***Gym Exercise Guide, and Form Discussion/Feedback***
- Thread starter icecold
- Start date
Man of Honour
From my untrained eye:
Neutral spine issues. I can't see any core bracing going on which shows in that you do not maintain a neutral spine through the movement. Your back goes in to extension as you descend, this might not seem like a problem at this weight but it will cause you all kinds of issues. If you feel like you've worked your back after squatting, this is likely the cause from my experience. There's also the issue of the butt tuck and you bending your neck to look in the mirror as your torso naturally leans. Craning your neck up like that would bring an end to any neutral spine you had going on if you were bracing your core properly. Not sure on what could be causing butt tuck at the moment, my mind has gone boom.
Your shoes, are they cushioned soles? If they are then get rid of them, the sort of movement where you are pushing in to the ground (deadlifts, squats, almost anything really) will really suffer as you'll have a hard time producing torque.
It's not totally clear from the video but your knees don't look like they're being really forced "out". Try squatting with your feet facing straight forwards as opposed to slightly outward, and as part of your core bracing when initiating the squat then externally rotate your femur. Your feet shouldn't move but your knees will now point very slightly more outward. You should be able to tell if you're doing this right as your foot will majorly arch and you'll feel your hips turn on. Then, during the squat, focus on getting the knees out wide.
Bar slightly too high, try to get it a couple of inches further down.
Neutral spine issues. I can't see any core bracing going on which shows in that you do not maintain a neutral spine through the movement. Your back goes in to extension as you descend, this might not seem like a problem at this weight but it will cause you all kinds of issues. If you feel like you've worked your back after squatting, this is likely the cause from my experience. There's also the issue of the butt tuck and you bending your neck to look in the mirror as your torso naturally leans. Craning your neck up like that would bring an end to any neutral spine you had going on if you were bracing your core properly. Not sure on what could be causing butt tuck at the moment, my mind has gone boom.
Your shoes, are they cushioned soles? If they are then get rid of them, the sort of movement where you are pushing in to the ground (deadlifts, squats, almost anything really) will really suffer as you'll have a hard time producing torque.
It's not totally clear from the video but your knees don't look like they're being really forced "out". Try squatting with your feet facing straight forwards as opposed to slightly outward, and as part of your core bracing when initiating the squat then externally rotate your femur. Your feet shouldn't move but your knees will now point very slightly more outward. You should be able to tell if you're doing this right as your foot will majorly arch and you'll feel your hips turn on. Then, during the squat, focus on getting the knees out wide.
Bar slightly too high, try to get it a couple of inches further down.
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Hi all, couple of vids for a form check. Sorry about the angles, it's hard to find somewhere to rest the phone.
Squats
Side View
I think I need to sit back more into the squats.
Back View
I might try a slightly wider stance aswell for the squats.
Deadlifts
Deadlift
Any comments/improvements please, training log can be found here
Squats
Side View
I think I need to sit back more into the squats.
Back View
I might try a slightly wider stance aswell for the squats.
Deadlifts
Deadlift
Any comments/improvements please, training log can be found here
Some of the pros will be better to advise you but those plates look really small on the deadlift and make your starting position a bit strange!
Caporegime
They do look small, see if you can place some other plates under the bar to raise the height to the correct level.
Soldato
I think the default height for the bar with a 20kg plate is like 9 inches is something IIRC?
Oh wow, I can't find my tape measure but looking at the distance between the floor and the bar it's probably only half that!
Looks like i need to build some wooden blocks or another alternative.
e: Doh the catcher bars on the rack will be perfect! So about 9"?
Looks like i need to build some wooden blocks or another alternative.
e: Doh the catcher bars on the rack will be perfect! So about 9"?
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Associate
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- 24 Apr 2012
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Yeah about nine, I think the standard diameter for 20kg plates is 450mm (17.7 inches), and an olympic bar has a diameter of 28mm.
Caporegime
Bearing in mind you have the mats on the floor already
Thanks for the feedback, lower back pain has been getting me recently, thus sneaking the camera into the gym for the quick vid (they are not allowed normally - stupid 'health club' label
)So for my back, basically I'm needing to relax a little, and keep my neck straight? I'm also not sure what you mean by the butt tack, if you can explain it a little more I'll look to adapt
The shoes look cushioned but are not. They are not my usual ones (which I left at home), by normal ones have a 1cm solid rubber base to them.
I'll try squats with my feet forward and hopefully I'll get the core engaged and maybe everything will fall into palce better.
I'm changing tomorrows 5x5 to focus solely on squat form
Maxeh, montymint, Jon33:
Knees out!
Good work, chaps - keep it up!
Knees out!
Maxeh:
- Knees out (wsa looking good, but strong glute med, better ankle mobility and stretchier adductors will help you get lower).
- Can't really see what you're doing with your core, but it looked ok.
Nice high bar movement, btw.
Montymint:
- Knees out. They aren't collapsing in, but there appears to be a bit of instability going on there that will get exacerbated by bigger weight.
- What is going on with your back? There is a huge amount of initial hyperextension as you sit back that then goes the other way and winds up in butt wink. You need more core work to get your neutral spine locked off and some more mobility for your legs to get them hinging properly.
If you find you can't get depth without winking out, don't push it as this will get unpleasant as the weight gets bigger.
You seem to be aiming for more of a low-bar squat, so really force your bum back and up as you squat: this is my cue for keeping my lumbar in the right place as I low-bar, but your mileage may vary.
Jon33:
- Knees out!
- You also seem to be rocking forward onto your toes (from the rear view, anyway). Keep your chest up as you squat. As you force your knees out, this will let your pelvis drop into a better position for a more upright torso and stop the bar moving forwards. Of course, if you low-bar, you will need the bar on your delts and sit back further into the squat than otherwise.
- Knees out (wsa looking good, but strong glute med, better ankle mobility and stretchier adductors will help you get lower).
- Can't really see what you're doing with your core, but it looked ok.
Nice high bar movement, btw.
Montymint:
- Knees out. They aren't collapsing in, but there appears to be a bit of instability going on there that will get exacerbated by bigger weight.
- What is going on with your back? There is a huge amount of initial hyperextension as you sit back that then goes the other way and winds up in butt wink. You need more core work to get your neutral spine locked off and some more mobility for your legs to get them hinging properly.
If you find you can't get depth without winking out, don't push it as this will get unpleasant as the weight gets bigger.
You seem to be aiming for more of a low-bar squat, so really force your bum back and up as you squat: this is my cue for keeping my lumbar in the right place as I low-bar, but your mileage may vary.
Jon33:
- Knees out!
- You also seem to be rocking forward onto your toes (from the rear view, anyway). Keep your chest up as you squat. As you force your knees out, this will let your pelvis drop into a better position for a more upright torso and stop the bar moving forwards. Of course, if you low-bar, you will need the bar on your delts and sit back further into the squat than otherwise.
Good work, chaps - keep it up!
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Caporegime
Fixed.
Move the bar slightly lower.Another attempt at a squat form video...
Still working on my depth which I think has got much better but obviously there's still room for improvement.
Depth aside how's it all looking?
I have a really wide stance and my feet are apart a bit, any closer and I get zero depth.
Should I change my stance to closer and do some mobility work or keep the current stance?
Edit : This was my 7th set so I was a bit tired
More knees out.
Unfortunately not good mate.
Probably already been covered by now, but:
- cranking your spine into extension and having it flex at depth is very bad. This is the opposite of generating stiffness in your core.
- compromised head position to compensate for high bar position + massive forward lean (not a traditional combo!). For high bar your knees should be a LOT more forwards and out at the bottom position, and your torso should a lot more vertical.
- stance too narrow to get into positions with your current flexibility, although I'd be concerned that you'd lose hip torque as you go wider. Keep an eye on this.
Squats:
Your positions are actually pretty good, although you need to get your knees out a bit more.
You biggest problem is coordination and activation. Drive through your heels, lock out explosively with your quads and glutes and learn to translate this from the bottom position, and get aggressive.
Most of these things will get better with more squatting.
Deads:
Holy small plates!
Same issues as your squat. Do lots of posterior chain work.
Thanks for the feedback all, greatly appreciated! Although I think I'm getting an inferior plate complex 
I know what you mean about coordination, for some reason with squats I'm like a horse on ice. Could you suggest some posterior chain exercises and where to fit them into training? I've put it into google and got a lot of "BANG, this is the best exercise evar!" type stuff.
I know what you mean about coordination, for some reason with squats I'm like a horse on ice. Could you suggest some posterior chain exercises and where to fit them into training? I've put it into google and got a lot of "BANG, this is the best exercise evar!" type stuff.