Squat form check

[HansWurst]

Thank you both, KangaJoo and Scaldrew! Last workout was on friday, but I didn't manage to upload the video in the meantime.

I did watch the video you linked and tried to work on my grip. I also watched this video on how to stretch your shoulders for the squat, which was really really good. I'll do this before every workout from now on. If I get it right from the book, different articles and videos the bar should basically be on my back with the arms just holding it in place (no pressure on them). Right now my arms and shoulders still get alot of pressure which is due to my poor shoulder flexibility (I think). I also don't wanna go wider with the grip, because then my back feels really lose. So I guess I'll just continue working on the problem and it'll ease out over time.

As for the movement: When warming up for the squats I realized that I was initiating the descent by shoving my knees forward rather than bringing my hips back. So I did really focus on moving my hips back and and getting the weight on my heels. First rep is again the worst and I think I am overexaggerating the hips back on some of the reps. Do you guys think I should start incrementing on the squat again?



I started incrementing on the deadlift again and managed to do 5x105kg. Unfortunately I was feeling really dizzy after the first rep again. After like 5 breaths I did the other 4 reps with no problem whatsoever. I am starting to think that this might have something to do with my breathing/valsalva. I also managed to complete the bench, which I failed last time!

[KangaJoo]

For some reason the video isn't working for me right now but it's probably just my work computer being weird. Will try to remember to check it when I come home today.

If your grip is close enough to where your back is getting tight then it's probably not shoulder flexibility that's putting the weight of the bar on your arms. The most common causes I've seen are 1. keeping the elbows down too much and 2. standing up too straight at the top. A concept that helped me when I started to get a bit of pain in my elbow was that the weight should be on the back and not in my hands. To achieve that I had to lean forward a little more and keep my elbows slightly higher than I had them before. Just make sure you don't jack your elbows up too high or that will prevent you from keeping your back in extension.

I get dizzy all the time on the deadlift too. What helped me was doing my last warmup single at a weight very close to my working set weight. Try doing a single at around 90-95% of your working weight and see if that helps. For me, I get dizzy after that last warmup single but I don't get dizzy during the work set.

[KangaJoo]

You have the right idea about bringing your hips back while also bending your knees but you're still not getting your hips back far enough, actually. If you were, you wouldn't be shifting onto your forefoot. Because you're struggling with this so much, try during your warmups to get your hips so far back that your weight is actually on your heels the entire time all the way down to the bottom. In fact, practice this right now without any bar on your back. By the time you get to your work sets I'm pretty sure you'll be able to control your balance so that you can stay on the middle of your foot. The other problem I'm seeing is that your back gets pretty loose at the bottom, but that might just fix itself once you get your balance figured out. Also, your elbows look like they're already high enough so that's probably not the problem.

[HansWurst]

Thanks alot! Last workout was on Monday (before your replies). Funnily enough I did a 1 rep at 100kg before doing my workset at 110kg and it was exactly how you described it. Feeling dizzy after the single, but felt great during the workset. I think it also helped that I took a longer break before the workset (like 5-6 minutes). Sometimes I have to rush it a bit towards the end, because I have to catch my tram to get to work.

As for the squat I think the grip is looking better. Pushing myself under the empty bar to stretch out really helps me alot and I did have alot less discomfort during my work sets. I will definitely try to practice the movement at home until the next workout!

Unfortunately I started feeling sick after the workout and now I'm ill (fever, sore throat etc.) so I had to skip today's workout and will probably have to skip Friday's workout, too. Also weekend is totally booked so next workout will be Monday, which is really frustrating. I haven't made progress in ages, because at first I deloaded due to technical issues and now I'm dealing with this plague. I guess I will retry the weights of my last workout on the next one and start incrementing from there.