Squat and deadlift - form check please!

[black02ep3]

Hi all,

Can anyone please check my squat and deadlift form?

Squat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIsaflM930o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KWlGSLMpzA

Deadlift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p27wY01zdEE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzZNlsu5gus

My first vids... my wife told me my deadlift form looked weird, and I thought, hey, while I'm at it, let's also check my squat form... it also looks kind of weird when I look at myself from the side or from behind...

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[BuffMister]

[black02ep3]

Thanks BuffMister, repped!

[deserusan]

Your deadlift is pretty solid. Your squats could be deeper. I noticed you stance is a little wide so unless you are powerlifting, I'd make it a little narrower (shoulder width). I often vary my stance width just to hit the legs from different angles. You might have to drop the weight a bit, but going deeper will give you better development as a whole.

-D

[AllGenetix]

make sure your arms and back are tight before starting the deadlift, they looked a bit lax and loose. stay tight from beginning to end!

[entropy1]

Squats - could go a little deeper and stay more upright (you're leaning forward too much)

Deadlifts - looked pretty bad imo, you're hips/arse is rising too early, then you are basically doing a SLDL. bit of back rounding aswell. Also, deadlift isnt an explosive lift, you seemt o be trying to almost snatch the bar off the ground

[sabonis224]

Yeah I feel like on the Deadlift you aren't really doing the lift in one full motion. Just bend down, arch your back and push through with your legs. You're doing it very awkardly. Maybe it's because you are locking out your knees and then getting the weight up with your back. More leg drive.

[Iaskwhynot]

Your knees track a little bit too far forward in the squat, i believe you are supposed to be able to draw a line fron the weight through your knees into your feet on a back squat. You are also not quite hitting depth.

Your deadlift has a good starting position it looks to me, but your hips rise early turning the remainder of the lift into a SLDL. I believe it was isaku who said earlier today that your hips should rise at the same time as the bar.

[HudsonHicks]

You have the same issue I have with deads, hips rise way too fast and you basically do a SLDL.

Squats look good to me, although you're kinda doing a good morning on the last two reps of the first video.

[Mindi912]

your squats were good - could get down a little deeper but not much there.

deads however weren't the best form - you aren't lifting everything in one go, you use your legs first and then complete the rest with your back. It kinda looks like you are trying to do a good morning at the end.

Body should lift all in one go, knees and hips lock out at the same time. Your hips are shooting up way too fast.

[black02ep3]

Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

Squat summary:
- should be deeper (makes sense, I thought I went to parallel but clearly from the vid I don't)
- too much leaning forward (makes sense, I didn't notice my heels coming off the ground at the bottom... I suppose it's also caused by lack of flexibility)

Deadlift Summary:
- knees straightening too quickly without the upperbody moving up correspondingly; hips moving up too quickly
- arms aren't straight/tight at the start of the lift
- jerky lift off the floor; should be smoother

That's about it? I'll drop the weight for two weeks and work on my form and see if that'll help improve it a bit... thanks again!

[IronAbrams]

Your deadlift is pretty solid.

No, not even close.

Big errors that I saw:

- Pulling with completely bent elbows. This is a great way to tear a bicep when the weight starts to get heavier- try flexing your triceps prior to the pull to reinforce the "straight arms" principle. Your arms should just be cables holding the weight, they aren't contributing anything to the pull.

- You get down into a good pulling position, but the second you start straining your hips rise a good foot or so and you stiff leg the weight- and by stiff leg I mean your back is parallel to the ground. You're also lowering the weight like a SLDL and on the later sets your back starts rounding slightly.

Your squat looked good- and no way in hell you're leaning too far forward. You're doing a low bar squat, the mechanics aren't the same as a high bar squat. The depth you're doing right now is fine, bring it down a couple of inches if you want it a little past parallel.

Good luck.