Squat & Deadlift Technique

Hello everyone…

I filmed my Squat and Deadlift just to show my form.

This is the Squat

My question is: Is that called a ´´Buttwink´´ in the Bottom position or is it normal that my ass tuck´s a little bit under?

This is the Deadlift

On that day i testet what i can lift with hookgrip so that 405 was relative easy.What I see is that it looks like my back rounds a bit but i never feel this in my lower back.I always feel it more in the middle of my back.

I always heard that if the lower back rounds in the Squat or Deadlift it strains the lower back and hurts.But I never felt lower back pain.

I always try to improve my mobility but is my form bad at all?

For squatting, if your max attempt looks drastically different compared to your working reps then yes the buttwink could be related to the issue. The buttwink could be related to a lack of muscle activation or mobility. If you’re using all the muscles necessary and keeping tight, the mobility generally improves over time. Whereas a lack of muscle activation now doesn’t guarantee you’ll get that muscle involved in the future.

The same thing can be said for the deadlift. If you have no pain then I think it’s fine to keep doing what you’re doing and improve mobility over time since mobility improvement won’t hurt your progress or recovery. Try doing mobility and muscle activation work for your hip flexors and glutes. The most common problem is getting the abs, erectors, hip flexors and glutes all working together effectively to transmit power through the hips. Single leg work helps with these issues too.

Definitely a buttwink - apparently that’s a mobility issue about which I know very little. I corrected mine by reducing depth (so, honestly, I didn’t really correct it…) to just below parallel, but I’m a powerlifter so that works just fine for me. I don’t get buttwink for front squats at all though, and I go ATG on those. I think it can also be a structural issue.

Ditto on what lift206 said on both points, but with the deadlift I’d be a bit concerned with the lower back rounding. You’re obviously decently strong pulling 405 like that and it feeling good (btw what’s on the bar for the squat?) but you should work on keeping at least a neutral lower spine when pulling off the floor. How tight are you getting? Just because it doesn’t hurt now doesn’t mean it won’t hurt later.

Thanks guys…

The squat was with 120kg…
I have problems getting my squat up…
Max is around 150kg at 74kg bodyweight…which is really frustrating to me.Deadlift max is around 220kg…

I always thought my mobility isn’t a problem because i’ve read somewhere else that if you can do the ‘‘third world squat’’ than the mobility isn’t a issue…

I will post two more videos later today in which i changed my technique a bit…

Btw i squat highbar because i have trouble with low bar squatting…

Can’t find the sweetspot for the bar on my back and stop the buttwink with low bar is even worse…

Are you fully locking out the deadlift?

Here are some more Videos: Taken over the past 6 months I think.

Deadlift 120kg (shins closer to the Bar)

Deadlift 200kg (lost tension in my back)

Try to Sumo-Deadlift 140kg

Squat Warm-Up 80kg

Low Bar Squat 100kg

Seems like my main problem is lack of mobility in the hip or hamstring area.
Ordered some Books today about mobility and so on…

And yes I always lockout (at least i think).

Would like to get some feedback from you guys…

Forget one:

Triple 170kg

Looking more closely at your various conventional deadlifts I think the distance between shin and bar is an issue - IMO a good place to start is placing the bar over the mid-foot (I usually try to get it over the middle of my arch); then try to make sure the shins stay vertical from the start of the pull onwards. I’d try to get into that position and see where your hips sit and how your lower back looks. If its straight or even a little arched then you’re on the right track. If your back is flexed in that position you’ll need to drop your hips to the point where the lower back is at least straight and see where your shins are at and how it feels. Working on your tightness is also probably going to have a significant effect - for me, if I’m not tight it is a lot harder to keep my back straight. Get a bit bellyful of air and squeeze down on it and squeeze your lats before you even drop to grip the bar - keep that tension as you pull.

Your sumo pull looks ok, so that might be an option for you to explore as well. Just get your shoulders further behind the bar as you set up and keeo them there as you come up. JTry to arch your back more aggressively as well, although getting your shoulders behind the bar will help with this too.

Your low bar looks decent - focus on tightness again, and lead with your chest coming up.

IMO, you need to learn how to brace your abs hard and also strengthen your erectors in a neutral position (not while in flexion). Learn to arch your lower back by slightly hyper-extending and bracing your abs hard enough to bring it back into a neutral position so the necessary muscles stabilize your lumbar spine. Do some single leg work to increase mobility while practicing the above. RDLs with strict form and focus on bracing will also help in learning to hinge properly. With RDLs, only worry about bracing your abs, erectors, lats and chest as hard as possible and don’t sacrifice tightness for range of motion - the range of motion will come with time.

Tried some bodyweight squats yesterday for at least 2 hours but it seems like i don’t get it right. (Just took the shirt off to show the issue)

The only thing i can think off is i got really tight hamstrings and poor ankle mobility…but i already try to stretch everything as often as i can…

[quote]Fleshor wrote:
Tried some bodyweight squats yesterday for at least 2 hours but it seems like i don’t get it right. (Just took the shirt off to show the issue)

(video)

The only thing i can think off is i got really tight hamstrings and poor ankle mobility…but i already try to stretch everything as often as i can…[/quote]

I don’t think your hamstrings or ankles are the problem. Your heels remain flat and your knee travel moves without issue.

It looks like your hip flexors are tight and this is related to your lumbar flexion. To loosen and strengthen your hip flexor, you need to force a hard arch in your lower back while going down (this will force your hip flexors to stretch) while also engaging your glutes by opening up the hips and bracing your abs hard. It may be useful to have bands around your knees to ensure you’re getting enough glute contraction. If you don’t have bands then just shove your knees out as hard as possible.

Again, arch the lower back hard while bracing your abs and engage your glutes by opening up the hips to push the hips forward. You will find that the more forward you push your hips, the straighter you can get your lower back. Eventually you’ll be able to maintain the flat lower back when you sit back more but that mobility will come with time.


Think i got it now…

Awesome, that looks like a big improvement. Keep creating tension in your hips and core and the mobility will continue to improve - no need to rush the process.

That thing with pushing hips forward did the trick man thank you for that!!!

I got one more question.

Why are my knees shooting so far forward?

Another mobility issue?

If i look at the best squatters like malanichev,coan or eric lilliebridge it seems that they can keep their shins more vertical.

[quote]Fleshor wrote:
That thing with pushing hips forward did the trick man thank you for that!!!

I got one more question.

Why are my knees shooting so far forward?

Another mobility issue?

If i look at the best squatters like malanichev,coan or eric lilliebridge it seems that they can keep their shins more vertical.[/quote]

Don’t worry about the knees yet and just do these drills before lifting to learn to keep tightness in your core and hips. It may take a month or more until it becomes automatic (depends on how often you practice). You’re currently doing goblet squats (if you remove the bar) and the amount of knee travel you currently have is similar to front squats.

When doing back squats keep this amount of tightness while hitting depth and no matter how much you sit back. Remember to engage your erectors, abs, glutes, hip flexors and keep your chest up (learn to use your lats after you have this stuff figured out first). This will keep your spine and hips stable.

I don’t worry too much about knee position when back squatting. I only worry about getting the most strength out of my quads, hams and back. IMO, the amount of sit back you use should allow you to get some quad drive and not so far back that your back becomes the limiting factor. Some sit back more than others but the most important thing is to get as much as you can out of all your muscles while using good leverages.

You can also practice engaging these muscles while doing RDLs to help you hinge properly with more emphasis on the erectors than the glutes.

Did a little Practice today.

Deadlifts felt great.

Deadlift 100kg

Deadlift 140kg

But Squats drive me crazy.

And then some ´´Homework´´

I think I overextend my lower back.
Have to do a lot of work for now on.

Nice work. You’re becoming more aware of how it feels to fire the muscles properly and you should feel a significant difference in a month. It looks like you’ll have trouble keeping tension in the core and hips when going heavy so don’t add weight too fast if it means sacrificing tightness.

Hyper-extension generally seems to be a problem when the abs are weak. The abs and erectors should be working together to stabilize the spine and if the erectors are a lot stronger, the abs have a tough time bringing the spine back to a neutral position. All you can do is learn to brace as hard as possible for all lifts that require spine stabilization. This will ensure your abs are getting trained. When hyper-extending, you should feel your spine move back to neutral when bracing as hard as possible. Remember not to crunch your abs because both the erectors and abs should be tense. And although your erectors are stronger than your abs, they both have lots of room for improvement.

Goblet squats with weight and front squats can help to bring ab strength up pretty fast while giving you more practice with creating a rigid torso. You can hold the bottom position and focus on tightness as well.

When coming out of the hole for squatting (regardless of style), think of getting your chest up and hips forward.

Both look like good improvements. Nice work. Just keep working the way you are and it’ll keep getting better.

Just a quick update.

Good job maintaining tightness.