Form check (box) squat, DL, BP, inv row

[rossi]

What do you think??

Squat
The Squat has a slight good morning in it, don't know how to fix. My legs rock back and forward, it's absolutely impossible for me to keep them still. Last video in March had the same problems.
I don't feel in control of the weight.


Box Squat
box squat idem, and perhaps the chair should be slightly higher.


Deadlift
I don't experience problems on the way up, except that the bar is not in contact with my legs between knee and lower thigh. Putting it down feels weird, not right. Also my foot rocks back and forth.


Floor press
First time I press in the J-motion, but I don't really see any problems. Perhaps the bar stands are a bit too high.


Inverse rows
my abs are not tight enough, can't see other faults.

[eLvarouza]

Squat: well you've certainly got the "don't come up on your toes" part down. Now you need to not come up on your heels. The weight should be distributed evenly throughout the foot. Keep your feet down, shove your knees out, and keep doing what you're doing; I think that will correct it.

Deadlift: again with the heels, and you need to squeeze into a better starting position. Notice how reps 1 and 3 look different from rep 2? That's because you're trying too hard to push up on your heels. Rep 2 is good, although you should still be tighter in the starting position.

Also, your lowering feels awkward because you're keeping your torso too vertical and lowering the bar into your knees. Finally, you should learn how to reset after each rep without standing up.

Floor press: are you specifically trying to do a close grip? It looks like you're lowering the bar pretty far down. If you're using it as assistance for the bench press you should try to lower it to where you would on the bench press (lower chest, just below the nipples). I'm guessing you're doing a floor press because you don't have a bench, but benching to your belly doesn't really work too well if you're not a powerlifter using a bench shirt, or unless you're specifically trying to use a close grip.

Inverted row: you're right about the abs. I don't really know what to look for here, so maybe somebody else can comment. They look alright to me though, as you're touching your chest to the bar and using your back.

[rossi]

Thanks. Regarding the floor press. I tried it like this because of the discussion going on last week about this being safer for the shoulders. A Westside bb technique. You should aim at the solar plexus.

About the DL, when you mean 'tighter in the start', do you mean shoulder more forward and tension on the arms?

[dylanamus]

With the squat, you are descending too quickly (in my opinion this speed seems out of control) and on the way back up you are shoving your butt backwards, rather than up and in, causing your centre of balance to shift to your heels.

Check out how your shins angle backwards when you come up from the bottom. They should stay as straight as possible. It's this butt shoving that's making you lose stability.

Slow it all down and concentrate on vertical shins throughout the lift. Once your form is solid, by all means speed it back up again if you are so inclined. hehe

[dylanamus]

Your deadlift form looks pretty good although it is a bit hard to analyse at such speeds. You are mr explosive, that's for sure haha Your shoes could be to blame for your unanchored footing, but I would suggest it's a lack of glute tension. As you thrust your hips to meet the bar, squeeze your glutes and abs and you will find your centre of balance is a little more forward.

[Leot]

He's deadlifting what looks like 62.5-65kg here, the bar should hang closer to his shins when the weight increases. Listen to eLvarouza, his comments helped me a lot on the deadlift (and ran counter to what a lot of other people were saying regarding hip hight).

[eLvarouza]

Thanks. Regarding the floor press. I tried it like this because of the discussion going on last week about this being safer for the shoulders. A Westside bb technique. You should aim at the solar plexus.

Correct, you don't want to bench the bar straight down towards the shoulders. I try to aim for the lower chest, and I touch right above the solar plexus, maybe an inch above. It looks to me though that you're going lower than the solar plexus though towards your belly. I could just be seeing it wrong. Try using the empty bar or a broomstick and find a place where you can do a full ROM bench press. Use your current setup and see where you touch the weight.

About the DL, when you mean 'tighter in the start', do you mean shoulder more forward and tension on the arms?

I mean your back isn't in full extension. There's softness in your back, which you can see because there's a bit of rounding of the upper and lower back. You may actually be just a tad too far in front of the bar. Dropping your hips a tiny, tiny bit and squeezing your chest up more may put you in the right position. Pause the video at 0:37 when the bar is coming off the floor. That's about the back angle you want at the start. It seems in some of the other reps you're a tiny bit forward of that.

[guru]

Not commenting on anything else, but the box squat looks good. Only thing is you are explosive on your way down too. Avoid that. Go down in a little more controlled manner. Box height is more or less correct.

[rossi]

Is there any kind of mental visualization that you could give? I've been practicing this morning keeping the legs vertical, but it's not working (even barefoot same problem)

[dylanamus]

Think cause and effect. It's happening because you're shoving your butt back too far. Try to not do that. You could even practice without a barbell.

[eLvarouza]

Is there any kind of mental visualization that you could give? I've been practicing this morning keeping the legs vertical, but it's not working (even barefoot same problem)

Your shins won't be vertical unless your stance is very wide so don't worry about it.

[LudwigVan]

The Squat has a slight good morning in it, don't know how to fix.

No it doesn't. People say this all the time and I don't understand it. Your squat is, however, kind of a mess. Keep your feet flat on the floor, let your knees move forward at the beginning, stay tight on the way down and control your descent, and don't pause at the bottom. Also your knees should be locked before each rep.

[eLvarouza]

The Squat has a slight good morning in it, don't know how to fix.

No it doesn't. People say this all the time and I don't understand it.

Agreed. There is a big difference between a strong hip drive and GMing a squat out of the hole. Of course you don't want to drive the hips up at the expense of not keeping the chest up, but a slight back angle decrease is expected with a strong hip drive.

As an aside I've always considered a good-morning-ed squat to be when the back angle declines AND the bar drifts forward of the mid-foot on the way up. People with proper hip drive might have a slight declination in back angle, but the bar stays over the mid-foot.

[LudwigVan]

I'd call this an example of a squat becoming something like a good morning. His knees extend without moving the bar, so his chest falls down.

Also the guy saying "Way too low, Jacob. Way too low." after the first rep cracks me up.

[rossi]

My legs now move much less than before, found out that it happens automatically when you start with stiff legs. However, today and yesterday I had pain in my knees. Usually it stops the day after, but now I still have pain all the time. I'm worried that I'm irrecoverably ruining my knees... Any thoughts on this?