Critique my form: deadlift, squat

Bigcountry08

Bigcountry08

Active member
Hey guys been watching the "So you think you can series" and want to make sure my form is good. There aren't really to many people serious about heavy lifting at my gym and I'm one of only a handful who actually squats. So I don't really have anyone to watch my form, so if some of the more experienced guys out there could chime in I would really appreciate it.

I did several lifts like in the series to show where I might faulted at heavier weights.

Here are my deadlifts.

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And my squats.

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Sorry for the squat angle if you can't get much from it I will try and get a better angle next week.
 
Not too shabby.

For deadlifts I would try to get your butt back more and get lower. You can watch Franco Columbu, one of the strongest bodybuilders ever, do it here:

[video=youtube;KJh6_zXRXjo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJh6_zXRXjo[/video]

It can be hard when you're tall like you are, but keep getting low and keep the butt back until you feel it turn into more of a full body movement and less of a lower back movement.

For the squats I would lighten up the weight. Focus on slowing down your decline a bit and try to get a bit lower. You want to be at least to parallel with the ground. You're a little above that right now. Concentrate on feeling the weight on the outsides of your feet and drive up through your heels and hips.

Good work thus far!
 
You're a bit taller, so you're going to have use more lumbar than shorter guys that can keep their hips back. However, your shoulders are forward and you need some space between your shins and the arm to fix this.

Your squats, on the other hand, are about 4-5" high and need to fix that first.
 
Also...on your heavier deads, be careful about rounding in your upper back/shoulders. I didn't see it as much on lifts under 315, but once you went big, you arched big time! Keep those shoulders back, and keep your butt down!! Think of it as pushing your feet down through the floor. I would say get more comfortable keeping your form before you lift anything about 315 again. You can still get good work in and not get hurt, you are right there tho! Keep it up man!!
 
Wrivest said:
Also...on your heavier deads, be careful about rounding in your upper back/shoulders. I didn't see it as much on lifts under 315, but once you went big, you arched big time! Keep those shoulders back, and keep your butt down!! Think of it as pushing your feet down through the floor. I would say get more comfortable keeping your form before you lift anything about 315 again. You can still get good work in and not get hurt, you are right there tho! Keep it up man!!
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This was the biggest thing I noticed. Before you pull up, think about locking in your lats - down and back. You look very loose in that area right now and the rounding back becomes problematic. Also make sure to keep a neutral spine throughout the entire movement. There shouldn't be a huge bend in the neck - you should be able to draw a straight line from head to tailbone.
 
Concur with the good advice posted by the above members. Your butt shot up fairly quickly and that made your back have to finish your pull.

Get deeper for your squat then post another video.

Props though for posting all the videos for critique.
 
Thanks everyone, a lot of great advice most everything you guys are saying I noticed especially the upper back weakness.

Just to tell you guys to I never go as heavy as I did for these lifts normal squat max working weight is 275 and dead is 315. According to the "so you think you can" series you should try and go to your 90-95% lift so your bodies natural instincts will take over and show your weaknesses. Also I always do full rom squats, just did box cause that's what they did in the video and they said it helps. In truth parallels hurt my knees where as with full roms I get no knee pain.
 
Rodja said:
Your squats, on the other hand, are about 4-5" high and need to fix that first.
Click to expand...

This, and there's no need to hyperextend your neck like that.

Look forward, not up...
 
napalm said:
This, and there's no need to hyperextend your neck like that.

Look forward, not up...
Click to expand...

Really? That's how they were explaining it in the video, he said it helps to lock you traps in place and keep your upper back tight. Not saying your wrong just wondering. Cause when I normally squat I do just look straight forward, looking that far up felt pretty unnatural to me.
 
Bigcountry08 said:
Really? That's how they were explaining it in the video, he said it helps to lock you traps in place and keep your upper back tight. Not saying your wrong just wondering. Cause when I normally squat I do just look straight forward, looking that far up felt pretty unnatural to me.
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531 p. 12:

"some people believe you should look straight up when you squat. These are not good people to listen to. Your eyes should be directed straight ahead, or just slightly downward..."

Word...

Edit: looking up and pushing your head back into the bar to keep tight are two different things. Pushing my head back is something I'm working on at the moment...
 
napalm said:
531 p. 12:

"some people believe you should look straight up when you squat. These are not good people to listen to. Your eyes should be directed straight ahead, or just slightly downward..."

Word...
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Napalm what's the name of that book been interested in 531. Is it because when you look up it can throw you off balance? Or does it contort the upper spine?

I'm not a power lifter so the whole technique I was using didn't feel natural.
 
Bigcountry08 said:
Napalm what's the name of that book been interested in 531. Is it because when you look up it can throw you off balance? Or does it contort the upper spine?

I'm not a power lifter so the whole technique I was using didn't feel natural.
Click to expand...

Search 5/3/1 and Jim wendler. It'll pop up
 
Bigcountry08 said:
Napalm what's the name of that book been interested in 531. Is it because when you look up it can throw you off balance? Or does it contort the upper spine?

I'm not a power lifter so the whole technique I was using didn't feel natural.
Click to expand...

Jim Wendler 5/3/1.

Just because you're not a pl'er doesn't mean you shouldn't set up properly. IMO, it's a good idea in pretty much anything to keep the neck neutral.

There are different schools of thought, and this may be a point of contention for some, but I'll go with the opinion of a guy who squatted 1k...
 
Bigcountry08 said:
Napalm what's the name of that book been interested in 531. Is it because when you look up it can throw you off balance? Or does it contort the upper spine?

I'm not a power lifter so the whole technique I was using didn't feel natural.
Click to expand...

You should never hyperextend anything, especially the neck. I always find something to look at that is about eye-level and stare at it the entire time I squat. Most people don't realize the tightness and effort it take just to set-up properly on the big three and it's never going to be comfortable.
 
Now in the so you think you can squat video you are told to look up about 30 degrees. Is this just to que pushing back and not anything to do with up?

Bell talks a ton about not lifting the head on his deadlift instructional. He calls it "broken neck syndrome" iirc.
 
rob112 said:
Now in the so you think you can squat video you are told to look up about 30 degrees. Is this just to que pushing back and not anything to do with up?

Bell talks a ton about not lifting the head on his deadlift instructional. He calls it "broken neck syndrome" iirc.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what I'm kind of confused about.
 
Your chin needs to be tucked during any of these movements. Head back, but neck tucked.
 
Neutral spine always, in all the lifts. Straight line from top of your head down to your a$$.
 
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