squats and cleans critique - new prs

[tweakxc03]

squat: 230
clean: 155

squats:
set 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp4mf__Ue1M

set 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyBC3VPkSDE

set 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyiA4WhVoes

cleans:
set 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfXbW8sMlkE

set 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2bgsa-DKo

set 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxtiPCmLk-o

My take on the cleans:
The bar on these cleans all seem way too far away from my body, and my hips aren't getting into full extension... but during all of these sets, those were the things I was trying to focus on... extension and the bar going up my shirt.

The weight didn't seem that heavy... what am i doing wrong here? not sure what i need to do to fix those.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi Tweak,

I might be wrong, and the angle/clothing don't help, but maybe your squats are just a tiny bit high ? you seem to get to parallel, but not actually below it, especially on the first set.
As I said, I might be wrong.

IPB

[tweakxc03]

thanks for the feedback... I agree that the first set was a little high. I've noticed that as the weight has gotten heavier, it's harder for me to get down below parallel.

some of the reps on sets 2 and 3 were also high. I think part of this was because my lower back still hadnt' fully recovered from the last workout. it seems like my lower back is having trouble recovering from workout to workout, so it starts to fatigue just in the warmup sets alone.

i ordered a foam roller to hopefully help with recovery in this area. any other thoughts? maybe i need to take a wider stance? I am trying to get the knees out and everything. My hamstrings are pretty tight, so i'll work on stretching those as well.

I am going back through the squats frame by frame right now... reps 3 and possibly 5 were high on the first set. Second set I see my left knee bowing in a little on the middle reps, and the last couple of reps are high. Third Set was garbage... 4 out of 5 reps were high... i was hurting for sure.

So, should I attempt this weight again tomorrow, rather than increasing it by 5 pounds?

Also, anyone have thoughts on the cleans?

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

any other thoughts?

I don't feel confident enough to give you more feedback, to be honest.

IPB

[Charles Staley]

Maybe get a pair of shoes for starters?!?!


Squats look a bit high, otherwise I like them. Rip wouldn't however. You have good mobility, esp for a tall guy

Bad camera angle on cleans, but you're leaving the ground prematurely and excessively. Good cleans over all however.

A good technique drill is to do doubles where the first rep is a clean pull, and the second rep is a clean. The pull serves as a rehearsal, and then you try to duplicate those mechanics (which are easier to perform on a pull) on the clean on rep two. So if for example you're not getting full extension practice that on the pull, then try to duplicate on the clean

squat: 230
clean: 155

squats:
set 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp4mf__Ue1M

set 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyBC3VPkSDE

set 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyiA4WhVoes

cleans:
set 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfXbW8sMlkE

set 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT2bgsa-DKo

set 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxtiPCmLk-o

My take on the cleans:
The bar on these cleans all seem way too far away from my body, and my hips aren't getting into full extension... but during all of these sets, those were the things I was trying to focus on... extension and the bar going up my shirt.

The weight didn't seem that heavy... what am i doing wrong here? not sure what i need to do to fix those.

[Tim Lofton]

Squat depth needs attention. If you're still sore enough that you feel it is interfering with reps, then your recovery is suffering. Personally, for myself, I would consider this many faulty depth reps as missed reps and repeat the weight. Especially so, in light of your described soreness, you may want to help yourself and your body out a bit by keeping the weight where it is for another session. I think we all, to some extent, train with some soreness and/or fatigue from time-to-time, but if it hampers your lifts then I think it warrants a brief pause in progression. I know not every rep is going to be executed with ideal form, but there has to a minimum acceptable level of consistency in order to safely carry on to higher weights.

Regarding the PCs, I'm seeing two things (I think; others please chime in if I'm way off). I don't see the hip pop and extending through during the 2nd pull. It looks like the hips are still flexed as the weight is racked.
Speaking of racking the weight, it looks like your forearms are perpendicular to the bar, or very close, at the end of the clean. It doesn't look like your arms are rotating through quickly and completely enough. The plates obscure but it doesn't look like the bar is making up onto the delts and is being held/suspended up with your forearms.

At the start of my PC warm-ups, in addition to doing some hanging cleans and full PCs, I'll do a few movements covering the upper third or so where I'm focusing on swinging the arms through quickly and up into the rack position.

I'm wondering if 155# isn't a bit much given these items? Good luck. I hope you get the soreness worked out and get back to feelin' good soon. An extra day or two of rest/eating/good sleep may do wonders.

[Eanderson]

I agree about lack of depth.

I'd try a slightly wider stance.

Also, exaggerate the KNEES OUT cue.

And stop looking at yourself in the mirror. Look down.

[tweakxc03]

Thanks for the feedback.

As for the rack position, part of it is i'm not racking it high enough up, but part of it is i have stupidly long forearms. if i were to bring my elbows all the way up, the bar would slam into my throat.

I definitely agree about the lack of hip "pop" and extension. I'll use that drill to work on the extension portion of the clean. Need to work on that.

I also realized today that part of the knees-out problem might be because my knees are sort of turned inwards. In order to get them pointing straight ahead, I have to turn my feet out about 30 degrees. So, to get the knees to actually reach 30 degrees, my feet need to be turned out a little bit more than that.

As for squat stance width, it looks like my heels are actually wider than shoulder width. I think Rip has said before that if you go too wide then that can actually hinder depth, so that may also be part of it. I'm going to back up the weight to 220 and make sure I fix these problems today.

[gzt]

1. Shoes. Seriously, dude. You can find Do-Wins for 69.99. They'll last at least a decade because you only wear them while training.
2. Squats have been talked about.
3. Elbows need to swing around more and faster on the clean.
4. You're getting a few inches off the ground on the clean.

[tweakxc03]

I know i need to get shoes.... I KNOWWWWWW. I will order them soon. I just bought condo and i am trying to pay off some debt. I am seriously broke... but i realize i need to buy them ASAP.

GZT- as for the elbows swinging around... see my above statement about long forearms and the bar hitting my throat. I get that touching the throat might be ok, but if my upper arms are parallel with the ground (i.e, elbows up), my hands are past my ears.

Is the requirement based on the bar resting on the delts, or the position of the arms? I've been focusing on getting it up and racked so that the bar is resting in that position without thinking about my elbows for this reason.

Cleans - getting that high off the ground --- does that mean the weight is too heavy or too light? seems like the lift off the ground would mean the weight is too light, but the lack of hip extension seems to imply it's too heavy.