Technique vs programming

[jeremesanders]

I've been doing the program for 3 weeks, and from a video I posted of last week, for one of my workouts the consensus seems to be that I still don't really know what I'm doing, I've read a bunch of stuff from the wiki, gotten through to almost finishing the deadlift chapter of the SS book, and my question is, should I hold off on going any further with the program until I finish the book? I really don't want to hurt myself so if my technique isn't up to par I can only assume that setting PR every workout is just going to hurt me.
Just questioning since I have a workout today.

Jereme

[Charles Staley]

Programming doesn't really take effect until/unless your technique is competent and stable. You can continue to use the same weekly split, but don't worry about weights or numbers- just practice

I've been doing the program for 3 weeks, and from a video I posted of last week, for one of my workouts the consensus seems to be that I still don't really know what I'm doing, I've read a bunch of stuff from the wiki, gotten through to almost finishing the deadlift chapter of the SS book, and my question is, should I hold off on going any further with the program until I finish the book? I really don't want to hurt myself so if my technique isn't up to par I can only assume that setting PR every workout is just going to hurt me.
Just questioning since I have a workout today.

Jereme

[Sgsolberg]

I agree with Charles. In addition, if you started with weights you could do and have worked up as prescribed, then it is very unlikely that you can actually lift enough to injure yourself at this time.

Keep working on your form. BTW, what are your lifts at, and what is your height and weight?

[jeremesanders]

I've been doing the program for 3 weeks
My height is 5'5" Weight is 127lbs
Squat:150
Bench:110
Deadlift:140
Press:75
Power Clean:95

here is a video of last monday's workout as well, seems pretty bad, hadn't gotten a chance to look at it till yesterday, and I also went 5lbs heavier on the press than I wanted to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uczqgkoxa8E

[tescott]

Welcome to strength training, Jereme! I'm glad you've joined us, and I'm sure you will be too in no time :-)

Not sure if you want some form tips, but here goes (straight from SS):

Squat:
- looks good to me. I wouldn't worry about the 'butt-wink'. It'll go away after a while as the squats stretch you out, and the weight your using isn't likely to hurt you.
- Look at the floor, 6-10 feet in front, not up.

Press:
- Elbows should be under/just in front of the bar, with the bar in the heel of your hand. At the moment, it looks like the rack position of the clean, with the elbows up and the bar up in the palm. Cf the pictures on p155 and p158 in SS.
- When you press, drive your whole torso forward, not just your head, so the bar is up over your scapulas (see fig 5.17 on p 158)
- actively lock your knees, and don't bend them. At the moment, your actually doing a push press in your work sets.

Power Clean:
- Get some plates to raise the bar up to where it would be with 45lb plates on it.
- position it like a deadlift, with the bar over the middle of the foot.
- during the first pull, keep the back angle constant. At the moment, your hips are shooting up
- whip your elbows up faster when you rack
- I'm sure others who are more skilled at seeing things in the quick lifts will offer more. Ask Charles.

[IWillLiveFreeOrDie]

3 weeks, and you still haven't finished the book? Just finish the book. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. Check out all of the form check videos here. Now is the time for perfect practice. avoid engraining any bad habits into your muscle memory now.

[LudwigVan]

What tescott said. I'd add that it looks like you're doing a high bar squat, and you might try narrowing your stance slightly. It also looks to me like you aren't totally locking out at the top of your squat. Stand up all the way.

Look at the difference in your press starting position with your worksets vs. with the empty bar. The worksets are much better.

[Tom Campitelli]

Firstly, nothing you are doing is dangerous, especially at the weights you posted. My form suggestions for you are below:

Squats:

Not too bad. You are doing most everything correctly. Depth is good, perhaps even deeper than needed. LudwigVan suggested that you are doing a high bar squat. I completely disagree. You are very much doing the low bar movement. Consider letting your knees come forward a little more in the beginning half of the squat. This will keep you slightly more upright. As mentioned previously, play with your stance width and see if bringing your feet a little closer works for you. I second the recommendation that you keep a neutral neck and look downwards, not forwards.

Presses:

When you have weight on the bar, you are doing push presses, not shoulder presses. That is, you are dipping slightly at the knee and using your legs to help push the bar up. That's a no-no. A push press is a valid movement, but not if you are trying to do strict presses. Lock your knees and keep them locked. Lean back slightly at the waist to get your head out of the way of the bar. If you cannot make 5 lb jumps, even early on, microload the movement. Don't do push presses.

Power Cleans:

You have no second pull. You are trying to whip the bar off the floor as fast as possible. You want to squeeze the bar off the floor in the beginning. It will look a lot like a deadlift. Once the bar touches the mid thigh, you then jump aggressively. That is the second pull. You are also landing too wide. Land with your feet closer, especially at lower weights.

I know you don't want to put on any weight, but you are seriously underweight. I don't do Parkour, so I cannot comment on what an extra 20 lbs would do to your game. I can tell you that an extra 20 pounds will make a world of difference to your strength. I would bet that it would help you in your sport of choice, too.

[Tom Campitelli]

Sorry, tescott. I repeated a couple of your recommendations. I need to read more carefully.

[jeremesanders]

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for your suggestions, I'll keep working the techniques and when I feel They've gotten a bit better I'll start the program up and see where it gets me.

Oh and TomC, is going "deeper than I need to" a bad thing or do you think it would be a plus?

Thanks very much,

Jereme