as far as hypertrophy is concerned. And any slight advantage you might get going to failure is negated by the fact that you're going to have to rest and recover more because you're pushing to failure, which will put more stress on your body, particularly your connective tissue/joints which take longer to recover, in general. Also trying to push yourself to failure means you're more likely to have a form breakdown and thus more likely to injure yourself.
So my personal opinion, based on the science I've looked at, is that in the short term there might be a slightly better hypertrophy response as a result of going to failure regularly but it is completely negated by the recovery requirements it puts on your body and the risk of injury. This is particularly true of compound movements like bench pressing, squats and deadlifts, for example.
It's good to know, we often hear conflincting informations in exercise science. But if it's not necessary to train to failure then that's great.0 -
Yes I did my last to failure, I thought training to failure was better for hypertrophy purposes but at the time I hear it is not optimal for strength gains, I thought the two were related?
It's not completely without controversy, but most of the literature I've seen on the topic says that the results you see staying at a RPE of 7-9 are the same as you see when going to failure (RPE 10), at least as far as hypertrophy is concerned. And any slight advantage you might get going to failure is negated by the fact that you're going to have to rest and recover more because you're pushing to failure, which will put more stress on your body, particularly your connective tissue/joints which take longer to recover, in general. Also trying to push yourself to failure means you're more likely to have a form breakdown and thus more likely to injure yourself.
So my personal opinion, based on the science I've looked at, is that in the short term there might be a slightly better hypertrophy response as a result of going to failure regularly but it is completely negated by the recovery requirements it puts on your body and the risk of injury. This is particularly true of compound movements like bench pressing, squats and deadlifts, for example.
I fully concur other than no lift is more inherently higher risk of injury by itself.
Proper load management is key.
Compound lifts "might" be easier to increase the stress just by intensity jumps, but it comes down to stress accumulated in relation to recovery.
So like you mentioned keeping it in the 7-8 possibly 9 RPE range is will lesson the injury risk and make recovery a lessor issue for any lift.
Kudos to your insight.2 -
JeffMatchett wrote: »Hi again Chief,
I have another squat video on which I would really appreciate some feedback.
Last time you suggested I squeeze glutes and lock knees as a starting position, eyes on the floor a few feet in front, and that I squat onto plates to fix the depth. I’ve had a go at all those.
I don’t know whether my box squats were set too high but when I removed the box and filmed myself it looked like I was a few inches short of parallel. I was squatting up to 105kg but ended up dropping the weight back down again to correct this.
This video is third set of 5 and was 10 reps at 80kg. I was going for and got a volume record in this session.
I’m pretty happy with the set. Some of them are perhaps a touch short of parallel but many seemed about right and they felt pretty good.https://youtu.be/_iHXgGQCJy4
Dave
Ngl some of that knee locking looks downright dangerous. At that point you're transferring the weight from your muscles directly onto your joint resulting in negligible muscle work and unnecessary joint stress. You can pull the hips in while maintaining mild bend to the knee.
Please read initial post in full if you haven't already.I please ask that everyone refrain from suggesting form fixes, cues, or suggesting their fav "youtuber" to those who post in order to keep the thread clean as possible for me to answer a post efficiently without having to correct or perhaps argue these thoughts. It's not that I'm correct or others are not. I feel we should question everyone to get our answers. Though if you feel the need to express them, I respectably ask you please start your own thread and I would be happy to view and reply if you wish .
I respectfully disagree with your advice and there isn't any evidence that locking your knees is inherently dangerous on a squat. In fact it helps replicate good technique. It also is required by all feds of powerlifting to begin the squat. I'm unaware of any data that suggests avoiding locking knees at the start of a squat. I'm more than interested if you care to post a citation of actually evidence though.
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What about locking your elbows for upper body lifts like the bench press, skull crushers etc..? Is it beneficial for extra strength and muscle gains?
I heard locking your elbows is specially beneficial for gaining mass in your triceps.0 -
What about locking your elbows for upper body lifts like the bench press, skull crushers etc..? Is it beneficial for extra strength and muscle gains?
I heard locking your elbows is specially beneficial for gaining mass in your triceps.
It going to come down to programming and goals in the end.
For both hypertrophy & strength goals I prefer main lifts to have full ROM as evidence suggests it's optimal for both in general.
Though a small part of my variations might have a specific ROM that is lesser to the parent lift.
For bench & skull crushers I would always lean towards full lockout with appropriate intensity/volume within well written programming for several reasons.2 -
Hey Chief! I am a newbie lifter and this was my first squat session on my own. My RPE would be 7-8 and I had 3 more reps in the tank at the best, I think. I dislocated my left knee about 10 years ago so I tend to lift more with my right leg. I also have hip mobility issues, left hip mostly. Not sure if this matters but I put a lot of strain on my neck during my workouts. Thank you for any input you can give me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLv6cY2YFQ 1 -
happimess01 wrote: »Hey Chief! I am a newbie lifter and this was my first squat session on my own. My RPE would be 7-8 and I had 3 more reps in the tank at the best, I think. I dislocated my left knee about 10 years ago so I tend to lift more with my right leg. I also have hip mobility issues, left hip mostly. Not sure if this matters but I put a lot of strain on my neck during my workouts. Thank you for any input you can give mehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLv6cY2YFQ
Hey happimess01!
Yeah I'm not seeing anything unusual from this video angle for your experience level that won't correct itself as you get more reps with appropriate weight. Seriously a good starting point 👍.
One thing I'd like to see you work on is your Valsalva maneuver for bracing. Take time right before every rep to take in the air and brace before you start your decent. This will keep you in a more advantageous position throughout the squat but especially going in & out of the hole. Again, I would like to see you setting & holding the Valsalva maneuver mindfully.
You mentioned feeling the discomfort in your neck area. This can be many things & not neccessarily anything "wrong" but we can certainly try small adjustments and see if things get better for your squat.
We might try dropping the barbell down your back just a bit. This might also require a slightly more wider grip. It is perfectly fine to rest barbell on your upper traps(high bar) but you may have the barbell resting or even rolling towards your neck. It's hard to see from video. Regardless try the adjustment with a empty barbell and see if it feels okay to start adding the weight towards your working sets targets. The better bracing might help this sensation as well.
Please come back and post another vid of how things are going after you work on the adjustments for a bit and we can go from there.
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happimess01 wrote: »Hey Chief! I am a newbie lifter and this was my first squat session on my own. My RPE would be 7-8 and I had 3 more reps in the tank at the best, I think. I dislocated my left knee about 10 years ago so I tend to lift more with my right leg. I also have hip mobility issues, left hip mostly. Not sure if this matters but I put a lot of strain on my neck during my workouts. Thank you for any input you can give mehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imLv6cY2YFQ
Hey happimess01!
Yeah I'm not seeing anything unusual from this video angle for your experience level that won't correct itself as you get more reps with appropriate weight. Seriously a good starting point 👍.
One thing I'd like to see you work on is your Valsalva maneuver for bracing. Take time right before every rep to take in the air and brace before you start your decent. This will keep you in a more advantageous position throughout the squat but especially going in & out of the hole. Again, I would like to see you setting & holding the Valsalva maneuver mindfully.
You mentioned feeling the discomfort in your neck area. This can be many things & not neccessarily anything "wrong" but we can certainly try small adjustments and see if things get better for your squat.
We might try dropping the barbell down your back just a bit. This might also require a slightly more wider grip. It is perfectly fine to rest barbell on your upper traps(high bar) but you may have the barbell resting or even rolling towards your neck. It's hard to see from video. Regardless try the adjustment with a empty barbell and see if it feels okay to start adding the weight towards your working sets targets. The better bracing might help this sensation as well.
Please come back and post another vid of how things are going after you work on the adjustments for a bit and we can go from there.
Thank you so much for taking a look and the encouragement. You made a great point about working on the Valsala maneuver, I'll work on it. As for the neck thing, it usually happens when I am doing cable tricep extensions, lat pulldowns or recently face pulls. I am trying to keep my shoulders low and not lift with my neck. I will post again soon for sure. Thanks again 1 -
Here's one for deadlift. Just started learning the lift this month. The RPE was 5. I had a session with a trainer and he asked me to stare at a point on the floor. He said I was holding my neck too rigid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cnceh5-rhY 0
https://youtu.be/yu8b3-wbJok
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