Had 3 Hours of sleep and played Basketball all day yesterday, all while eating like an anorexic cheerleader. Anyway Form felt particulary bad today any critisism is welcome.

Set 1
Set 3

TLDR:Cliffs at bottom

I have a few SS questions that I am hoping I can get some help with. I am 41, 6'/207 lbs. started SS 2.5 months ago @190lbs. It's been going well and I have spent a lot of time reading the book and H&F.

As an older guy with lots of issues, arthritis, rotator cuff tear, degen disc, etc, I have to make some accommodations by warming up longer and working very hard to maintain form etc etc. Pain is always there, but lifting has either improved it or been a minor addition, so not a big deal. Just have to work around it.

With that said, for my squat, I am going barefoot. I have tried shoes with a heel, but I struggle to stay in form, it feels uncomfortable and it seems to hurt more after. I think it's putting some pressure on my spine that flat footed does not.

I recently reset for the first time at 295. I have gone back to barefoot and it feels tons better and the lifts (back up to 285) actually feel easier. For depth, bare foot I can go ATG no problem. But, I actually struggle to get parallel in shoes.

For DL, I hit 335 and the weight feels good (heavy as hell, obv) on my lower body, but I am starting to get some stiffness in my neck. I think that it may be getting too heavy for my upper body pulling off the floor.

I just had to start using an alternating grip and that seems to help a little. But, I am wondering if I should reset now and (maybe) do more sets per workout, rather than waiting to fail 3xs. Thinking this will give upper body a chance to catch up in strength?

Thanks in advance!

Cliffs: End of the world to make modifications to SS to accommodate injuries, age etc?

I posted some form check videos on my Log, if someone could please take a look.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...3&postcount=30

BPA234: are you doing 3 sets of DL? You should be doing only 1.

Yes, just 1 set of 5.

mine stopped completely after i did a massive reset. i think the point is that squatting properly strengthens the glutes/hams to the point that knee cave no longer offers a stronger position. but i would continue in your case.

is your stance wide? like, any wider than heels under shoulders?

Two things these vids show: not quite deep enough, and shoulder flexibility issues messing with your hold on the bar. Depth looks a few inches off in the first video but better in the second? Try to bring your hands closer together, and try not to bend your wrists back.

Thanks, going to squat deeper next time getting depth on my squads was not so much of an issue before. I have a question regarding me upper body angle. I dont have a problem getting out of the hole when squatting deeper but when fatigue sets in i have a hard time about halfway through the lift. I try to lead with my hips but often feel like iam tilting forward to much?

lacks depth, knees are caving. have to thoughtfully force your knees out. Straighten your wrists if you can, otherwise when the weight gets heavy you could be dealing with some wrist/elbow/shoulder issues. Other than that, they look pretty good.

I think you could think "sit back" a little more, but it's not a huge deal.

Thanks, going to post a new vid on Monday. So far iam taking away from this.

- hands closer together, wrist straight.
- more depth
- knees out

Anything other then shoulder dislocation with a bromstick to improve shoulder flexibility?

I would say slightly on the narrow side.

Thanks for your advice, I'm thinking I will try to find some balance between weight being decently heavy and knee caving not being too gross.

Will do a big reset tho whenever I stop dieting.

Would doing a max effort (work to 1RM and then fairly heavy back off sets) power clean day the day before a max effort deadlift day be a bad idea? Would power cleans affect recovery much for the deadlifts?

yeah a little bit, I think. It depends on how much you power clean vs deadlift as well, and it depends on total volume as well. If your form is holding you back it's probably not going to be as stressful either. I think a full day rest between would be fine.

I thought when H&F first started, it was a trial forum and there was talk of it being scrapped. What happened to keep the idea alive?

I think it is the supporting, caring environment and helping others achieve their goals that keeps H&F alive.

well actually i guess i should mention im gonna just be doing hang cleans (was told of a few form errors and am trying to correct them), im guessing these would affect recovery a bit less? i just started trying to fix the form yesterday and got a max hang clean of 166 at BW of 177, not sure how that compares to DL but im guessing i could lockout around 305 (really not sure as i havent gone very heavy of DL in awhile, constant battle to keep my back extended) but with my back out of extension for sure at that weight. For the volume, id be working up to the 1RM and then doing 5 doubles at around 85% of the 1RM.

LOL STFU

Can someone have a look at my form check vids so I can fix mistakes for tomorrow:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...5&postcount=11

ATG low-bar squats SS style are pretty rare, are you doing high bar? Anyway, going barefoot seems fine to me. You could look for squat shoes with a low heel, or drill the heel down.

And yeah, 1 set of DLs. Don't look up, keep your head in a neutral position.

Best thing you can do for your form is to post vids really.

I find looking up and then going back to neutral for the lift helps with back position on deadlifts. If I stick in neutral I feel like my back is rounding even if it isn't.

Ok, thanks for the answer. I am going to try and post some vids soon. I am sure my form needs some work. Thanks again.

Haven't squatted in two weeks due to being at a rock festival one week and being sick the week after. Just got some WL-shoes, so I'm trying to get my form down (again), figuring that I need some adjustments with the shoes on.

My three sets are all in this video. Feedback would be greatly appreciated!:
3x5x80

It is obvious that I go down too fast. I'm trying to fix it.

On my third set I tried placing the bar further down on my back than I did in my two first ones, because I didn't seem to have a completely vertical bar path in the first lifts (especially at the top). Is this due to not keeping the back at the right angle to the ground throughout the squat?

It seems that I have some slight knee caving and that my stance is a bit unsymmetrical?

Anything else?

I don't think you go down too quickly... It will slow down on its own as the weight increases

out of shape beginner: is there a good strength based routine i can accomplish with dumbbells? i know ss is probably best for me but have/like dumbbells and can't consistently get to a gym.

edit: preferably something i can accomplish on weekdays

or should i just screw the dumbbells and go bodyweight (even though i can barely do a pullup)?

What weight dbs do you have?

There is obviously plenty you can do... It's just that progression is much harder.

- Walking lunges
- Goblet squats
- Overhead presses
- Floor presses(?)
- Rows
- Snatches
- Cleans