Hi Guys, I have two videos of me lifting, one is me squatting, the other me dead lifting. I got into lifting a couple of months back, and injured myself recently for a while. So now that I can lift again I want to focus on my form. I appreciate any feedback or tips. Squat 215x3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YUrf3CmWXY Deadlift 205x6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baS8eXXVfq4&feature=youtu.be
I'm a novice myself so I don't have much to compare it with but: Squat: 1) Elbows up higher should tighten the upper back and allow you to put the bar lower and lose the pad. (I can't see exactly from this angle how high it is, but it looks close to the neck even for high bar squat) 2) From this angle the squat looks 2 inches above parallel. I suspect since your upper back is not super tight, your lower back may also not be, but at this depth it doesn't break down the form. 3) You're raising your chin. Rippetoe advices against that since it cues lifting with the chest first instead of the hips, but others (Squat Rx guy) seem to think it's ok since it helps curve the spine. You must make up your own mind of course, but it may help you squat lower. Deadlift: Overall pretty good. Bar path was a bit curved at times, I think because you're not keeping the bar close enough to your legs with some reps. Probably also because you could increase the weight. Your squat weight is too high, but it's more than your deadlift? I wonder how it would look >250? Maybe you're taking it easy because of your injury here?
Here we go: Squats: Don't use the pad, if needed you can wear a hoodie or an extra t-shirt for a bit of padding but the pad makes the bar less stable. As CPP mentioned your bar position looks pretty high even for a high bar squat so simply moving the bar an inch or two lower might solve the problem (assuming that you are using the pad because the bar hurts your neck). You are breaking at the knees first which isn't the end of the world but in your case you are really driving your knees forward which makes it harder to hit depth (you are at least a few inches high) and also harder to engage your glutes/hamstrings. Think about pushing your hips back and sitting back and then down. It might also help to think about pushing your knees out and sitting down into the space created. Deadlifts: Personally I like Rippetoe's method for setting up: I feel like it allows you to get tighter and make your reps more consistent. It's hard to tell from the angle but I think you are starting with the bar a bit too far in front of you so your weight is getting out over your toes at the beginning of the pull (based on watching the way your feet rock). I'd recommend trying Rippetoe's setup and starting with your shins a bit closer to the bar. Speaking of watching your feet... you should get better shoes for lifting. Something with a hard, flat sole like Chucks or cheap skate shoes (e.g. Vans) are good, inexpensive options. Finally, you should pause for a second between reps. You are barely letting the bar hit the ground. This weight looks pretty light for you so that isn't causing any issues now but I bet if you did a more challenging weight your form would start to break down on the later reps.
I would add that your DL grip is too wide, make it so that at the top your hands are just outside of your hips.
I hurt myself dead lifting about a month and a half back. My back hurt really bad for about a week, and I layed off it for about 3 weeks. It's fine now, it wasn't to serious, but it just made me more cautious. I am not sure to be honest with you lol. I just always liked pad, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to use one. I will try not using one from now on.
Thanks for the advice. I will make sure to go a little lower, it felt parallel but now that I look at I agree. I will make sure to lose the pad. My squat was higher because I hurt myself deadlifting. I could lift more than I did in the video, but I wanted to make sure I got my form down this time before I start trying to lift heavier. I will make a video of my lifting 2x my weight (I weighed 143lb yesterday) a couple of times, that way i can have a truer test of my form.
Great video, thanks for sharing it. I will make sure to try a lower bar position next time. I see what you mean about the knees, they are going past my toes. So I should sit back as I am doing the squat? Ok yeah i always get confused on that when you do reps for deadlift. You are supposed to put the bar all the way down and then reset? Yeah I was hesitant to do much weight because of my injury, but I am healed fully now, I just wanted to practice form first. I will do 2x my body weight a couple times and film that so I can get a better form check for my deadlift. Thanks for the advice.
Thanks, this is something I have issues with. Sometimes my hands hit my thighs on way up, but this time I went a litte to wide. I just need to find that sweetspot outside the hips like you suggested.
Yeah, we don't necesarily have anything against the puss pad. It's just that we prefer that the vagina be between the legs and not on the back.
If you have an injured back, you really should be using a belt bro. Good advice so far, keep up the good work. A couple simple tips on the squat, keep your chin up higher, ditch the pad, go a few inches deeper. Not too bad for the most part. Keep it up bro! edit - I would normally not worry about the belt at those weights, but better safe than sorry. I know a few pro BB's who have the belt on the second they get to 225.
At this point, he should be focsing on improving his form, not getting a belt. And also eating a lot.
