Help me fix my horrible form so I can get strong (videos)

[Joshua_B]

Well, I didn't do a formal workout yesterday so much as just spend time trying to find weight I could keep form good on with each lift. It was tough, and eye-opening just how far I had to drop the weight. You can watch the vids and see for yourself.

I actually made notes about each lift from everything everyones told me and tried really hard to follow it all. It's alot to take in so if I missed something don't think I'm not listening. Just alot to work on.

I'm having REAL trouble maintaining a straight back when doing Rows and Deadlifts. IT doesn't matter what the weight is, it's just really hard for me to keep my back straight in those positions. I really have to focus on it and strain to even keep it close. Hopefully the flexibility work will help there. I'm also having trouble knowing when to breathe on all the lifts. I still want to breathe out on the concentric and in on the eccentric. I'm really having to focus on it alot. It also feels like I lost a ton of tightness every time I take a breath. Not sure how to maintain it and breathe at the same time, lol.

Anyway, I hope these videos show improvement. I know they're far from perfect but I'm working on it.

oh, and yes, I do realize I only did four reps on the Bench Press set. I most definitely could have done another but I was really trying to only go for perfect reps. Didn't always succeed, I know, but I was really trying.

[BrotherWolf]

Great improvement.. your squat is good just need to get a couple of inches lower
and keep from leaning forward you tend to do that a bit , the oly shoes will correct that.
Your row is good , there is no rounding good job the only small issue I see is the back could be a little more parallel to the floor so bend you knees a little less.

the deadlift.. you are rounding badly on the first few reps but you try to correct it in the last 2 , there is still some rounding but significantly less.. the starting position is similar to the row but you're not rounding during the row .. why? because of the weight difference !

I think you can take off more weight and try again don't be afraid to deadlift with only the bar or just 135lbs until you stop rounding.
Look up more, really really accentuate that and drop your ass a few inches

Do you do warmup sets?? if not start doing them for every lift 4-5 sets 5 reps
with moderate weight .
It serves 2 purposes : warming up and correcting the form prior to the workset, if that gets you so tired that it interferes with your working sets , reduce the sets or reps .
You're doing well so far

PS
the breathing should be very natural, breathe in before you initiate the pull or press and exhale (or big grunt..LOL ) at the top or 3/4 of the way there .
Rippetoe's uses the analogy of pushing a car that's run out of gas.. you take a big breath, tighten up and push.. that's pretty much it

[Joshua_B]

Great improvement.. your squat is good just need to get a couple of inches lower
and keep from leaning forward you tend to do that a bit , the oly shoes will correct that.
Your row is good , there is no rounding good job the only small issue I see is the back could be a little more parallel to the floor so bend you knees a little less.

the deadlift.. you are rounding badly on the first few reps but you try to correct it in the last 2 , there is still some rounding but significantly less.. the starting position is similar to the row but you're not rounding during the row .. why? because of the weight difference !

I think you can take off more weight and try again don't be afraid to deadlift with only the bar or just 135lbs until you stop rounding.
Look up more, really really accentuate that and drop your ass a few inches

Do you do warmup sets?? if not start doing them for every lift 4-5 sets 5 reps
with moderate weight .
It serves 2 purposes : warming up and correcting the form prior to the workset, if that gets you so tired that it interferes with your working sets , reduce the sets or reps .
You're doing well so far

PS
the breathing should be very natural, breathe in before you initiate the pull or press and exhale (or big grunt..LOL ) at the top or 3/4 of the way there .
Rippetoe's uses the analogy of pushing a car that's run out of gas.. you take a big breath, tighten up and push.. that's pretty much it

Yeah, I know I need to be lower in the squat. I'm having trouble getting to parallel while maintaining the arch. That's flexibility I guess. I'm working on it. I'll try to keep from leaning forward. I think I'm doing that to compensate for the the sitting back movement whcih feels awkward to me at this point.

I'll raise up a bit on the row.

Maybe it is just that there's more weight on the bar but the whole deadlift movement feels very weird too me (now that I'm trying to do it correctly, lol). But I didn't notice it being significantly harder to keep my back straight on the 245 set than I did on the prior set whcih was 185. Seems like they were both hard as hell. I did do deadlifts last so my legs/hips/lowerback all felt pretty wrecked by then. That maybe have had something to do with it.

I had been doing the 5x5 so yeah, I pretty much had three warm up sets per lift and only really worked hard on the last couple. Yesterday I did several sets of all the lifts, just trying to find weights that I could maintain form with, so I was continually ramping the weight up from nothing.

I see what you're saying about the breathing and that's pretty much how I did it, but it seems like when I would take in a breath in between reps I lose all tightness. This really only felt weird on the squat and bench press, I guess because I'm trying to maintain such a pronounced arch on both of those.

Thanks for your help, man.

[BrotherWolf]

I see what you're saying about the breathing and that's pretty much how I did it, but it seems like when I would take in a breath in between reps I lose all tightness. This really only felt weird on the squat and bench press, I guess because I'm trying to maintain such a pronounced arch on both of those.

Thanks for your help, man.

No man that's exactly the purpose of breathing like that so that you can reset the "tightness" so to speak so to avoid losing it .. however you can hold the breath longer if you can as long that you can maintain tightness and don't pass out

[Joshua_B]

No man that's exactly the purpose of breathing like that so that you can reset the "tightness" so to speak so to avoid losing it .. however you can hold the breath longer if you can as long that you can maintain tightness and don't pass out

Aha. Gotcha.

[Norse1308]

Still leaning forward on the squat a little.

The more you push your knees out on the squat, the easier it is for you to sit back and keep from falling forward. Hope this helps.

[19george]

Still a bit of a butt wink on the bottom part of the squat. So yeah, you'll need to stretch more.

On deads, your back is rounded in the starting position. Work on your set up more. Also it doesn't look like you are using a lot of leg drive. This might be a strength issue.

[Joshua_B]

Still leaning forward on the squat a little.

The more you push your knees out on the squat, the easier it is for you to sit back and keep from falling forward. Hope this helps.

Thanks, I'll try that.

Still a bit of a butt wink on the bottom part of the squat. So yeah, you'll need to stretch more.

On deads, your back is rounded in the starting position. Work on your set up more. Also it doesn't look like you are using a lot of leg drive. This might be a strength issue.

I know what you're sying about the squat. I evidently have very bad flexibility. I'm working on it constantly right now.

I think the flexibility is an issue with the DL too, because I'm having real trouble just getting into position correctly. Yeah, you're right about the leg drive. I think I'm still trying to use my back out of habit. Getting better, but a long way to go, ya know?

Thanks for the help.

[iwantmyownzipco]

On your squats, try using a 2x4 under you heels. It looks like you're leaning too far forward, putting undue strain on your back. Try to look at the ceiling as your coming up and drive the bar up from your hips. You also need to invest in a good belt. If you plan on continuing to lift you NEED a belt. This may actually help you with your form as well.

When your perform your Bench Press, try to keep your elbows up. It looks like you're bringing them down by your sides which incorporates more of the Triceps into the lift than Pecs. Your grip should be about a shoulder-width apart. Looks good though.

Bent Over Rows are difficult to master. Form is crucial to proper muscle development here. Feet should be no more than shoulder-width apart. Your knees are in the right position. Your lower back should be straight. Imagine a tabletop. You should be bent over at about a 60 degree angle from the hips. Shoulders back. Head up. When you lift the bar, it should touch you body about 3 inches above your navel or about 2 inches below the end of your sternum. Remember: perform the lift in slow motion for about 2 weeks in order to get the muscles to get the feel of the proper form of the exercise, THEN you can work on adding weight. I would much rather see someone lifting 50 lbs with great form than throw 250 around like an idiot and severely injure themselves. You are smart to want to keep your form in check. Keep up the good work and let me know if this helps at all.

[Joshua_B]

On your squats, try using a 2x4 under you heels. It looks like you're leaning too far forward, putting undue strain on your back. Try to look at the ceiling as your coming up and drive the bar up from your hips. You also need to invest in a good belt. If you plan on continuing to lift you NEED a belt. This may actually help you with your form as well.

When your perform your Bench Press, try to keep your elbows up. It looks like you're bringing them down by your sides which incorporates more of the Triceps into the lift than Pecs. Your grip should be about a shoulder-width apart. Looks good though.

Bent Over Rows are difficult to master. Form is crucial to proper muscle development here. Feet should be no more than shoulder-width apart. Your knees are in the right position. Your lower back should be straight. Imagine a tabletop. You should be bent over at about a 60 degree angle from the hips. Shoulders back. Head up. When you lift the bar, it should touch you body about 3 inches above your navel or about 2 inches below the end of your sternum. Remember: perform the lift in slow motion for about 2 weeks in order to get the muscles to get the feel of the proper form of the exercise, THEN you can work on adding weight. I would much rather see someone lifting 50 lbs with great form than throw 250 around like an idiot and severely injure themselves. You are smart to want to keep your form in check. Keep up the good work and let me know if this helps at all.

Thanks man, definitely helpful. I've made some progress since I made this thread. You can see some updated videos here in my log:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...7841761&page=2

Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it!

[m189]

don't flare your elbows. youll feel a significant difference. its the proper wayy of doing them.

[Joshua_B]

don't flare your elbows. youll feel a significant difference. its the proper wayy of doing them.

Didn't realize I was. Thanks for the tip.