press form check plz:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCsaTYYyakc

I have had problems with a too big arch while pressing. I went down in weight, so I think it's ok now, but I'm not sure if it stays this way, when the weight goes up.


ps: bonus points for guessing the tv-series you can hear in the background (and recommendation for watching it).

It looks to me like your elbows are too far back, it makes it tough to press the bar in a straight line like that.

Elbows should be in front more. You aren't driving the bar hard enough. You should be driving that bar up as powerfully as possible. You are holding it at the top for way too long, there is no need to hold it up there at all after lockout. Also at the bottom feel free to start your next rep as soon as you lower the bar.

I breath at the top, thats why I hold the bar up so long. Should i breath while moving? That makes it harder for me to get my core flexed.
And I think I lack flexibility, so that I am not able to get my elbows in front. What stretch/exercise would help me to get in the right position?

Breathing at the top is fine, just breathe faster. You can also do like 2-3 reps on a single big breath.

from my log

TY.

Squat:
Looks pretty good. Looks like hip drive might be slightly lacking, which I would guess would be because of knees not being shoved out enough. Without a vid from a different angle though that's impossible to judge.


DL:
First rep was pretty textbook. The rest were sloppier. Make sure you reset properly between reps. With the hex plates you might need to move slightly yourself to get close enough to the bar. Notice the difference in your back angle between rep 1 and rep 3. And break at the knees later so the bar doesn't hit them on the way down.

I'd ask miles about how to deal with octagons in the best way since I know he deadllifts with those.

Agreed. I've gotten similar feedback on the issue from a other posters as well. Since then, I've been trying to do exactly what you described - really shoving those knees out, while maintaining tightness so I can hold proper form all the way through. It seems to be working, I just have to really focus on it.

I've also been doing shoulder dislocations in my warmup, so that's a start in addressing the arm flexibility.

Thanks again to everyone who replied.

I pulled something in my leg while squatting the other day and I was hoping that someone would be kind of enough to provide me with some criticism on my form. I hope its better than last time. Thanks guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsiV-LiuhEw

from a quick glance it looks like you're not getting low enough. it could be my eyes or the camera but it looks like you're not keeping your back posture well (starting to hunch?) and your whole up movement looks like it could use a little work.
I'll be back later and try to give more detailed comments.

SiQ, thanks for your feedback! I think that you are right about the hunching in my back as others have pointed that out in previous recordings...I need to keep it tighter. Am I lacking hip drive on the up movement?

Yes you're lacking hip drive. Have you seen this vid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yha2XAc2qu8

With a little hip drive I think they'll look decent.

Thanks Carl. I hadn't seen that helpful video. Now I feel like I definitely understand what hip drive is and what I need to do. Just gotta "ride that ass up" lol.

Yeah its good to actually get to see what the hell he means by hip drive.

Also konrad, you didn't happen to pull something while you were d*cking around with your feet position at the start did you? It's a squat, not a tap-dancing demo.

Get under the bar. Take a big breath and tighten everything up (this also makes the bar feel lighter when you unrack it imo. Good psychological advantage imo). Unrack the bar. Take a step back. Bring your other foot back. Move one foot to the side to get your foot width right and squat.

It's funny how big the difference can be between sloppily lifting the bar out and doing what you describe - the bar feels pretty light if you do it right. Whereas it can feel devastatingly hard and give you that "oh ****, this is gonna suck" feeling if you don't tighten everything up.

Sigh, I knew that I should have edited out the tap dancing from my vid as it was sure to get pointed out . 00Snitch, you are absolutely right that I spend too much time trying to find the right foot position, and it could very well be that that is how I hurt my leg. Tapdancing also tires you out before the workset. I know what Soulman is referring to when he says that the bar feels lighter when lifted in the right way, so I will strive to make that my standard. Right now it looks like these are my problems: lacking hip drive (especially on the way up), hunched back, not getting low enough, and presquat ritual. That is lots to work on, but I think that my knee positioning has improved from last time, i.e. no longer letting them go forward the whole time, but still managing to kick them out (horizontally).

Thank you all for your feedback!

konrad, on your last rep your knees came forward as you were coming up from the squat. Usually knees should be coming back (straightening) as you stand up from a squat. It looks like you were starting to lose it forward, and threw your legs forward to squeeze the rep out. Probably better to fail the rep and dump the bar if you feel that happen again.

Agree with SiQ that a little more depth would be a good thing. Might as well work on that now since you'll probably have to deload with an injury.

solrit, i really appreciate your comments. only 84 posts since 2004, and one of them is directed at me.....how flattering (sorry if you read jokes like that too much here on 2p2). I hadn't noticed that subtle forward movement of my knees on the last rep, but I guess its not so subtle to the trained eye. Just curious though, why is it better to fail the rep if that ever happens in the future? Is it the possibility of falling forward or that its dangerous on the knees? Finally, you mentioned that I will probably deload due to the injury.....well, I was wondering what I should do today at the gym (given that Im on a Mon, Wed, Fri) schedule? I definitely dont want to miss a workout, do you think I should squat at a lighter weight today or just avoid it completely? Thanks again!

Just started posting in 2010, so 84 is just getting started

Seeing your knees come forward like that seems like it would really put tons of stress on the connections of your leg to your hip and on your knees as well. It seems like failing would be preferable to risking injury, and this just looks like it could cause injury. I could be wrong, though.

For today, you could probably do your warm up sets for squats and see how you feel. If your injury seems to be a tendon, be conservative. When tendons don't heal well, they can bother you for a very long time. As to working on depth, start with your warm ups and maybe treat it like it was your first session? Add a little weight to each set until you have some slow reps but with good depth. Then use that as your work set.

this is really important. bouncing is very bad imo, especially as you do more weight.

another thing is to get your elbows up as much as possible when you catch. like this guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGESk...eature=related

355x5

we don't just share a name, we share shoes.

those look more like SLDLs. Your ass is way way up at the start of the live and you barely need any knee extension. They're not bad as far as SLDLs go, though you got a bit of rounding.

I'm not a fan of the dip and drive type **** on DLs. You drop your ass way down so that it tucks under you, then shoot your hips all the way up, then lift.

Just follow Rip's set up. Get your hamstrings nice and loaded before the lift. Chest up. Chest up means tighten your upper back. Lats down and engaged.

man up and scrape you damn shins

all this ^. Especially the chest up part. The back rounding on the last couple reps is something I'd try to avoid.