ExRx.net

...and be honest if you don't mind. I always tell my customers, I can't fix it if they don't tell me exactly what's wrong with it down to the very last little detail.

Here is me squatting... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ORG0hoSqs

I fell forward a little bit on the second repitition, but kept it good throughout the rest of the sets. I guess I'm at least parallel with the ground, below parallel seems crazy at the moment because I feel as if I can't go down any further. Maybe it's due to some flexibility issues... or just my big ole belly getting in the way.

Here is me bench pressing... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ5YbyD3TGs

Bench feels fine. I have to remember to keep my legs and feet tight and pressed against the ground as I forget about that sometimes. Ignore please, the belly peaking... *sigh*

Here is me deadlifting... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gQv8lk3M04

As I watch the video, the bar seems to be going in a vertical path, which is what SS says it needs to be. I think my back position deteriorates further into the sets though. Oh, and notice the hawt rolled up sleeves, hehe. It's all the rage right now!

Anything you guys agree on, like, don't like, see that I need to adjust immediately? Thanks for any input you all can give!

Ok then. My eye lids are involuntarily closing on me. Time to get some sleep!

I dont' know how to phrase it, but on the Deadlift, the bar should come up more when you straighten your legs. I hear the cue to "stand up with the bar". Watching it's like you pop your knees back into locked postion, and then pull the bar up.

Squats, I'd like to see from a differnt angle, I suspect a bit of twisting, or dipping to one side ?

I'm not qualified to give anything a full approval, but I did not see any issues with the bench.

I may be all wet on the Deads too

Squat and bench are fine IMO, you know where your problems are, so... just gotta fix em is all.




Alright, first off your belly isn't that bad. So relax, you'll take of that in no time, lol

Second you are basically standing up, and then lifting the weight. Your hips shoot way too soon. You feel deads in your lower back and lower traps (Mid back) a lot I would bet. That is because you are lifting the bar off teh ground.

Try and pull the bar up, if that makes sense. Push the earth down with your heels and pull the weight up. Don't lift it, pull it. (I understand that might not make any sense at all, lol, but I don't know how else to describe it.) You will lose a ton of power because you remove your glutes & legs from the lift too early. You shouldn't be squeezing your ass until you pass your knees. Once the bar passes your knees, THEN squeeze your glutes and it stands you right up, this is called "getting your hips through".

Now you are going to get some erector fatigue, obvi, but your ass and hammies should get sore too.

I feel like your back is in a decent position, it is just the bit of extra flab that makes it seem rounded. I have the same problem, so please know I'm not trying to knock you, but I carry my fat there as well.

Good news is, you are on the right track. You will be able to add weight as you work on form IMO, you will just make your back stronger.

Oh and drop the running shoes now. Dead bear foot because you are at home. Or pull in work boots, army boots, chucks, vans, wing tip Bostonian, or anything other than running shoes. Use teh running shoes for walking the dog, not lifting weights.

Good work so far man, good work.

I agree that the squats look OK, as far as I can see from this angle. I'd like to see it both from a lower angle (have your wife squat down, or set the camera on a chair) so I can see the depth better. I'd also like to see it more from your front. If your wife could just move a bit to her right. I'd like to see if your knees are staying in line with your feet, or tending to cave in, as most of us tend to do, at least at first. Is your weight a bit forward? It should be on your heels.

On bench, you caught the loose lower body issue. Also, you might want to set up closer to the bar, giving yourself just enough clearance so you don't hit the pegs with the bar. I'm a big believer in hand-off, but if you aren't using it, try to minimize how far you have to move the bar horizontally in order to get into position. Use the highest position for the pegs that you can, and still lift unrack smoothly. The lift itself looked fine.

On the deadlift, I think you are rounding your lower back. That's part and parcel of your over-all form issue. Both Oscar and Erick have described what you are doing. I think the cause is that you are setting up with your body too far forward. Another way of describing it is that your hips are rising before your shoulders. This is sometimes called "GMing out of the hole" because it is basically the motion of a good morning. They should rise together at first. It looks like your weight is on your toes, and it should be on your heels. Your belly shouldn't be getting in the way, by the way. You squat BETWEEN your legs, not on top of them. So your belly should go between your thighs, not on top of them.

When you set up, you are fine up until you grip the bar. From the beginning your weight should be on your heels, NOT your toes. After gripping, drop your butt down, pull your shoulders back and shoulder blades together, push your belly out and settle back a little. As you do that, pull the "slack" out of the bar. Pull up and back a little to add some tension to your arms (using your body, not your arms, which should be straight the whole time). Keep the bar in contact with the skin of your shins as you pull. The problem of tearing the skin on your shins is an issue for another discussion, but the bar should actually slide on the skin.

There are people (like Rippetoe) who tell you to set up initially with your shins an inch or so away from the bar, then as you set up let the shins come forward and contact the bar. Others (like Cressey) say to set up with the bar against the shin, and keep your shin vertical. I think the "right" way probably depends on your particular anthropormetrics. The right way for you should result in the bar rising along your shins in a vertical line, and your shoulders coming up along with your hips. The first way will give you more shin angle, the second will make the shins more vertical. Either way, the shins should not pull away from the bar as you start to lift.

By the way, Boris has a Squat Rx video on this very problem--http://www.youtube.com/user/johnnymnemonic2#p/c/C03D688F10C4DE1F/2/wY4gwVlO_k0

You might want to rig some sort of extra light when you shoot video. Just a lamp or a work light.

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Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.--Francis Chan

Just a quick sidenote, you may want to lower your bench, the standard height is 17", or adjust it so that your thighs are about parallel to the ground.

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I don't know where the blind could lead the sightless
but I'd still like to witness

Ok, so this is what I've gotten so far in my notes to watch as I am doing the lifts.

General Advice
-Get SS and study it. But, but, but... I have it and have been studying it. Hehe, it's just me though at home so I probably did miss something the first time through it. I have plans to read through it again a couple more times for more clarity.
-Get new workout music! What... you don't like Bluegrass?
-Need to see the squats (probably all the lifts) at a different angle. Yeah, I noticed this after I read some input about it. I'm a dummy for not noticing that people can't see much of my upper body with those big 45'S in the way, lol. Sorry, will be fixed next time.
-Drop them running shoes for *anything* else. Yeah, I've had these shoes for about 8 years. It just may be time for a new pair of something.

Squat
-I am setting up with a high bar setup. I should be setting up with a low bar setup. I tried to get it as low as possible. I just checked where my spine on the scapula is, which is where It's supposed to rest and can tell that I might not have gotten down that far. I'll work on this tonight.
-Drive out of the hole with hip, not chest/shoulders and make sure force of squat is mid-foot, not on toes. Yeah, I fell forward on the second rep and felt myself close to falling forward on a few others. I'll definately have to work on this so I don't fall on my face. hehe.
-Straighten wrists. Gotcha, never even thought of those back there.
-Not going below parallel. Bring hips back and push open the knees more to get further below parallel. Yep, seems like sound advice. I'll give it a go to try and get down further.

Bench Press
-Lower chain too relaxed. Yeah, I noticed that while I was doing them myself. I'll have to keep a mental note of that.
-Set-Up Closer to the Bar. I'll work on this too since I do not have a spotter. lol
-Bench is too high. Legs should be parallel to the floor. It did seem kind of awkward. Someone mentioned putting blocks below my feet to bring them up since my bench is a cheapy one that I bought a long time ago and does not have variable heights.
-Need a wider grip. I'll have to check into this one. I started out with a wide grip, but from the SS book, it seemed I should bring the grip closer so I changed it. I'll go back to the book to make any necessary changes.

Deadlift
-Lock out at the top. Yep, probably. Wasn't even paying attention to the top, I was so worried about what was going on at the start and end of the lift. Thanks.
-Lower back rounding/extend back more. I noticed that too in the video, but thought it was just my flab in the way as someone else suggested. I'll keep a feel out for it when I do them next.
-Firing legs too soon. I need to fire my legs and back at the same time. Yeah, this felt awkward. I was going off of a section on SS where it was talking about the order in which things fired to finish the exercise. I think I took his advice and over-exaggerated it too much. I'll try to get the hips and back firing at same time. Someone also noted that it should be a lift, not a pull with the arms/back. That makes lots of sense and I can see doing that in my videos.
-Leaning too far forward on setup, the weight needs to be on my heels/midfoot, not toes. Roger that, I'll work on it.


Oh,,, most important. Thanks bunches for all of the good input. I'll put these in my workout records so I see them the next few times I do the workouts. Hopefully by the 2nd or 3rd workout, I'll have everything put the way it should be.

Everyone is leaving your squat alone, so I'll comment on that.

I think it's pretty good, but you're breaking simultaneously at the knees and hips. I personally coach people to sit back first, and then let the knees unlock and let you continue the descent.

You can see it a bit here, with Mark Rippetoe squatting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVKEl4Wxoqc

. . . and very clearly here, with Mark Rippetoe coaching someone.
http://youtu.be/-OoVQPmfZ4o

In both cases, they hinge at the hips first and drive the hips back as they descend. You go more straight down which is why your knees ride so far forward. I think you'll do a bit better with hips back, knees out, and chest up.

Hope that helps.

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Peter V. Dell'Orto
http://strength-basics.blogspot.com

Squat - it looks like you are corkscrewing - just concentrate on not cheating.

Bench- ditto what has already been said. I'd only add that you should bring your feet closer to your head.

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Thanks TimD.

So I read these with great interest. It really helps to see others get a critique. For what it is worth I think I DL similar so now I know what to look for.

Do you mean use a platform (bring the feet higher)?

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Diana
Goals
squat 150
bench 100
DL 175

I'm sure he means closer to the head, not higher off the ground. Feet closer to the top of the bench/the bar/the racks. It does let you get more leg drive and thus stay tighter.

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--
Peter V. Dell'Orto
http://strength-basics.blogspot.com

Yes, that is what I meant.

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Thanks TimD.