Me Squatting and Deadlifting

[westy]

OK guys here is the footage of me lifting, the quality is ok but not great as it was done on a phone but hopefully it will be good enough.

The squat was done when I was a bit fatigued as I forgot to film it for the first 3 sets so had to do an extra one so might not be my best form ever. Anyway let me know what you think.

This is the squat at 100kg



And this is the deadlift at 125kg

[Cookie]

I would say the squat is spot on & your dead-lift just looks like you need to pull yourself a tad lower & have your chest & head held slightly higher.

Great lifting.

[Savage]

looks good man a lot better than what i see at my gym!

[samurai69]

I would say they both look pretty good and far better than most you see in gyms these days

theres a couple of things that will need changing as the weight goes up (maybe) but they are not really showing up too bad at this weight

what cooki saiys with the deads will help as the weight increase, on the squat i couldnt tell if you where using the box as a guage for bottom position or a variation of a box squat..............when you get right down in to the bottom of a squat as the butt starts to y=tuck under is where you lose or can lose some tension ........... here it depends on wether you want to keep to a powerlifting style of squat or an olympic style squat


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[westy]

Thanks for the feedback guys much appreciated.

I use the box just to judge depth otherwise I end up thinking about how low to go and not about actually lifting

That's an interesting point with the bum tucking under as I find I can get to parallel (as in the video) fine but any lower and I start to tuck under.

I understand this is bad from a back health point of view and also as you say a tension/strength point of view. Does this happen simply because of flexibility issues or is it much more complex?

I'm not particularly aiming for a powerlifting style or an olympic style. I just find squatting the way I do allows me to get the most depth. When I have squatted with a low bar position I tend to lean forward a lot at the bottom of the squat.

[Scott]

I use the box just to judge depth otherwise I end up thinking about how low to go and not about actually lifting

I do exactly the same I either use a box for the depth or set the pins in the rack.

[samurai69]

Thanks for the feedback guys much appreciated.

I use the box just to judge depth otherwise I end up thinking about how low to go and not about actually lifting

That's an interesting point with the bum tucking under as I find I can get to parallel (as in the video) fine but any lower and I start to tuck under.

I understand this is bad from a back health point of view and also as you say a tension/strength point of view. Does this happen simply because of flexibility issues or is it much more complex?

I'm not particularly aiming for a powerlifting style or an olympic style. I just find squatting the way I do allows me to get the most depth. When I have squatted with a low bar position I tend to lean forward a lot at the bottom of the squat.

not sure its actually bad form as i know a load of olympic lifters that can get down reall "ass to grass" and squat loads and have massive front squats too

i think its a flexibility/strength issue

but if going to parrallel or just below try to stop just short of where the butt tucks under and concentrate on driving the chest forward and up as you drive through

maybe even look at box squats...........certainly help you get out of the hole and help you focus on lifting the weight...............cookie did them when he came down to the gym, sure he will give you a heads up on them!!!



/.;

[Melas Zomos]

For the most part it looks good.
Make sure you are consistent with initiating the movement with your ass and not the knees.

Your hand position is good on the bar and everyone's observations seem to be spot on.

There looks to be some hip/ham flexibility/strength issues in the bottom positions, but that will improve with time and focus on the issue.

Not crazy about the shoes for these types of lifts, but this usually comes down to personal preference and philosophy.

I would also consider adding another squat day to your routine with lighter weight and without to box to improve these areas. Pause squats without the box would be great.

Overall great job,

I really do not see why you are getting such soreness after-wards though? If you have a flat pair of shoes, like a wrestling style or skateboard style shoe I would be interested to see if that affects it any, but that suggestion is a reach.

[westy]

Sorry I may have not worded my answer very well as I meant that squatting to full depth is fine but the tuck under bit might be the problem?

I am keen to try and squat as low as possible (at least to parallel) so maybe an increase in flexibility around the hip/hamstring is the best thing.

If I could I would like to squat lower still but I really do 'tuck under' if I go lower than in the video.


I like the idea of an extra day with light squats in so I will try that, although I will need a spotter to tell me at what point I tuck under as I cant feel it myself.

I have tried a few different types of shoes for lifting and I like the stability they offer but I would be willing to try another.

With regards to the soreness, last week I did a low volume session of

1 set of 3 @ 95kg
1 set of 3 @ 105kg
1 set of 6 @ 110kg

along with the rest of my leg session and actually had very little soreness at all.

So I suppose not surprisingly it's the high volume sessions that cause a lot of soreness.

Maybe just having done lots of high resistance and low volume work in the past means I am not very well adapted to it?

[samurai69]

been doing a high volume chest routine and for me its been ok, but 1 member here has been doing a wendler 5 3 1 routine and last leg session he said his DOMS was worst he had ! so it could well be the volume training..............mines been 3 days of bench back to back and yesterday marathon workout has actually made the DOMs less

[Cookie]

I tend to "tuck under" when I hit a very low squat. I`ve just cut the weights right back to bare minimum & have been focusing on hold chest high & proud whilst push backside right back into squat.

[Chris]

OK guys here is the footage of me lifting, the quality is ok but not great as it was done on a phone but hopefully it will be good enough.

The squat was done when I was a bit fatigued as I forgot to film it for the first 3 sets so had to do an extra one so might not be my best form ever. Anyway let me know what you think.

This is the squat at 100kg



And this is the deadlift at 125kg

I think you're doing better than about 99% of gym members just by virtue of actually squatting and deadlifting

Depending on what you're aiming for, and speaking from the point of view of being a powerlifter and referee, your squat is not low enough. However if you're not competing that may not be of concern. I thought you're deadlift looked ok, a lot of focus nowadays is put on having a "perfect technique" but remember you are an individual and your individual limb and spine length's will impact on your form.

You mentioned in one of your posts that if you use a low bar technique you find you lean forward more at the bottom of the squat - that will happen, don't worry about it unless it causes you back pain. Make sure you initiated the movement at the hip joint, not the knee and try and get some lifting shoes, these are always a good investment, I got mine from Pullum's and think they're great but other suppliers do good shoes too.