I would greatly appreciate any and all feedback on my squat and DL form. I am not a competitive powerlifter, so my emphasis is on performing the movements correctly and safely while still moving as much iron as I can.
In anticipation of any belt-related comments, I am starting the shopping process now (thanks StrengthDawg for your perspective on that). I’m very curious to see what I can get out of a belt on max effort sets, but for now you have my beltless sets for review.
Thanks for taking the time to watch me lift and offer your feedback.
Your Deadlift looks fairly well however I am no expert on it by any means. How ever it does appear that your Glutes and Hams are weak compared and it is causing that awkward transition you have to make at the top right before lockout.
As for your Squat
Look up a bit. Not at the roof but some where directly in front of you and focus on that point through the entire range of motion. Looking down is one of the reasons your hips are shooting up before the bar.
You need top rotate your hips and knees out and force them to stay open best you can through the entire movement.
I personally suggest getting out of the Vibrams and getting into a solid flat soled shoe.
I recommend you pull your elbows under the bar a bit more rather than chicken winging them.
[quote]Reed wrote:
Your Deadlift looks fairly well however I am no expert on it by any means. How ever it does appear that your Glutes and Hams are weak compared and it is causing that awkward transition you have to make at the top right before lockout.
As for your Squat
Look up a bit. Not at the roof but some where directly in front of you and focus on that point through the entire range of motion. Looking down is one of the reasons your hips are shooting up before the bar.
You need top rotate your hips and knees out and force them to stay open best you can through the entire movement.
I personally suggest getting out of the Vibrams and getting into a solid flat soled shoe.
I recommend you pull your elbows under the bar a bit more rather than chicken winging them.[/quote]
Thanks for the feedback, Reed. Hopefully the low-bar squatting I do will help my ham and hip strength and have some good carryover to my DL. I have some follow-up questions.
You are the second person to tell me to look up. I did look up when I squatted high bar. I am a self-taught lifter and my best resource has been Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, which advises that you NOT look up for a low-bar squat. In fact, that head position is right on the cover (see image). Out of respect for both your accomplishments and coach Rip’s, I am a bit unsure which is correct.
Just so I am clear, you are suggesting that I point my toes outwards more?
Squat shoes are on my list of things to buy, right after a kettlebell and a good lifting belt. I tried Chucks and much prefer the Vibrams.
Some clarification here as well. Getting “under the bar” will be very tough on my wrists with the bar that low in the position you see in these vids. Should I try widening the my grip to get under it more? I have a few inches on each side I could go out, but I am unsure what that will do to the tightness in my back.
Thanks again for taking the time to offer your feedback. There is nobody at my gym who consistently do these lifts besides me, a new lifter I am helping to get started and a handful of poor lifters who I would never ask for feedback from.
Personally I will never understand why Rip stands by that so strongly but, none the less my coach Sam Byrd is a much more accomplished Squatter than he is and his first cue on every squat are " Stay tight, Screw the Floor, Head Up." Not to the extent you are putting your neck in a natural position but none the less not down. Your body goes where your head goes. If your looking at the ground its gonna pull you forward even if it slightly.
I much prefer Chucks and get more power out of them than anything. Which I know your not a Comp PLer so if you like the vibrams keep them but, they are allowed on the platform and there are better options.
With your elbows getting under the bar make small steps getting there don’t just try and force them under it will cause some pain and tendonitis if you keep pushing it but, if the super wide big as barn 300 plus Andrey Malenichev can get his hands damn near to his shoulders while squatting low bar any one can (minus people with pre existing shoulder issues).
Take the time and devote 10-20 mins a day to shoulder external rotation of the shoulders. Use a lacrosse ball to work out your tight areas like traps and chest will help tremendously.
[quote]Reed wrote:
3. I personally suggest getting out of the Vibrams and getting into a solid flat soled shoe.
[/quote]
This was all I was going to say. I think you would benefit tremendously from having more solid footware to provide you with a good, stable base. I know you said you didn’t like Chucks; if you were looking for something with a heel, I quite like my Adipowers.
Thanks again for the great insight, Reed. You’ve definitely given me a lot to chew on. Most of the really strong people I see are squatting with the head up. Rip wrote the book with beginners in mind, which I still consider myself to be (less than 1 year exp), but I suppose I’m not moving typical beginner weight anymore. I’m at work now but I will watch your video later when I can put the audio on. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
And yes, csulli, those are the style of shoes I am considering. I’ve tried squatting with 5lb plates under my heels, but I think it would feel much different with proper lifting shoes. Do you know of any that are of passable quality that do not cost $200? I don’t know if I want to drop that kind of coin for something I’m not even sure I will like.
My vision is to belt up, get a good pair of shoes, wrap my knees better, refine my technique and become a squatting machine. I’d really like to see how far I can go with this.
[quote]twojarslave wrote:
And yes, csulli, those are the style of shoes I am considering. I’ve tried squatting with 5lb plates under my heels, but I think it would feel much different with proper lifting shoes. Do you know of any that are of passable quality that do not cost $200? I don’t know if I want to drop that kind of coin for something I’m not even sure I will like.
[/quote]
I lied, I don’t have the Adipowers, I have these lol: http://www.adidas.com/us/product/mens-training-powerlift-20-shoes/AU517?cid=M18769
Personally I will never understand why Rip stands by that so strongly but, none the less my coach Sam Byrd is a much more accomplished Squatter than he is and his first cue on every squat are " Stay tight, Screw the Floor, Head Up." Not to the extent you are putting your neck in a natural position but none the less not down. Your body goes where your head goes. If your looking at the ground its gonna pull you forward even if it slightly.
I much prefer Chucks and get more power out of them than anything. Which I know your not a Comp PLer so if you like the vibrams keep them but, they are allowed on the platform and there are better options.
With your elbows getting under the bar make small steps getting there don’t just try and force them under it will cause some pain and tendonitis if you keep pushing it but, if the super wide big as barn 300 plus Andrey Malenichev can get his hands damn near to his shoulders while squatting low bar any one can (minus people with pre existing shoulder issues).
Take the time and devote 10-20 mins a day to shoulder external rotation of the shoulders. Use a lacrosse ball to work out your tight areas like traps and chest will help tremendously.[/quote]
Reed great explanation of what is meant by ‘screwing the floor’. I dont squat quite as wide as you but it did take me a while to figure it out but everything kinda falls into groove once you figure it out.
Hey Reed I just wanted you to know that I really digged you explanation of “screwing the floor” and I have been putting it into practice the last few weeks. I crushed 455 two weeks ago and getting my body tighter has definitely helped. 495 is definitely in my near future.
I am going to keep working at it and see how far I can go. Plenty of room for improvement. I will put up some more video at some point.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on strength. You are a freakish brute!
He was deadlifting, even if it was 135, its still better then half squats with the smith machine…OK don’t know how this got on here and not the Hugh Jackman thread…
I’m out
Back rounds on deadlift, but probably more important is the hitching/ramping that is visible at the top of the pull. As Reed pointed out, this indicates glute/ham weakness. It also indicates upper back weakness. I suggest lots of posterior chain work–high rep, lower weight stuff so you save yourself for the main lift.
Be careful about depth on the squat–your second and third reps are higher than your first. Speed looks good, but it might help to experiment with pause squats at lower weights so you “own the hole.” Also, I think forward lean/head position will benefit from the posterior chain work that will also be helping your deadlift.
