Form Check: Squat, Deadlift, Press

[Demian]

Hey!

Since I came to the point where the lifts start to get really heavy and hard (for me) I thought it's time to get some feedback on my lifts
I'm around 77kg (170lbs) with roughly 14% BF.

Squat@ 72,5kg (160lbs) 5th Set



Deadlift@ 85kg (187lbs)



Press@ 40kg (88lbs)



Any advice/feedback is appreciated!

Thanks!

[Wellhairedbeast]

Ill just comment on a few things i noticed:

Squats: Not quite low enough to break parallel, also ditch the trainers, get decent training shoes or go barefoot, it also looked like you might have been lifting your heels a tiny bit (judging by the movement of the footwear).

Deadlifts: Rounding your back. Hard to tell but i also think your shins need to be closer to the bar.

Press: It looked like your back was arched, also the bar was not travelling in a straight line.


Welcome to the forums btw

[Demian]

Thank's for the quick reply Beast, I knew about the shoes, but since I do cardio (normally jogging or HIIT Sprints) after 5x5 i just can't be arsed to bring a second pair of shoes to the place I train.

Do you think it's that much of a deal with the weights I'm currently at?

[lovestolift]

It certainly will be eventually if not now. You want a hard sole, possibly with a slight heel. Runners fail on the hard sole part. Get a pair of Chucks, they won't take up much room in the gym bag. More experienced people discussing this: http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/Weightlifting/WeightliftingShoes.html

[lovestolift]

Now that the videos have loaded:

Squat- You need to get a little lower and shove your knees out more. I'd also take a slightly wider stance from the looks of it.

Deadlift- You need to fix your lower back position. Think of squeezing the chest up and taking the slack out of your arms. Then think about tucking your groin under. That should help stop the rounding. You should also kill the bar on the ground between reps. It's not touch and go. You should quickly reset your position when the bar is on the ground and pull from a dead stop.

Press- Get your elbows in front of the bar. The bar should take a mostly straight, vertical path. Work on moving your body out of the way, then getting under it. When you get under it and lockout really focus on shrugging your traps up.

[luco]

Some minor additions to LTL's comments (which you should definitely take to heart):

Squat- Looks like you're doing a legpress. Do you own Starting Strength? If so, reread the squat chapter. If not, read every page on the SL site about the squat. Watch as many videos of people you KNOW can squat (powerlifters for example) and relearn the movement with an empty bar to start. Like LTL said, focus on keeping knees shoved out, don't let them travel forward throughout the lift. Focus more on sitting back, not going down. If you don't have better shoes at the moment, squat barefoot. Actually, in my opinion this goes for all lifts except pullups. You're at home anyway and this might actually make it easier to learn the feel of the lift.

Deadlift- LTL said it all.

OHP: You're just sticking your head forward. This is not the same as dipping under the bar. Think chest forward, shoulders back. In the top position, the bar should be directly above your scapula.

[Wellhairedbeast]

With regards to the weight your at its always an issue.

While nobody will ever have "perfect form" there will always be minor tweaks to be made however with a number of issues particularly depth it means that your squats "don't count" in terms of linear progression, you should only increase weight once you hit all reps at the correct depth with acceptable form. Theres some very good advice that LTL has provided and also read over the articles on this website (even check other peoples form videos so you can see other potentials areas for improvement). Strength training is a long and hard journey so theres no need to rush ahead.

Try and put the advice into practice next session, and if you improve form on the warmups and worksets then its ok to continue at the weight your at, if you find it hard to hit depth for example when following correct form then i would suggest a minor deload of 10%.

[Demian]

Before checking the forum today I thought about the things I still need to ask (like should I progress or not etc.) but after reading the thread now everything has been answered before I even asked it, a big THANK YOU to LTL, Wellhairedbeast and luco!
I'm into lifting and Fitness about a year now, but getting smart replies on a forum is something I haven't experienced so far!

About my Squat, as you can see I lift without a spotter nor a Rack so about a month ago during 50kg Squats while comeing
out of the hole one leg failed and I fell on my back, luckily it only caused a sprained finger with a medium flesh wound.

So now with weights coming close to BW i get really cautious and therefore my form is suffering.

I guess I came to the point where a power rack is the only solution to progress safely.

[Wellhairedbeast]

I guess I came to the point where a power rack is the only solution to progress safely.

Thats right, but a second option (not as good but the one i use) is to have a squat rack and use some builders trestles as saftey bars. In fact i think my builders are adjustable low enough to even use for rack pulls but if you can get a rack, get a rack!

[ricepower]

Squat:

Needs to be much deeper, think you are easily capable of it as you do not seem to have a flexibility issue.

Deadlift:

You are setting up for the lift wrong, your knees are to bent in front of the bar. A good start for power cleans but not for deadlifts. I think your hips (for your body type) actually need to be higher when setting up. If you setup right it will be easier to avid hitting your knees on the way down which is happening.

Press:

Get those elbows in front of the bar!!!

[Kingace]

Before checking the forum today I thought about the things I still need to ask (like should I progress or not etc.) but after reading the thread now everything has been answered before I even asked it, a big THANK YOU to LTL, Wellhairedbeast and luco!
I'm into lifting and Fitness about a year now, but getting smart replies on a forum is something I haven't experienced so far!

About my Squat, as you can see I lift without a spotter nor a Rack so about a month ago during 50kg Squats while comeing
out of the hole one leg failed and I fell on my back, luckily it only caused a sprained finger with a medium flesh wound.

So now with weights coming close to BW i get really cautious and therefore my form is suffering.

I guess I came to the point where a power rack is the only solution to progress safely.

I had a similar experience a few months ago, In the bottom position of the squat the bar rolled forward on my neck (80kg and without any safety bars). I removed the bar from my neck luckily and without any injuries, It really does take balls to squat outside of a power rack. In the end I just had to get a power rack, the fear was too much for me as the weight climbed.

If you are short on money, I recommend using some saw horses for the time being.

About the form, I think people have spotted most of the minor modifications needed. Although I noticed on the overhead press you are taking a break at the top and bottom of the lift, you should breath only at the top of the bottom and bounce off the opposite end without a break. This will be helpful and will allow you to lift more weight when you come close to failure.

[Glutenbob]

For your squat, you seem to be bending at the knees. You will mess up your knees this way. Bend at the hip and go deeper.