***Gym Exercise Guide, and Form Discussion/Feedback***

BennyC said:
I can front squat with the clean grip now, I pulled the bar in closer to my throat which was much more comfortable however it did bruise the ends of my clavicle, where the small bump is, which is a bit of a nuisance.

MTFU? or is there a position fix?
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I've spent months and months battling Front Squats and I've finally got them licked. The trick is intital placement. You do need some flexibility in the wrists but not a great deal.

With the bar in the rack have your hands just outside where your delts will hold the bar. I touch the bar with just 3 fingers right from the beginning, don't even attempted to grab the bar, all your hands are doing is holding the bar in place.

The single biggest click for me was learning to cup with bar using my front delts and upper pecs. Get under the bar and puff your upper chest out and up as much as you can and get the bar to rest on them. With your 3 fingers on the bar push your elbows up and out so you're in the correct postion with elbows pointing straight out in front. You shouldn't feel any discomfort as the bar is cupped on your delt and pec muscles, not on your bones!

Once you've got that bit sussed it makes it so much easier to get everything else right.

Disclaimer - I have no idea if that description makes any sense what-so-ever! :D
 
Form check: the compound lifts

Hey guys. Going to the gym should be fun, but at the moment it's just really depressing because I feel like I'm doing it wrong and my lifts have plateaued at less than half my bodyweight :( No gainz :(

Here's my bench press:


Overhead Press:


Deadlift:




And finally my squat. As some of you may know, I destroyed my left hip flexor squatting 20kg, so something must be wrong. I noticed today that when I try to squat, my left foot seems to lift up off the ground and wants to rotate further outward. The only way to stop this from happening is to adopt a really wide stance and point my left foot towards 10 o'clock. Does this indicate poor hip mobility? Also looking at my squat video, it looks like I have some anterior pelvic tilt?



So, can anyone help if they see I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks very much gents :)
 
Just looking quickly:

Bench - back is too flat, you need to have an arch and your scapulas need to be engaged, you're also lying too far back.

Deadlifts - you need to pull your upper body into position, lock the scaps back again, core is also slipping you're not keeping a neutral spine.

Squats - back is rounding, and core isn't engaged.
 
Bench press grip should be a little wider IMO, pinky on the ring. Also can't tell if you're pulling your scapula together and engaging your lats to make a nice base, helps creating an arch.

Overhead press video is AWOL. :edit: ah it works for me now. Looks like you aren't bracing properly, squeeze them glutes to stop your back bending.

Deadlift, hips are rising before your shoulders, try to keep your back from tilting forwards as the wright goes up. Also, you aren't creating tension before beginning the lift - you're more lifting INTO the bar with your arm bending...

Squats don't actually look that bad from what I can see. Look a little wooly and like you're not bracing core but might change under loaf, need a front/rear video to tell what your knees are doing.
 
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toxic said:
posting the 160 set of deadlifts if anyone looking wants to comment on form etc. This actually felt bad, but doesnt look to bad to my eyes. The next set felt a lot more stable after taking trainers off, didnt vid that though.

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First obvious things.
1. Each rep needs to be reset for a deadlift.
2. Looks like you're doing rack pulls?
3. Ditching the trainers was a good move, you don't need an unstable base.
4. Your first pull, (actual rep) you're lower back isn't flat.
5. Looks like your stance may be too wide.
 
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For your OHP I would say you need to keep your elbows forward and under the bar with forearms perpendicular to the ground.

I would watch all the Rippetoe videos posted as they're often where I go when I feel form has gotten sloppy.

Might seem like a lot of work/criticism but it's all constructive and is only to your benefit.

I don't know how your diet looks but I don't think you could eat too much for the next two months if you tried so pile some food in.
 
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