just a precursor;
I know its prolly bad etiquette to just continually post new threads so this is going to be my megathread of my formcheck videos. I probably shouldn’t say megathread because I don’t really record all that much, but nonetheless here I am.
today 20180723:
super trash day all around. felt like sh*t going in.
didn’t hit depth on most, if not all my squats. and then I didn’t even get all 5 of 425, only dropping it for a measly two.
bench was okay, the only video of my last set of 305 I got was for 1 rep, I ended up hitting the hooks and having to reset. hit it for 4 reps after I reset myself.
here are my videos at 325/375/425 for squat.
here are the two videos for bench I have:
265 x 5
305 x 1 (did 4 more reps of this weight after I reset myself and stopped hitting the hooks)
this is week 8 of my 2nd run of Madcow 5x5. I don’t know why im missing my depth and feeling so damn broken. I know I can hit this squat weight because I did it no problem last Friday. my body just feels super beat up and out of position.
I’m going to have to start charging money for form checks if people keep tagging me.
I don’t really see anything wrong with your bench, it looks fine to me. Adding some upper body mass should help.
For your squat, Ed Coan’s cue “open up your taint” comes to mind. You need to open up your hips more to hit depth. Also, the way you are squatting you might do better with heeled shoes, if you have the chance to try squatting in heeled shoes then give it a try and see if that helps. Other than that, it looks like you could improve your bracing, you aren’t really rounding (as far as I can see) but your spinal position seems to change slightly. Don’t drop into the next rep as soon as you come up, take a breath and re-set your brace and then squat again. There is no rush.
if I could send a laughing emoji I would. id donate to your paypal shrug
but really I do appreciate it. you’re one of the most active posters on any site i’ve lurked on, and you’re also super knowledgeable, so thank you.
also; I said f*ck it and bought the adipower 3.1’s, they were only 85 on amazon w/ free shipping and free return if they don’t fit.
so I have a real powerlift belt coming in the mail, and some shoes.
I know you didn’t ask me but your bench is all over the place. If you plan on hitting big weights you gotta stop moving your head. Keep your head on the bench and shoulders/traps dug into the bench, shoulders pinched tight together. Keep your feet flat to get better balance, stability and leg drive. Overall - you gotta get a lot tighter. It starts with the set up.
Squat I agree with Chris. Start the lift breaking at the hips and then the knees. Keep pushing back and sitting down at the same time. Open up you legs so your knees track properly to your toes(think: scissors opening up horizontally). Do this and your knees won’t come so far forward which puts a ton of stress on the patella tendons and depth won’t be an issue.
Sorry for the intrusion but I can’t help but try to help when I see someone on their way to getting better.
I just tagged chris because he’s active, he’s always responded with constructive criticism, and great feedback.i’m here to learn, I’ll take anybodies advice.
bench: i’ll focus on the head tomorrow specifically. for my feet, I hate putting them flat. I never feel like I have any leg drive when they’re flat… i’ll try it on some warm up sets again tomorrow. for the tightness: I feel pretty solid? I get my scapula’s retracted, dig my traps in, push my legs up towards my head to make my arch, then I squeeze the shit out of the bar, take a breath and unrack.
am I missing something, or am I just not hitting all the wickets correctly?
squats: i’m going to try putting my heels on some 2.5’s tomorrow to mimick the shoes. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with general bar path, but I was of course youtube lurking, did some mobility tests and did some exercises and my squat felt amazing when I got my heels slightly off the ground.
will focus on the scissors tomorrow. it’s a heavy dead/bench day with a light squat so there’s plenty of time w/ low squat weight to focus on the cues you suggested.
