Form and Overtraining

[Darixan]

Just got introduced Starting Strength quite recently by various youtubers, and I want to see if it could work on me. I've been lifting using compound barbell movements for about a year now on-and-off, and I decided to get serious about getting stronger since I'm a 5'7" 155 lbs loser.

Two simple questions:
Is my form about right? I know I'm probably going to low, but otherwise, I'd like to know if my squat form is passable, at least.
I've been stalling at this weight for a week, along with the press and bench at 100 lbs and 155 lbs respectively. I got sick with a cold. Am I overtraining, or am I being a wuss?

[Mike Longnecker]

I am fairly new to SS, going through my LP right now.

Regarding overtraining-you haven't. In college I did an incredibly high volume, 4-5 day a week Russian program for 4-6 weeks, followed by a bench every day program for a month.
Literally every moment I was not in the gym, at work, or at school I was asleep. At least 6000 calories a day and i still couldn't handle it. I ended up entirely losing my appetite, getting sick, and getting very, very tired, all the time. It took 2-3 months for my appetite to come back.

Nothing that I did was wise, but it did teach me what overtraining feels like.

[Darixan]

Thanks for the info. I'll get to lifting then.

[DoinFives]

I’m no expert, but to me, your squat looks rock solid.

You weigh 155, your 3x5 bench is also 155. For your bodyweight, I believe this isn’t bad at all. Also, your squat is more than 1.5 x your body weight for 3x5.

The cold very well may have effected it, or you may be reaching your strength potential on LP at you current body weight.

You may have to gain a few pounds if you want your numbers higher. Your strength to body weight ratios may stay the same in respect to your body weight. Maybe they will improve, who knows until you try. Good Luck!

[Jstrause]

These look like high bar squats. Have you read the blue book? If not, start there. Also, the barbell logic how to squat tutorial is a good resource.

[johnnys]

Two simple questions:
Is my form about right?

It looks to me like your knees are moving forward all the way down, instead of remaining behind your toes. Otherwise pretty solid. Read the 3 questions article if you remain stuck.

[Stefan Theimer]

You're getting a lot of contradictory advice here- if you want to be sure about your form, try getting verified and ask in the SS coaches section. Or head over to the technique section...

FWIW, I think your squat looks fine. If I was going to nitpick- I'd say it looks like you are going a little bit too low (not much, maybe an inch or less) and could narrow your grip a bit and keep your elbows down.

You have some eating to do, which is fun! I started at 6'1"/165# and am currently at about 205#. There is plenty to read here on the forum and in the articles about weight gain, so get to it!

Keep on working!

[Jstrause]

I stand by my statement that these look like high bar squats instead of low bar squats. His back is vertical and knees translate forward the entire descent.

[Nicholas Soleyn]

These squats are way too low, which makes them not "passable." Going this deep you aren't able to stay tight in the bottom and are loseing some important muscle mass in the lift. Narrow your stance about an inch on both sides, cut your depth about 3 inches higher, and stay really tight at the bottom.

Also, did you consider this a failed set? There was absolutely no reason you couldn't have hit a fifth rep on this one, even with less-than-perfect squats. You're not overtrained, but you do need to check your form on each of the lifts, then you are going to have to start attacking the sets that feel really heavy. At some point, you won't be sure that you can make the next rep and you are going to have to do it anyway. If there's a coach near you, they can help with both of these issues.

[Darixan]

I should have posted this thread into the "Technique" section. Here's the link to the forum over there, if any of you are interested in seeing and judging my progress in terms of form.

I can't remember how I was feeling at this workout, but I think I was just having a bad day. That day, I just got a cold, I was working out after my job as a waiter, and I wasn't focused on the workout since the college work I've been putting off has been getting me worried. Just couldn't muster the focus on grinding that last rep. But yeah, looking at the video, I thought the same thing. It's why I wanted to ask others.

Thanks for the feedback. I never knew forums could be so helpful.

Squat and Bench Form