Form Check

[max d]

I have been lifting for a long time but I am really trying to clean up for form, specifically on squat. Im 30 now and want to be lifting for another 20 years and sh!tty form will probably decrease my chances of being a jacked old man ha. Ive really been working on my squat.I started doing box squats for my heavy sets to make sure I hit parallel but I realized that once I tried heavy weight again without the box my form was out of wack since I wasnt sitting back as far. On a side note, this is my depth for heavy squats (3-6 reps); for lighter squats I use more range of motion. So, I figured I would throw my squat and deadlift up here to see if there are any weaknesses I can and should fix. From the video I think I need to put my toes out a little more in order to keep my knees from going over my toes. It doesnt feel like they are but def looks like it in the video. I think my deads are okay but ill let you all be the judge.

Thanks in advance for any tips!

[video=youtube_share;9eCVN-iwxRk]http://youtu.be/9eCVN-iwxRk[/video]

[video=youtube_share;6ITmGzBtXgg]http://youtu.be/6ITmGzBtXgg[/video]

 

[HIT4ME]

To me, your squats don't look so bad - you seem to be "wiggling" and swaying a lot on *******, but your form looks pretty good. I'm sure some others on here will see some room for improvement, but you keep your back pretty tight, you are getting to parallel, etc. Your knees can go over your toes. I don't even worry about that when I squat...

Your deadlifts on the other hand....you really need to squat down a bit more. You are barely bending your legs at all. You are doing some things right with the deads, but your rear end is way too high, even if you have long legs.

And I realize not everyone can afford everything, but if you can grab a power cage, it will be much safer to do squats with some safety pins under your weight.

 

[max d]

To me, your squats don't look so bad - you seem to be "wiggling" and swaying a lot on *******, but your form looks pretty good. I'm sure some others on here will see some room for improvement, but you keep your back pretty tight, you are getting to parallel, etc. Your knees can go over your toes. I don't even worry about that when I squat...

Your deadlifts on the other hand....you really need to squat down a bit more. You are barely bending your legs at all. You are doing some things right with the deads, but your rear end is way too high, even if you have long legs.

And I realize not everyone can afford everything, but if you can grab a power cage, it will be much safer to do squats with some safety pins under your weight.

Thanks for the feedback! I truly dont feel comfortable in my set up for squat anymore hence the wiggling and form check. Im glad that my knees over arent to big of an issue and i mentally always try to push my knees out... my knees are my biggest worry and why I want to make sure i keep everything in good form.

As for the deadlift, In past years I was almost doing it in a two part movement and didnt feel right but since ive kept my butt higher it doesnt shoot up and make it a two part movement.... but instead it looks more like a romanian dead lift with a little bit more bending of the knees. I got the idea from brandaon campbell (youtube). Would you suggest setting each rep up by getting my legs parallel?

 

[HIT4ME]

I think you should not go to parralell on Tue deadlifts, but your hips need to get lower, IMO. Your back looks neutral, and you lean back and pull correctly. It just looks like you are doing a romanian deadlift ...

As for the squats....your confidence may go up if you were in a cage. I get a little case of nerves doing heavy squats inside a cage. Outside ...my head would mess it all up.

On both videos ...your form is best on the first rep and deteriorates as you do more reps. For instance, your first deadlift wasn't so bad, your last had your legs almost straight.

 

[max d]

You are right about the power cage; I havent maxed on squats in fear of my life ha. I looked into getting one and found a bunch of weights and bar on craigs lift and the rack you see came with it for free. Think I might sell it and I actually have a real nice olympic bench press and get a power rack with a regular adjustable bench to slide in and out of it.

Thanks again and I am going to implement these changes later on this week. Hopefully the tweak to my deads will save my back down the road. Thanks again!

 

[HIT4ME]

I would bet some others on here will have some advice - they just haven't seen this yet. Rodja comes to mind.

 

[napalm]

Squat: The bar is too low, move it a couple inches higher so you can get properly set up under the bar. Get your whole body tight before you even unrack it.

Stop dick.ing around before and after you unrack. Get under the bar, get set up and go. You're wasting energy dancing around like that. Left foot back, right foot back, get feet set then go. No more no less.

Squat to depth, every one of them was high. I'd widen my stance a little to get your hamstrings and ass more into the movement.


DL Not terrible, lowering your hips a little would put you in a better position at the bottom. Reset completely after each rep. Touch and go just plain sucks. Watch every rep after the first, they're progressively worse. Stand up, get your shins the right distance again, set your back, then pull...

 

[max d]

When you say squat to depth do you mean parallel or below? On higher rep sets I go a lot lower but I personally don't feel comfortable breaking parallel with heavy weight for me. I had a slight tear in something in my knee (name slips my mind right now) and going heavyand low scares me. Looking at the video I thought I was atleast parallel. I knew previously I was having depth issues and is why I boxed squat for a while, just using it as a gauge and wasn't boucing off of it or anything. Form was real good but now I don't feel comfortable at all... Hence my wicked dance moves jk.

Thanks for the tips though. This is my first time video taping myself and may use it more often to ensure I'm getting low enough.

 

[napalm]

Squat to parallel every rep.

Go back and read that again.

If you're squatting properly, meaning you're not folding over out of the hole and you're keeping your knees from caving in then squatting is not going to hurt your knees...

 

[max d]

Squat to parallel every rep.

Go back and read that again.

If you're squatting properly, meaning you're not folding over out of the hole and you're keeping your knees from caving in then squatting is not going to hurt your knees...

So last year I had a slight tear in my right meniscus (tried a pistol squat without any warm up and horrible form) that did not require surgery but bothers me when I break parallel... Even when I have no weight and taking a deuce. So my knee is not 100 and feels weaker in general but either way I think u are right that if I keep my knees out ill be good to go. I squat tomorrow and am going to try a lil wider stance. Thanks again.

 

[asooneyeonig]

I tore my meniscus as well and since doing an exercise I found from mobilitywod I can again front squat ass to grass and got back to competing in power lifting where I have since set a state record in the squat. My knee also feels better when I squat 2 to 3 times a week.

Go to YouTube and look up
Terminal knee extension part 2

That is what I did to help my knee return to it's normal ROM

 

[max d]

I tore my meniscus as well and since doing an exercise I found from mobilitywod I can again front squat ass to grass and got back to competing in power lifting where I have since set a state record in the squat. My knee also feels better when I squat 2 to 3 times a week.

Go to YouTube and look up
Terminal knee extension part 2

That is what I did to help my knee return to it's normal ROM

Thanks!!! I'm going to check it out today!

 

[Jakethaniel]

Squat: For the most part looks good. You should work on getting a little lower. Also cut out the pre-set wobble. Instead you can pulse squeeze your glutes once or twice before descending. If you cannot help the wobble then you might want to work on calf strength and see if that resolves it.

Deadlift: Honestly it looks great. One thing to note is on your first rep you will see you get your hips down lower than any of your other reps, but as soon as you initiate the lift your hips move to where your other reps go before the bar really starts moving.
So either just setup where your hips go on all the other reps or work on actually getting the bar moving from a lower hip position.

 

[max d]

Squat: For the most part looks good. You should work on getting a little lower. Also cut out the pre-set wobble. Instead you can pulse squeeze your glutes once or twice before descending. If you cannot help the wobble then you might want to work on calf strength and see if that resolves it.

Deadlift: Honestly it looks great. One thing to note is on your first rep you will see you get your hips down lower than any of your other reps, but as soon as you initiate the lift your hips move to where your other reps go before the bar really starts moving.
So either just setup where your hips go on all the other reps or work on actually getting the bar moving from a lower hip position.

Thanks for the feedback. Squatted yesterday for higher reps and made sure I went a little deeper. No jitters with lighter weight but the heavier the weight the more uncomfortable I get with my foot positioning. Thinking about marking it on the floor so I don't have to think about it or feel it out.

I've been deadlifting with higher hips for the last 2 yrs. I just started pulling myself lower a week or two. So u don't see an issue with the higher hips? I was watching brandon campbell on youtube and he gave me the idea of starting with ur hips just low enough to comfortably grab the bar. I liked it because it made it feel like one solid movement instead of a mini squat to a dead. Ill be the first to admit that by the end it looks like a romanian deadlift. I'm done with touch and go so hopefully that helps. I dead lift in a couple days and going to play with my starting position.

 

[Jakethaniel]

Thanks for the feedback. Squatted yesterday for higher reps and made sure I went a little deeper. No jitters with lighter weight but the heavier the weight the more uncomfortable I get with my foot positioning. Thinking about marking it on the floor so I don't have to think about it or feel it out.

I've been deadlifting with higher hips for the last 2 yrs. I just started pulling myself lower a week or two. So u don't see an issue with the higher hips? I was watching brandon campbell on youtube and he gave me the idea of starting with ur hips just low enough to comfortably grab the bar. I liked it because it made it feel like one solid movement instead of a mini squat to a dead. Ill be the first to admit that by the end it looks like a romanian deadlift. I'm done with touch and go so hopefully that helps. I dead lift in a couple days and going to play with my starting position.

For working on technique, especially squat wise, you will want to stick to lower reps. Squats have technical breakdowns pretty easily during high reps. If you want to throw in high reps after then keep the weight very light and focus on technique until you have your technique comfortable and where you want it. Stop at technical breakdown.

They were not terribly high so you could stick with it, but you will probably be able to pull more if you can resolve it. Switching to dead stop reps should help, but like I said even on the first rep, you got your hips down low, but then when you started pulling they moved to the higher position before the bar really started moving.
If you choose to work on a lower starting hip position you kinda have to think of it as initiating the lift with your spinal erectors/glutes then you engage your leg drive. It does become more of a "squat".
It is like you load the legs then you lift. It is kind of hard to explain, so if that does not make sense tell me.

 

[liftandswim]

Look up how to properly brace your core, ribcage positioning is off. You're relying on hyper extension right now. Chris's duffin has some good stuff on the topic.

 

[max d]

This was my deload week and was perfect time to start tweaking my form. Below is my modified DL and my squat which is pretty much the same, minus the wiggles. Only thing I can think of is on the DL i got tight completely parallel and then sank/loaded my hips then pulled. Im assuming I should take the slack out of the bar when my hips are down and loaded so I dont get whip lash ha. Not a problem with light weight but I can forsee it with heavy. Let me know what you think and thanks again for all the received feedback!

http://youtu.be/QIxgyf6NgIY

http://youtu.be/u4rZNleB5tM

 

[herderdude]

On the squat, try to really open your hips more and drop in between them. Right now your femurs look really long on camera, which usually tells me your hips are too far away from the bar and you're not exerting force in a straight line. Really good squatters don't have a lot of length front-to-back on a side view.

On the deadlift, focus on pulling/falling back with the upper body and again, your hips are very far away from the bar. Right now you're trying to pick the bar straight up from the ground and that's why your butt rises. You need to think of driving your heels through the floor while falling backwards. That will keep your hips in the movement better.

 

[toddmuelheim]

On the squat, try to really open your hips more and drop in between them. Right now your femurs look really long on camera, which usually tells me your hips are too far away from the bar and you're not exerting force in a straight line. Really good squatters don't have a lot of length front-to-back on a side view. On the deadlift, focus on pulling/falling back with the upper body and again, your hips are very far away from the bar. Right now you're trying to pick the bar straight up from the ground and that's why your butt rises. You need to think of driving your heels through the floor while falling backwards. That will keep your hips in the movement better.

That's always the advice for long limbed squatters...it makes sense in a physics textbook but in practice it usually ends up transferring a ton of stress to the hips and lower back. He could use a tad more depth, but if he drops more in between his hips with femurs like that I would guess he will just end up with a sore lower back. Invest in some heeled shoes, they are a lifesaver for the genetically cursed for squat people.

 

[herderdude]

That's always the advice for long limbed squatters...it makes sense in a physics textbook but in practice it usually ends up transferring a ton of stress to the hips and lower back. He could use a tad more depth, but if he drops more in between his hips with femurs like that I would guess he will just end up with a sore lower back. Invest in some heeled shoes, they are a lifesaver for the genetically cursed for squat people.

I always like a heeled shoe for raw squatting and I agree it would especially benefit him but I'm curious as to how squatting more upright will stress his lower back? I wasn't having him lean forward more, but open the knees harder. If that's how it sounded then thank you for pointing that out. I don't like to say "knees out" as it usually doesn't cause the squatter to create hip torque. Hence why I say open the hips. My training parter squats as I described and it works well for her, 300# squat at 5'10" 181.

 

[toddmuelheim]

I always like a heeled shoe for raw squatting and I agree it would especially benefit him but I'm curious as to how squatting more upright will stress his lower back? My training parter squats as I described and it works well for her, 300# squat at 5'10" 181.

It's hard to explain, but I'm also in the long femur boat and have tried that literally for years...you can stay a hair more upright but by spreading your legs out more it does help keep the bar over mid foot better with less forward lean but it also takes a lot of tension off of the quads and shoots it to the hips and lower back. Everyone is built different, so I might be off but it's just something I've had to deal with having long legs and a short torso. Makes deadlifting fun though.

 

[herderdude]

It's hard to explain, but I'm also in the long femur boat and have tried that literally for years...you can stay a hair more upright but by spreading your legs out more it does help keep the bar over mid foot better with less forward lean but it also takes a lot of tension off of the quads and shoots it to the hips and lower back. Everyone is built different, so I might be off but it's just something I've had to deal with having long legs and a short torso. Makes deadlifting fun though.

Lol it sure does! My training partner pulls huge. I'm built perfectly to squat. Hell, "squat" works as an adjective for my build. But I learned a lot trying to help her. I guess that comes down to what you're squatting for. If you want to squat the most weight, you want the stress on hips and lower back. If you're squatting for huge legs, then you're right, heeled shoe, ass to the floor, and shoulder width stance all the way.

I squatted hip width for years and built big legs (then again, that runs in the family) before I moved my stance outside of shoulder width and started moving big(ger) weights.

 

[max d]

That's always the advice for long limbed squatters...it makes sense in a physics textbook but in practice it usually ends up transferring a ton of stress to the hips and lower back. He could use a tad more depth, but if he drops more in between his hips with femurs like that I would guess he will just end up with a sore lower back. Invest in some heeled shoes, they are a lifesaver for the genetically cursed for squat people.

I typically squat in construction style boots because the are solid soles with a incline/lift in the back. Im a cheap ass and dont want to spend $100 on shoes to squat in.

It's hard to explain, but I'm also in the long femur boat and have tried that literally for years...you can stay a hair more upright but by spreading your legs out more it does help keep the bar over mid foot better with less forward lean but it also takes a lot of tension off of the quads and shoots it to the hips and lower back. Everyone is built different, so I might be off but it's just something I've had to deal with having long legs and a short torso. Makes deadlifting fun though.

You hit the nail on the head. When I open my hips up more I get more pressure on my lower back. Also, my main focus is hypertrophy not as much power lifting and thats why my stance isnt really wide. I go some what heavy with back squats and then go ass to grass with front quats which ive never really had a problem with since the weight is lighter. Its just the big weights form is a lot more important for longevity and im trying to stay out of snap city haha

 

[Rodja]

Psoas isn't braced if you're getting that kind of lower back pain and likely with some slight hyperextension of the lumbar. It's also possible that the lats aren't properly engaged to help compress the core.

 

[herderdude]

Psoas isn't braced if you're getting that kind of lower back pain and likely with some slight hyperextension of the lumbar. It's also possible that the lats aren't properly engaged to help compress the core.

Thanks, Rodja. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they were getting back pain from opening up.

 

[Rodja]

Thanks, Rodja. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how they were getting back pain from opening up.

The psoas is very much understated on its importance to maintaining not only the spine, but also the hips. When it's tight, the triggers are usually the lower back or in the groin.

 

[max d]

Psoas isn't braced if you're getting that kind of lower back pain and likely with some slight hyperextension of the lumbar. It's also possible that the lats aren't properly engaged to help compress the core.

I had to google what that was but before I lift I tighten my upper back and core, but how do I ensure the Psoas is braced?

 

[herderdude]

The psoas is very much understated on its importance to maintaining not only the spine, but also the hips. When it's tight, the triggers are usually the lower back or in the groin.

You're so right. I'm guessing I didn't think of it because I'm pretty well up to speed on breathing and bracing for the most part.

 

[herderdude]

I had to google what that was but before I lift I tighten my upper back and core, but how do I ensure the Psoas is braced?

I'm not mentally connected to my psoas, but you have to make sure it's supple and strong. You have to mash it and work it. I mash mine probably 2-4x a week, both at the gut and inner thigh. As far as training it, I'm not as well versed.

 

[HIT4ME]

Honestly, I see some huge improvement in the new videos - great job.

About the only pieces of advice I can give, which may be a bit of what was said above :

1. Watch the first rep on your first deadlift video. You ALMOST "pull" correctly on that rep. As said above, you want to lean back/fall back almost as if you are sitting in a chair. Once you do it, you will realize that your bodyweight almost becomes an asset, leaning back helps you leverage the bar off the floor.

2. On the deadlifts, you have a little bit of the same problem you had and corrected on your squats - you are wasting a lot of energy bouncing around. IMO this sets you up for a "jerking" motion and this is what causes injuries. Powerlifters may disagree with this slightly, but I feel like the sudden slack as you bounce down, and then sudden tension as you bounce up is just not good.

3. Watch your squats closely - this is hard to see and I think your squat form is very good in the second video - but it looks like you are rounding your shoulders forward a little and not tightening up your core/pulling your lats tight and chest up. This could be due to the fact you are concentrating on your depth and long legs - but I think you've corrected that IMO.

 

[Rodja]

I had to google what that was but before I lift I tighten my upper back and core, but how do I ensure the Psoas is braced?

Upper back as in traps or with the lats pulled down? Pulling the lats down and keeping your elbows underneath you are the proper ways to brace your core, which will ensure the psoas is stabilized as well.

You're so right. I'm guessing I didn't think of it because I'm pretty well up to speed on breathing and bracing for the most part.

Those that know how to breathe into their back don't have this problem. Weighted planks are the best thing I've found to strengthen the psoas.

 

[herderdude]

Piggybacking off of what Rodja said, if you truly are tight in your upper back and core, they still can move independent of one another UNLESS you use your lats to pull that bar down and forward into you. That connects your whole upper body into one unit. Chris Duffin, former world record holder in the squat with 881 weighing 220, calls the lats the glutes of the upper body. Glutes connect lower body to your trunk, lats connect upper back to your trunk.

 

[max d]

Upper back as in traps or with the lats pulled down? Pulling the lats down and keeping your elbows underneath you are the proper ways to brace your core, which will ensure the psoas is stabilized as well.


Those that know how to breathe into their back don't have this problem. Weighted planks are the best thing I've found to strengthen the psoas.

I guess I've never focused on engaging the lats. I've always just made a tight raack for the bar and tightened my stomach/abs through breathing and getting it tight. Thanks for the cues!

 

[Rodja]

I guess I've never focused on engaging the lats. I've always just made a tight raack for the bar and tightened my stomach/abs through breathing and getting it tight. Thanks for the cues!

You're not supposed to tighten the abs; you're supposed to expand and compress them. The cue is to breathe into your back and push out on the obliques.

 

[max d]

You're not supposed to tighten the abs; you're supposed to expand and compress them. The cue is to breathe into your back and push out on the obliques.

I take a breath and exhale through my "core" which tightens it all up including my abs and back. Hard to explain I guess but I think I'm doing it correctly. So, I'm not exactly flexing them as u may have gathered from the previous post. Does that sound more correct or am I totally off base on tightening up before the lift?

 

[herderdude]

I take a breath and exhale through my "core" which tightens it all up including my abs and back. Hard to explain I guess but I think I'm doing it correctly. So, I'm not exactly flexing them as u may have gathered from the previous post. Does that sound more correct or am I totally off base on tightening up before the lift?

You want to blow your stomach out against your belt rather than suck it in. Blow air out and tense your abs, then take in as much air as you possibly can down deep into your lower back with your abs still tense. Think a stout column instead of a narrow column, and think hydraulic pressure.

 

[Sean1332]

Go to Chris Duffin's YouTube page, and under his playlists is his instructional videos. He has some videos that will explain the hips, breathing/bracing, and holding the bar.

 

[max d]

You want to blow your stomach out against your belt rather than suck it in. Blow air out and tense your abs, then take in as much air as you possibly can down deep into your lower back with your abs still tense. Think a stout column instead of a narrow column, and think hydraulic pressure.

Yep I'm set with breathing and bracing... Just not communicating jk.

Go to Chris Duffin's YouTube page, and under his playlists is his instructional videos. He has some videos that will explain the hips, breathing/bracing, and holding the bar.

Thanks, ill have to check out the videos on hips and engaging the lats.