Squat and bench form check

[Cargotruck]

These are the only lifts that have ever bothered me. On squats I had what I think was tendinitis at the front of my upper thigh / hip area. Rested for a week and a half, and it disappeared to the point that I could just occasionally feel a very slight sensation there. Now, after several months, it has flared up again which is why I'm asking for form help.

Here's my third set of 5 on squats with 230lb from the side after doing a 10% reset (this workout was also my first time usingg a belt):

squat1 - YouTube

After watching it I immediately noticed some knee slide and did a set of 3 with 242lb to see if I can prevent it with a weight that's more challenging:

YouTube

Stance is shoulder width by the way. Is the reason for knee slide trying to stand up with your quads too much and is it ever acceptable? Also, is the technique any better in the second video and are there any other problems that can be seen?

As for bench, it has caused me a lot of different pains on my left shoulder over my different gym periods, but with SS I managed to get it from 3x5 with 145lb to 3x5 with 200lb without any problems. Then I started feeling pain at the side of my left shoulder when lowering the bar. One bit of info perhaps worth noting is that I feel pain there on squats as well if I take a grip that's too narrow. The pain is pretty much directly under the medial deltoid, but it's definitely not muscle pain. I kept benching like a dumbass until 3x5x217lb, with the pain getting slightly worse as the weights got heavier. Now after a month of not benching, I'm trying again with only 175lb and progressing up very slowly (same weight and pace as my row to make sure my back isn't a limiting factor in technique):

bench1 - YouTube

Really focusing on squeezing everything in my back and trying to bend the bar. Any problems, more angles needed etc?

Thanks in advance.

[Michael Grantham]

Squat
Some things cannot be seen from this angle. Here's what I can say, though:
Your knees are moving around quite a bit. Get them set and don't let them move.
You're overextending your spine. Less arch when you squat. Don't try to keep your upper chest vertical.
Look down.
Put some shoes on (preferably lifting shoes).

Bench:
Widen your grip a bit.
Don't tuck your elbows as tightly to your sides. This will cause you to touch a little bit higher on your chest. That's ok.

[Cargotruck]

Squat
Some things cannot be seen from this angle. Here's what I can say, though:
Your knees are moving around quite a bit. Get them set and don't let them move.
You're overextending your spine. Less arch when you squat. Don't try to keep your upper chest vertical.
Look down.
Put some shoes on (preferably lifting shoes).

Bench:
Widen your grip a bit.
Don't tuck your elbows as tightly to your sides. This will cause you to touch a little bit higher on your chest. That's ok.

How do you go about keeping the knees steady on the squat?

Regarding bench grip, it's 1.5 times my biacromial width. Going wider is something I tried for a good month or so, but that's where the shoulder problems got worse.

[Michael Grantham]

How do you go about keeping the knees steady on the squat?

They're your knees. You decide what they do. Don't let them move. Look at a spot on the floor a few feet in front of you, and you will be able to see what they are doing.

[Cargotruck]

They're your knees. You decide what they do. Don't let them move. Look at a spot on the floor a few feet in front of you, and you will be able to see what they are doing.

I'm just imagining that things other than your knees affect your knees on the movement, like having an inconsistent hip angle between going down and coming back up. The way I played it in my head was that if I go down relatively horizontally but try to come up more vertically then the knees will have to slide forward to accommodate for that. But then I'm unsure how to fix that. Let the knees come more forward when going down, use more hip drive coming out of the bottom, or both etc.

[Satch12879]

How do you go about keeping the knees steady on the squat?

Start by putting shoes on.

Regarding bench grip, it's 1.5 times my biacromial width. Going wider is something I tried for a good month or so, but that's where the shoulder problems got worse.

Who cares? How do we determine proper grip width in the bench?

[Michael Grantham]

I'm just imagining that things other than your knees affect your knees on the movement, like having an inconsistent hip angle between going down and coming back up. The way I played it in my head was that if I go down relatively horizontally but try to come up more vertically then the knees will have to slide forward to accommodate for that. But then I'm unsure how to fix that. Let the knees come more forward when going down, use more hip drive coming out of the bottom, or both etc.

Yes. They're connected to other things. If your knees don't move, those other things will be working the way they need to.

And don't try to come up more vertically.

[Cargotruck]

YouTube

Update on squats, can't afford shoes at the moment. Any better?

[Michael Grantham]

These are better. Work on driving up hard with your hips from the bottom. Keep your chin down. Drop your elbows just a little bit.

[Cargotruck]

Update with shoes and more weight

Problems I notice but want to confirm or deconfirm:
- Knees too far over toes
- Center of gravity tips slightly towards my toes at the bottom
- I raised my head on the last rep and didn't make things any better

My knees go so far past my toes because I'm stronger that way. I wanted the progress to keep going so I kept doing that, but now after failing 135kg with 4/4/3 and going for a deload down to 120kg, should I work on breaking more at the hips and using more posterior chain?

As for the center of gravity tipping forward, is the reason for this the fact that I bend forward instead of just focusing on pushing the butt back?

Thanks in advance.