Squats/Deadlifts/Hang Clean form check, please.

[pyaarawala]

Today's hang clean video on 95 lbs. Is my form getting any better or worse? (hopefully better)

[vikingsfan247]

cant see vid sorry but from all the cleans you have done in the past I see some glaring mistakes. 1. The most important thing I see you do is jump . DO NOT INTENTIONALLY JUMP IN THE HANG CLEAN. Your feet should only leave the floor when you generated enough force into the push on the floor yes it is very hard to understand I know. 2. The bar should land on your shoulders you should not need to move it up onto your shoulders. 3. When the bar is caught on shoulders your whole back should be perfectlly vertical to prevent balance issues. 4. In the triple extension you dont use your arms you shrug the bar up and keep it as close to your body as possible. 5. I am restating this again dont jump if you dont have to. 6. work on your flexibilty and do high rep low weight front squats to get use to the clean grip and keeping that middle back straight. 7. you pick up the bar with a rounded back (not important just dont hurt yourself). 8. This is an explosive movement you are not acting very explosive from the time you start moving the bar the bar should be resting on your shoulders in like two seconds just think explosive. 9. do cleans at the beginning of any workout if you arnet already. 10. keep practicing.

[pyaarawala]

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IDWWTNyDlg

Does that work for you guys? For some reason I can't embed that particular video.

[pyaarawala]

cant see vid sorry but from all the cleans you have done in the past I see some glaring mistakes. 1. The most important thing I see you do is jump . DO NOT INTENTIONALLY JUMP IN THE HANG CLEAN. Your feet should only leave the floor when you generated enough force into the push on the floor yes it is very hard to understand I know. 2. The bar should land on your shoulders you should not need to move it up onto your shoulders. 3. When the bar is caught on shoulders your whole back should be perfectlly vertical to prevent balance issues. 4. In the triple extension you dont use your arms you shrug the bar up and keep it as close to your body as possible. 5. I am restating this again dont jump if you dont have to. 6. work on your flexibilty and do high rep low weight front squats to get use to the clean grip and keeping that middle back straight. 7. you pick up the bar with a rounded back (not important just dont hurt yourself). 8. This is an explosive movement you are not acting very explosive from the time you start moving the bar the bar should be resting on your shoulders in like two seconds just think explosive. 9. do cleans at the beginning of any workout if you arnet already. 10. keep practicing.

1) I watched one video on youtube of someone who says you should jump on the clean to create an explosive movement. I can't imagine being able to get the bar up without jumping. I guess I can try to do it without jumping but don't think I'll get as much weight up (barely getting any weight up as it is, lol)

2) Yeah I'm still working on that. In the beginning I was catching the bar on my wrists, and then I started catching on wrists and moving it intentionally to the shoulders. And now I sometimes am able to get it to land on the shoulders, and sometimes it still lands on my wrists and I move it onto my shoulders. Just need practice I think.

3) I believe my back is completely vertical in this newest video I just posted. Just did these 95 lb cleans today.

4) Am I still using my arms? I thought I'm already using my ankles, knees, hips for power and my shoulders to get the weight up. I know I was definitely using my arms only on my very first video.

6) Will do. Just the bar will suffice?

7) Yeah I try not to anymore. Won't happen again.

8) Yeah my mindset is starting to improve. On today's cleans I was just thinking of exploding. And each next workout I'll only have "explosion" on my mind for this exercise.

9) on SS it says to do cleans at the end. Squats, Overhead Press, then Cleans...

10) Yup. Should I still keep increasing weight as I'm supposed to do in SS?

[Farley1324]

You are shifting way too far forward at the catch. Your heels are in fact off the ground and you are loading up your knees rather than your hips.

You are arm pulling.

Looks too light as well.

[pyaarawala]

Farley, is this the video you are referring to? I just reuploaded it.

[pyaarawala]

You are shifting way too far forward at the catch. Your heels are in fact off the ground and you are loading up your knees rather than your hips.

You are arm pulling.

Looks too light as well.

Too light? But my form isn't solid yet, so would it be a good idea if I increased the weight? I'm just doing the linear progression on SS like I'm supposed to (started at 45 lbs, not mainly because that's all I could handle, but more because it was my first time cleaning so I kept it light).

What would be the best way to go about fixing my form? I've watched numerous videos and am trying to get it right but it still seems to have a lot of flaws...

Should I just keep adding 10 lbs to the bar each time I do cleans and just try my best to get it right? Or keep the weight constant and just keep practicing? Really don't know what else to do..

[Farley1324]

Farley, is this the video you are referring to?

Yes.

Too light? But my form isn't solid yet, so would it be a good idea if I increased the weight? I'm just doing the linear progression on SS like I'm supposed to (started at 45 lbs, not mainly because that's all I could handle, but more because it was my first time cleaning so I kept it light).

What would be the best way to go about fixing my form? I've watched numerous videos and am trying to get it right but it still seems to have a lot of flaws...

Should I just keep adding 10 lbs to the bar each time I do cleans and just try my best to get it right? Or keep the weight constant and just keep practicing? Really don't know what else to do..

Explosive/olympic style lifts, by their very nature, cannot easily be properly performed with too-light weights.

Don't pull with your arms.

Don't shift your weight forward onto your toes.

[pyaarawala]

Yes.



Explosive/olympic style lifts, by their very nature, cannot easily be properly performed with too-light weights.

Don't pull with your arms.

Don't shift your weight forward onto your toes.

Ok. Should I just keep adding 10-15 lbs to the bar on each session and just hope my form will get better as it gets heavier? Or should I just add 25-50 lbs to the bar or something along the lines of that just so I can fix my form in one shot?

Is my logic correct if I say that I can end my arm pulling by switching to heavier weight, making it impossible to pull with my arms cuz its too heavy?

[Farley1324]

Ok. Should I just keep adding 10-15 lbs to the bar on each session and just hope my form will get better as it gets heavier? Or should I just add 25-50 lbs to the bar or something along the lines of that just so I can fix my form in one shot?

Is my logic correct if I say that I can end my arm pulling by switching to heavier weight, making it impossible to pull with my arms cuz its too heavy?

You should work on your form. And get feedback as you go, both for/from yourself and from others.

And you should add 5 lbs per session for the clean

You can still arm pull with heavy weight. It won't be as bad, probably, because you can't arm pull as much, but it can certainly still be present more than desired. I never got rid of all of my arm pull when I power cleaned, even with 225. I did minimize it though

[TBU720]

You're catching the bar like a shoulder press. Catch it like this:

Notice how his humerus (upper arm) is like parallel to the floor basically. This will totally eliminate your bad habit of catching it with your hands. Don't do that. Really

Your hang position is also way too low. Looks to be past your knees. This is why youre falling forward on each rep. The hang is like 6 inches above the knee.

Your hip extension is non-existent, but it is like impossible to get hip extension if you're starting your hang below your knees.

Also why are you trying to do hang power cleans? Do full power cleans. The movement doesn't make much sense as a hang clean. Hang cleans are for helping your full cleans, not for replacing them

And finally, please post your updated deadlift form so we can help you with that. I'm worried that your spine is going to explode from your back

[tidnab]

The bar is not too light, or at least that's not the basic problem here. The problem is that he is losing the bar way out in front of him from the very beginning. OP, when you are lowering the bar, you should literally be pressing it into your thighs. And when you start extending to pull it back up, it should stay in contact with your thighs until it gets to your waist. At that point, try and pull it straight up through your abs (your abs will get out of the way, don't worry). That will keep the weight as close to you as possible and keep your weight back so you are set up for a proper catch.

Edit: picture of the proper starting position for hang clean-- chest up, hips back, bar touching the thighs



Look where the bar is for this guy and then look where the bar is in your video-- it's like two feet in front of you when it gets to your waist. No wonder you need to use your arms, nomsayin'?

[tidnab]

Also why are you trying to do hang power cleans? Do full power cleans. The movement doesn't make much sense as a hang clean. Hang cleans are for helping your full cleans, not for replacing them

With respect, this is bad advice IMO. First of all, if he can't do hang cleans, he won't be able to do cleans from the floor properly either, so it makes perfect sense to learn how to do hang cleans first. Second of all, there's is nothing so special about the pull from the floor (particularly if you already do deadlifts in your routine) that cleans aren't a viable exercise without it. It's an auxiliary component. The second pull, on other hand, is what makes a clean a clean.

[pyaarawala]

You should work on your form. And get feedback as you go, both for/from yourself and from others.

And you should add 5 lbs per session for the clean

You can still arm pull with heavy weight. It won't be as bad, probably, because you can't arm pull as much, but it can certainly still be present more than desired. I never got rid of all of my arm pull when I power cleaned, even with 225. I did minimize it though

Alright, next session I'll be adding 5 lbs and have another video, and just keep doing this till I get the damn thing right. Sorry for the bother, guys.

You're catching the bar like a shoulder press. Catch it like this:

Notice how his humerus (upper arm) is like parallel to the floor basically. This will totally eliminate your bad habit of catching it with your hands. Don't do that. Really

Your hang position is also way too low. Looks to be past your knees. This is why youre falling forward on each rep. The hang is like 6 inches above the knee.

Your hip extension is non-existent, but it is like impossible to get hip extension if you're starting your hang below your knees.

Also why are you trying to do hang power cleans? Do full power cleans. The movement doesn't make much sense as a hang clean. Hang cleans are for helping your full cleans, not for replacing them

And finally, please post your updated deadlift form so we can help you with that. I'm worried that your spine is going to explode from your back

Thanks for the concern about my spine, lol. I thought I did post an updated deadlift earlier in the thread, but I'll take another video next session. that video was only 135 lb deadlift and now I'm doing 205, so I'd rather show u guys the heavier one to see any faults in form (if there are any).

In the picture, his wrists are kinda flaring outward, isn't that bad for the wrists. I thought I would have to catch the bar on my shoulders but with my wrists straight, like over the shoulders. And in the video are all my catches on the wrists? I thought I already eliminated that problem because I certainly felt like I was catching it on my shoulders (no wrist pain anymore after catching. Before I used to have wrist pain whenever I caught it). I'll admit there were some times where I almost caught it on my wrist so I quickly moved it to my shoulders to release the stress off the wrists.

Yeah next time I'll definitely start extending from the lowest part of my thigh while actively pressing the weight against my thigh, this way I hope I get more hip extension.

The bar is not too light, or at least that's not the basic problem here. The problem is that he is losing the bar way out in front of him from the very beginning. OP, when you are lowering the bar, you should literally be pressing it into your thighs. And when you start extending to pull it back up, it should stay in contact with your thighs until it gets to your waist. At that point, try and pull it straight up through your abs (your abs will get out of the way, don't worry). That will keep the weight as close to you as possible and keep your weight back so you are set up for a proper catch.

Edit: picture of the proper starting position for hang clean-- chest up, hips back, bar touching the thighs



Look where the bar is for this guy and then look where the bar is in your video-- it's like two feet in front of you when it gets to your waist. No wonder you need to use your arms, nomsayin'?

Haha, got it man. PM'd as well.

[pyaarawala]

I kept the bar as close to me as possible this time. Is it getting any better?

[tidnab]

I kept the bar as close to me as possible this time. Is it getting any better?

It's a definite improvement and it's getting there. The bar path still gets away from you slightly though-- yank the bar up and back through your gut like I was trying to say. That should force you to extend your hips more just to clear your torso out of the way. Your hip extension still isn't quite there. Notice how your torso never quite extends past vertical. You want it to arch backwards so that your body is fully extended. Using heavier weight might help you here.

[pyaarawala]

It's a definite improvement and it's getting there. The bar path still gets away from you slightly though-- yank the bar up and back through your gut like I was trying to say. That should force you to extend your hips more just to clear your torso out of the way. Your hip extension still isn't quite there. Notice how your torso never quite extends past vertical. You want it to arch backwards so that your body is fully extended. Using heavier weight might help you here.

I think I'm not quite getting the definition of hip extension. If I were getting the hip extension, what is it supposed to look like in the video? Is extending my hip basically me going from a bent over position to a standing locked out position (like at the end of a deadlift)?

My torso never extends past vertical? Are you talking about at the end of the lift, I should lean back and lockout more?

I'll add 10 lbs next session and see how it goes. Thanks man

[tidnab]

I think I'm not quite getting the definition of hip extension. If I were getting the hip extension, what is it supposed to look like in the video? Is extending my hip basically me going from a bent over position to a standing locked out position (like at the end of a deadlift)?

My torso never extends past vertical? Are you talking about at the end of the lift, I should lean back and lockout more?

I'll add 10 lbs next session and see how it goes. Thanks man

Nope, it's more like going from "hips loaded" to trying to hump the ceiling with your pelvis. If you're stopping at the lockout position in the deadlift, you're only getting half the extension.

[787Boricua305]

for squats, go ass to grass (past parrallel)

and for deadlifts, keep your back straight and ass low as if you were squating and then push with your legs.

[pyaarawala]

Today's deadlift @ 210 lbs x 5 reps.



How's my form on this one? Thanks

[King222]

Are you trying to RDL or SDL? When I watched your first video I could've sworn you were going for a stiff legged deadlift but now your form is starting to resemble a romanian deadlift? decide which DL you want to do.. If that DL was supposed to be for an RDL make sure you're resetting ur ass low between reps, a good video for the form of the RDL is :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nRRlk6264I

Today's deadlift @ 210 lbs x 5 reps.



How's my form on this one? Thanks

[pyaarawala]

What? I'm doing a regular deadlift...the weight is hitting the floor on each rep and I'm lifting dead weight.

[pyaarawala]

I just saw the video. Yeah I guess according to that guy I'm doing exactly what he says. I'm "RDLing the weight and then when it gets past the knees I drop it"

Thanks for the video man. After I get the bar past my knees, I think I've been hyperextending into my lockout. Does it look like it in the video? I gotta keep that in mind not to hyperextend next time I do this.