This is the lift-run-bang vid. I haven't watched it yet, but I assume it's good, because I know he has the same disdain for elbows up as I do.

How's my bench look? x-posted from my log

don't know anything about benching, but the dips by the next frank yang look legit.

I think they are too strict. Rippetoe recommends using the stretch reflex out of the bottom without a physical bounce off the chest. In SS he suggests to imagine a piece of glass on your chest that you must touch but not break. Yours are deliberately pausing at the bottom.

Might want to work on rolling your wrists a little more forward. It also looks like you are getting plenty of leg drive as your butt lifts (off the bench?), but if you can generate more of an arch more of that force will go upwards.

@renton: paused bench is good for developing strength off the bottom, as well as a requirement in PL meets, so it is goal dependent.

marlin - it looks like you're "bridging" or whatever and raising your butt off the bench? Pretty sure Rippetoe draws the line there and say not to do that. I mean, I guess you can but maybe there are injury concerns for doing that (?) and I know it won't fly in a powerlifting meet (not that you care). But I think it's essentially considered "cheating".

These are a little shallow?

x-post from new log.

Press 130x5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6SIp...ure=plpp_video

looks like there's a tiny bit of knee action in the lift

otherwise solid

marlin, I suck at bench, but I'm not a fan of your pause. Training with a pause is totally fine and in some ways better, but do it right. You're getting pretty relaxed and almost doing a double pump at the bottom. Stay real tense at the bottom, explode up.

renton,

look pretty good to me. Weight on heels. Fix your elbows. Down is better than up, and actually results in a tighter back.

thanks for the advice guys, i'll work on it and try to get another vid up next time I bench

Work set 3 of 3, 230x5

real solid. not the greatest angle to see what else is going on.

Finish the squat. Stand tall at the start and between each rep.

I'll take a couple on Monday at different angles. Thanks for the advice.

Squat:



Still having issues with forward lean. I cannot seem to be able to stay balanced at the bottom of a squat, even if I deload all the way to 155. My attempts to do so make the squats brutally hard even at that weight. Also it seems like my depth isn't so good in these. I have trouble getting good depth while staying tight, usually to get depth I have to go loose somewhere.

Deadlift:



I found that I can get a somewhat better back from RDLing into start position (the 155 video) instead of bending over and squeezing up like Rippetoe recommends (the 135 video). Are the 155 reps better? Thoughts appreciated.

shrog - everything looks solid to me except all that lower back flexion due to how low you're getting. It'd be better imo for your lower back if you stoped at parallel or just below and see if you can curtail some of that constant flexing.

Renton - squats - hmmm, I see some forward lean I guess. From what I can see it may be helpful to more specifically get a "big chest" and really engage your lats and squeeze your shoulder blades together at the start and throughout the lift. It seems you are letting the bar kind of flatten yourself a bit too much. You're not exactly GMing but I think you may be leaning forward because of that type of issue potentially. OTOH your knees look fantastic in terms of keeping them out. These don't really look that bad but maybe the weight wasn't that challenging? Feel free to try and power up from the bottom more. Like you are a worldbeater or whatever gets you pumped up. You seem to be doing them almost too "carefully" if that makes sense.

Renton - DL - tighten your back more when you start. You're starting with it somewhat loose and as you move up to higher weight I would guess your lower back will start rounding. Really try to engage your lats right before the lift and set your lower back every rep.

Also, I'm not sure you're really finishing the reps very well. Realllly sqeeze your glutes to finish it rather than just leaning back a bit or standing up softly. Stand up tall and really hump the bar like it's wearing yoga pants (just saw another BBV4L thread about yoga pants). You don't need to look up so much either, your neck is pretty craned at the start of your DL pull - you may find it more comfortable to look at a point on the ground just a couple/few feet in front of you instead.

Is there a reason people are walking within inches of your DL? If there is a way to take up a space where you potentially wouldn't drop 234234 hundred pounds on someones foot that's a good idea. I couldn't imagine trying to do a tough DL set with someone walking within a couple inches of where I was dropping the weight.

thanks for the tips. I'm doing the squats "carefully" cause that seems the be the only way I can do them correctly. Maybe once the movement gets embedded I'll be able to be more explosive out of the bottom.

Thanks, Yugo. What do you mean by the constant flexing? I also have been working at squatting super low, as I thought that was what we were shooting for.

Appreciate the help, really.

Shrog - at the bottom of your squat your butt dips low and to accommodate this your lower back flexes (some ppl call this "buttwink" since your butt is "winking" - this has always seemed a bit weird to me but it's the result of ones lower back flexing to achieve more depth). I haven't actually seen many LBBS that go well below parallel without lower back flexion.

You are getting great depth and many squatters will say "who cares" if your lower back flexes but I'm in the camp that long-term it's best for disc health and your lower back in general to have it flex as little as possible on every lift. On LBBS and DLs you are going to put a lot of stress on your lower back and if you have the habit of flexing it on every rep then imo it's a recipe for eventual injury.

Your lower back certainly can accommodate some flexion but way, way less than your upper back (for example). One way to try and get lower without allowing your lower back to flex is to really get your legs and thighs out of the way of your stomach/pelvis. What happens at the bottom of a squat is your pelvis/stomach push against your inner leg and that is often what causes the back to flex to allow a deeper squat.

All that being said, I'd guess if you go to parallel or just a bit lower you'll likely have zero or almost no lower back flexion and that depth should for sure be fine.

I haven't read this article for a while from Rippetoe but it is definitely applicable to a degree: http://startingstrength.com/articles...2_rippetoe.pdf.

Whether you want to continue getting that much depth but with flexion is up to you. I guess for me it seems silly since I want to do this long term (decades) and minimize disc herniations and other crap. My lower back gets plenty of tweaks even when I keep it straight and tight just from the regular lifts, lol.

ive been training for hte SEALs and **** just not posting abt it in h&f for a variety of reasons, but i hope to start posting again soon

anyway im having trouble w/ two lifts, squat and press, though my press is way out of whack for my squat (stronger than it should be)

anyway i reset most of my lifts and have been reconstructing them w/ alot of video input and **** just trying to find where i'm ****ing up, was hoping u could look at vids and give me your thoughts

http://youtu.be/MI7niPRHZDA (Overhead Press)

http://youtu.be/fP8YnV4jRMM (Squat)

http://youtu.be/NzYm_kzmJik (Deadlift)

my form on ohp goes to **** around rep4-5 w/ heavier weights in worksets (was up to 131x3x5 a few months ago). youll notice my left elbow (which was a point of injuries a few mths back when i logged) appears to lockout way slower, and my right arm appears to do way more work on later repetitions. its harder to see in this vid bc this is the first set of 5, i can show u 2nd or 3rd sets if thats better to show more form ****ups.

my form on squat goes to **** around the same time, 4-5 rep, but doesnt really get as bad in this vid. basically heavier weights, or w/ more fatigue, my right knee will begin to sort of cave, which has now become instead of that my entire pelvis sort of shifts to accompany a (presumably) heavier load) on my right knee.

i've been doing a ton of prehab stff on my left knee (which i injured either doing running or [i think] w/ a too heavy deadlift shot i took, that i've fixed since through looking at vids), so that's something i'm actively correcting.

also been pvc pipe rolling my it bands and quads/glutes, upper back alot more recently.

what else should i be doing to actively correct these glaring form issues?

sorry for wall of text, ty in advance great minds of h&f.

ps. for the deadlift vid, its a really light weight for me, i was just being careful w/ my knee (no pain), because i have a feeling my knee caving on a deadlift rep at too heavy a weight lead to a minor sprain, because i've basically ruled out meniscus damage (thankg god, bc that would blow for running)

Based on rip the forward lean you are displaying is not an issue. You are not GMing your squat, looks fine to me. Remember, in a low bar squat, your back will not be close to vertical.

Idk if this is the right spot, but I didn't see a supplements thread, so I figured I'd post this here..

What are you guys using for pre workout supplements? I just finished my second cycle of jack3d and could not be more satisfied. By far the best pre workout I've ever used. Beats NOexplode, Nanovapor, Black Powder, etc.

Excessive forward lean however occurs when the hips rise faster than the chest, this causes the bar to shift forward of mid-foot, which is what occurs in my case, and which is bad. Thanks for the thought though.

It isn't. Beginner thread is the place.

There is a little discussion there on pre-workout supps on the second to last page(using 100 PPP)

Correct, but the issue is not so bad that you should not continue with lp.