Form Checks. Please Discuss.

[ColoWayno]

Ok, this first squat video (290lbs) made me think I needed to reset the weight to reestablish depth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0u0VtwAEDo

Here's my effort to do that at 250
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvoIKL-dC3Q

Note the applause at the end.

Here are some power cleans at 135
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNOF4WlBFb4

What do you guys see or think? I know some of the reps at 290 were a little high and my knees float forward on the fourth rep, but I'm not sure I needed that reset.

I think this is my best power clean video yet, but go ahead and shoot me down.

Sorry about the mirror shot on the first squat set, that wasn't intentional.

[Dastardly]

Your thighs are kind of hitting your hips/stomach. You might find it easier to get depth if you used a wider stance.

290 looked easy and your flexibility looked fine too. Try a slightly wider stance and see what happens.

[ColoWayno]

Thanks Dast! I hadn't thought of that but it makes sense.

[Tom Campitelli]

Depth at 290 was not sufficient. Depth at 250 was very good. Your knees are a bit wobbly and some forward travel is noticeable on most of your reps at 250. It's not terrible, but it is something to be aware of. Tough to tell whether you need a wider stance, or just to point the toes out slightly more and drive the knees out. If you are already about shoulder width apart, I don't recommend going wider as getting depth as stance width increases does not get any easier. On the whole, your squats look pretty good.

You've got a pause in the middle of your power clean. You want to touch the thigh, but you don't want to stop there. Your shoulders are slightly behind the bar when you start, too. I would move your butt slightly higher to take care of the shoulder issue and focus on a smooth pull off the ground that transitions into a fast, aggressive jump when you hit the thigh. No pauses.

[ColoWayno]

Thanks Tom ... all good stuff.
You confirmed what I was thinking about the squats.
I had been watching my PC in slow mo and I thought it looked pretty good. Then I watched it full speed and noticed the same thing about the pause.
The good news is my back is getting strong enough to handle some pretty good weight, probably in part because I'm finally dead lifting a decent amount (335x5 last time).

[Ian Kovtunovich]

On the 250 set with the TUBOW, it's apparent that your knees need to come farther forward on the descent, sooner. As your knees unlock on the descent, you want them to come forward into the TUBOW-mandated position, and stay there until they start straightening on the ascent. They look too far back on the 290 set as well, and on a couple reps, they are drifting forward and back as you near the bottom, which is messing with hamstring tension and hip drive. You look pretty strong on them, though! I think focusing on getting the knees to settle right into position, and really trying to anchor them there, will add some gumption.

Definitely a pause in there on the cleans; those are looking pretty casual for you at that weight, so I'm sure they're really gonna fly once you smooth out the transition between the pulls.

[Carlos Daniel]

I too am under the impression that the 290 were not deep enough due to a narrow stance and knees not being as out as they should be. It looked easy enough strength-wise, so I think it's just a matter of getting the femur out of the ASIS' way.

[ColoWayno]

Thanks guys, this gives me a few things to try next time.

[Dixen]

Regarding the PC's:
Looks like you are reverse curling it in the end. You are very slow to shoot your elbows foward into the rack position. Try to focus on fast elbows next time.

And that weight was way too easy for you...

[ColoWayno]

Regarding the PC's:
Looks like you are reverse curling it in the end. You are very slow to shoot your elbows foward into the rack position. Try to focus on fast elbows next time.

And that weight was way too easy for you...

The slow elbows are worse on the second rep, right?