Form check - Squat

[Avenge]

Hi guys,

Will you please give some comments about my squat? I think it looks pretty solid..
Only I am:

- To deep
- I should have shoved my knees out more

Do you have other comments?
It's all welcome, thanks!

[muddy]

Hey Avenge,

It's hard to tell on depth due to black on black, but it seems about right to me.

Along with knees, a bigger issue is you are doing a mild good morning on the way up. As you drive up, notice how your back goes slightly more horizontal, and the bar comes a little forward of your center of gravity.

[Avenge]

Hey Avenge,

It's hard to tell on depth due to black on black, but it seems about right to me.

Along with knees, a bigger issue is you are doing a mild good morning on the way up. As you drive up, notice how your back goes slightly more horizontal, and the bar comes a little forward of your center of gravity.

Alright, yeah, when I kept watching, I saw it too.
However, on some of the video's on for example Strenghtmill, Rippetoe says that a 'little' shifting forward isn't too bad..

So i'm kinda confused about that. But as we are speaking about the matter, what can I do about it?

I'm having a tight upper back, and I'm bracing my abs..
So I have no idea what else I can do to make the leaning forward stop..

Could you help me kind sir Muddy? ^^

[muddy]

Yeah, it's not the worst squat fault in the world. As the weight goes up, it'll be a reason to miss lifts, though. I can't really see your knees that clearly. The usual fix would be shoving the knees out, and feel like you're smashing your neck back into the bar. I don't mean look up, just keep that upper back tight while you try and put your neck into the bar. See if that helps.

[lovestolift]

From my understanding, it's not a big deal if your back angle changes slightly, indeed it is a product of hip drive. It is however generally excepted to be bad if the bar goes forward of the mid-foot which is happening here. Do you feel yourself tipping forward onto your toes? That usually happens when the bar goes forward as your body is trying to keep it in balance. Try pulling your toes back for a while and see if that helps. It should force you onto your heels.

[Avenge]

Yeah, it's not the worst squat fault in the world. As the weight goes up, it'll be a reason to miss lifts, though. I can't really see your knees that clearly. The usual fix would be shoving the knees out, and feel like you're smashing your neck back into the bar. I don't mean look up, just keep that upper back tight while you try and put your neck into the bar. See if that helps.

Hehe, alright. Well, I have been practicing at my technique, and made different video's. The video I made before this one, has better technique (no leaning forward). And all my other attempts where pretty much that I leaned waaaaay too much forward..

So I am improving.

And about my knees.. After I was done, I realized that I was so busy with bracing my abs and keeping a tight upper back, that I forget to shove my knees out hard. So it's not weird that you can't see it on the video.

Thanks for your advice man, I really appreciate it.. And ofcourse, all the rest of Stronglifts. I am starting my routine next week, so I'm preparing hard to get all of my techniques down before that. Tomorrow I'll squat again (it are light weights, so I should'nt have that much fatique..) And I'll put a video of my DL on Youtube.

@ Lovestolift

Yeah, like I said in my answer above, the other video was cool. But yeah, I am sometimes kinda unstable.. And therefore my back angle is changing, you are right.

I'll see how it goes tomorrow, and if I still have this problem, I'll try your tip.
Thanks man, I really appreciate the comment, it's a usefull tip.

[Avenge]

Alright. I made another video of my squat, and also of my Deadlift and Press. It would be very nice if you guys could comment on them too. (I hope enough people will still see this thread. )

Squat


Still leaning a tad forward on the first rep.. But I noticed an improvement if I keep my toes up.
The weight should always feel on your heels, right?

Deadlift


Your opinion?

Press


Your opinion?


Sorry about the DL and Press video, I realize the angle could have been better.

[luco]

Squat: Yes, weight is always on your heels. I can only really see bar path from this angle since it's black on black on black everywhere. You're right about the forward lean. The bar goes straight down and up in a J curve. Keep your back and abs tight during the first part of the ascend (or during any part of the lift for that matter, this is just where you lose tightness). Also, for form checks, more reps would be useful. Just tape some work sets.

Deadlift: Up looks pretty good, down does not. Look at the vid. The down part should be at least similar to the up part. Don't drag the bar down your thighs.

Press: Keep your elbows in front of the bar. Looks like you start off that way, but as soon as rep 2 goes up, they're gone. EDIT: I'm not 100% sure of this, since your elbows are hiding, the vid is at an angle and you can't see the rest of your body or your legs. If you know they're good, they're good.

[Avenge]

Luco;

Alright man. Yeah, you're right, there is a little J-curve. But I think just keep squatting and trying to keep the right form would be best. I haven't started with any program yet, but I want to start monday..

I think I'll just start the program and try to adapt to perfect squat-form as I'm in it. I need to practice a lot, that's for sure..

Alright, thanks for your comments about the DL and Press. At the DL, when I'm going down, I should stick my butt back, right? Or is it that that I'm doing wrong..

And about the Press, I believe that in Rippetoe's vid, he's saying that I should keep my elbows under the bar..

[luco]

Sorry, maybe I wasn't very clear on the press: stick your elbows forward, your elbows now seem to be pointing towards you, they should point slightly away from you. This will make sure you press in a straight line instead of pressing away from your face. Also try to tuck in your elbows (like on the bench press, no actual inward movement, just preventing them from flaring out) when you lift the bar, it'll help activate your lats. Watch:

[Avenge]

If your answer wasn't clear, this video is. Thanks for sharing, I now completely get your point.

And I just jumped back in my garage to do some squats, and when I'm tightening my abs and back real hard, I get a little less leaning forward..

I''ll just keep practicing and starting the program, and within a month I'll just post another video of a work-set.

I'll watch DL/ Press video's from Rippetoe, tomorrow new form vids.

[LudwigVan]

Squat looks ok, but it's hard to see. Depth does look excessive in the last video.

Deadlift: Up looks pretty good, down does not. Look at the vid. The down part should be at least similar to the up part. Don't drag the bar down your thighs.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. The bar should stay as close to the body as possible. The only problem might be bending his knees a little early on the descent.

The press looks okay, but the weight looks too light to demonstrate anything about your form.

[luco]

I mean he shouldn't have the bar go down his thighs on the way down. If he sticks his butt back the bar will clear his knees.

[Avenge]

I mean he shouldn't have the bar go down his thighs on the way down. If he sticks his butt back the bar will clear his knees.

I'm watching the Rippetoe Video about the deadlift now, and he is keeping his students to keep the bar in contact with their body.

Mehdi says this on Stronglifts; (On the excersise part of this site)

Bar Close to You. Keep the bar in contact with your body during the whole lift, rolling the bar over your shins & thighs. The closer the bar, the less stress on your lower back & the more weight you can Deadlift.

[luco]

Sorry, I didn't mean to impose any bad technique on anyone. I wanted him to stop focusing on pulling the bar towards his thighs with his lats. The bar can be in contact with his thighs, but this should be because the bar is right above the middle of his center of gravity (middle of foot). Go look at the deadlift vid. If you hold something like a pen completely perpendicular to the floor, at the point where the bar is (on your screen/the vid), you will see that the bar does not move in a straight line. He's pulling the bar closer towards him with his lats, having it drag down his thighs on the way down as such (he's not doing it this bad, but same deal):



In this vid, you can see the bar might be in contact with the thigh, but it's not dragging down the thighs in any way, it's just a touch.



Please understand me.. I mean you no harm .