squat and deadlift: back too horizontal?

[dirkh]

Hi Rip,
First of all, thank you for writing SS:BBT and PPST, they helped me a lot with getting into serious training and I?m glad I was able to order them at a Powerlifting equipment shop here in Germany.
I?m trying to convince people at the university (I?m studying sports science) of using functional barbell exercises instead of those fancy machines, but as you might know, this is not really an easy thing to do...

I wanted to ask you to check my form on the squat and deadlift - I?m wondering if the back angle at both of them is too horizontal.

squat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BROffYgxXo0

Maybe there is also too much "butt wink"?


deadlift:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_SlAUzWt7I

Is there something wrong with my setup? (I think i could try to lift the chest a little bit more)

[Mark Rippetoe]

Your squat is very good. It's not "too" horizontal at all. In fact, this is a pretty good example of correct technique, once you realize that the squat is also a back exercise. The only change I would make is to point your toes out a little more.

But your back is way too horizontal in the deadlift. This is essentially a stiff-legged deadlift. You need to get set in the same position you're using now, and the squeeze your chest up as high as you can. This will drop your back angle to the correct position before you pull.

[dirkh]

Thanks for your comments, I?ll try to squeeze my chest up more next time I deadlift.

I?ve just got another question: Is it normal to get callus formation at the shoulders from squats? It is not that excessive, but I have some kind of pressure marks on the skin at the distal end of the spine of the scapula. Does that indicate that there is something wrong with the bar position?

[Mark Rippetoe]

No, it's just what skin does when you piss it off a little at a time.

[sigix]

In fact, this is a pretty good example of correct technique, once you realize that the squat is also a back exercise.

Thanks to this comment and your comments on this posting, I finally had an AHA! moment doing squats today. My cue was to keep my back-to-ground angle constant when driving out of the bottom (had been keeping my back too vertical and leading with my chest before). I could really feel my glutes and hamstrings using my back as an anchor to open my hip angle in a way that actually raises my hips up. Squat felt much stronger instead of feeling dead at the bottom.

Thanks Mark for your books and your time spent answering questions here.