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

It looks like you are, yes, but it's hard to tell how much because of your thoracic kyphosis.

Generally pretty good deadlifting though. Slight hip rise but you seem to be switching on in the right places.
 
I'm really hoping my squats are better than my deads. I don't get any back pains etc so I must be doing something right?

I watched the videos in the OP and have read extensively into this. I'm trying so hard and if I'm still not close to cracking it I think it's time to invest in a decent PT.

This is me struggling with my top set 100kg.

Trying to go deeper with a lighter weight:

It's ridiculous that I can bench press 5 reps of 95kg yet my squats and deads don't go beyond 100kg. Imbalance or just complete lack of technique, I don't know. :(
 
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Not bad, but you need to make some changes.

What you're doing right now is a mixture between a high and low bar back squat. Your stance is narrow and you are getting some forward knee travel. However, you're also tipping forward quite a bit, increasingly so as you get deeper which is exactly what breaks the high bar pattern.

Definitely do:
- more external rotation and knees out

Either do:
- more forward knee travel and far more upright torso
or
- move to low bar and take a wider stance

In general, squatting shouldn't involve a gradual tipping over of the torso to get to depth. Low bar allows you to better deal with the forces involved in doing so, but it still isn't optimal.

High bar should be a case of sending your hips back a small amount (compared to low bar) within the first foot of the ROM, and then keeping your back angle constant throughout the rest of the ROM.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I am aiming for the low-bar squat, at least that is how I am positioning the bar.

So main notes for next time:

- Wider stance, more external rotation and knees out
- Address the leaning forward issue, now you mention it I'm leaning forward far too much in the videos.

When you say external rotation what are you specifically referring to?
 
The same thing we were talking about in your deadlfit. Essentially, any time you bend at the hip there should be external rotation torque in your upper leg. This doesn't mean you should be looking for a lot of movement along that vector, but you should see your knees point outwards slightly. Accompanying this, and to sort of anchor it in, spread the floor with your feet. You should feel your glutes turning on in weird and wonderful ways.

Play around with doing this and bending at the hip (aka hip hinging). Learn what it feels like and what your muscles are doing.

Oh, and make sure your feet form a stable base and no part of them lifts up.
 
Presuming thats a pure gym going by the green? :p

To me, that doesnt look too bad to be honest although im sure there are some tweaks to be dobe.

Seeing I use the same racks id be tempted to put the bar on the lower catcher, when it gets heavier you won't be able to unrack that properly :)
Its a pain as you kind of need to squat the weight up a little but its better than tip toeing out.
 
Delvis said:
Presuming thats a pure gym going by the green? :p

To me, that doesnt look too bad to be honest although im sure there are some tweaks to be dobe.

Seeing I use the same racks id be tempted to put the bar on the lower catcher, when it gets heavier you won't be able to unrack that properly :)
Its a pain as you kind of need to squat the weight up a little but its better than tip toeing out.
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Yeah, it is haha. Wouldn't be my first choice but just the fact it's 24/7 so I can go at 2-3am makes it very useful :D

I'll try moving the bar lower the next time, the gaps between them are far too big imo

icecold said:
Exactly the same issue as Barks :)

Pick high or low bar style and adjust accordingly.
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Ah right thanks, well to be honest I'm quite new to squatting so is that any particular advantages to one or the other, or is it purely just a case of preference?
 
To be honest it mostly comes down to personal preference.

High bar is slightly more useful for sports performance (maybe), low bar should allow more weight and is more hip dominant. There's a lot more to it than that, but it probably won't be interesting to you.

Try both, see which one you're better at and go with it. You can always switch to your weaker variant when your general squatting pattern is better.
 
icecold said:
To be honest it mostly comes down to personal preference.

High bar is slightly more useful for sports performance (maybe), low bar should allow more weight and is more hip dominant. There's a lot more to it than that, but it probably won't be interesting to you.

Try both, see which one you're better at and go with it. You can always switch to your weaker variant when your general squatting pattern is better.
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Ok thanks a lot, well I think I'll try adjusting more the low bar, I'll post another vid in a week or two, see if anything is improving. I also need to have a look at my deadlift, although I don't think I'm doing it dangerously (as in bending lower back/hyperextending) something just doesn't feel right in the movement.
 
Sorry not been following the thread, but have you checked out the stronglifts site? May help you with squats. I haven't lifted heavy for a while, but following Mehdi's 5x5 programme helped a lot for me.
 
cmt3 said:
Sorry not been following the thread, but have you checked out the stronglifts site? May help you with squats. I haven't lifted heavy for a while, but following Mehdi's 5x5 programme helped a lot for me.
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Well this post stinks of spam.

Mehdi is a terrible coach who's only successes have come from other people's work. That and he barely even lifts.
 
icecold said:
Well this post stinks of spam.

Mehdi is a terrible coach who's only successes have come from other people's work. That and he barely even lifts.
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Sorry, I'm no expert. But training to 5x5 worked for me. Do you have any suggestions or tips for squats and deads? Seeing as you two point out he's a bad coach, got me thinking I have really bad form.
 
5x5 isn't even Mehdi's work. It's effective because it's one of the oldest and most fundamental training methodologies.

Also, if you're posting around the forums to get your post count up for free delivery (is this still a thing?), you will get caught and banned.
 
cmt3 said:
Sorry, I'm no expert. But training to 5x5 worked for me. Do you have any suggestions or tips for squats and deads? Seeing as you two point out he's a bad coach, got me thinking I have really bad form.
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Take a video from the side (at least) for each, including the 'rear' for for the squat. Whilst icecold is pretty damn good, I don't think he's a telepath. :)
 
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