Squat and Bench Form

[Darixan]

Squat Form:


Bench Form:


I've been lifting on-and-off for about a year now, and I got introduced to Starting Strength quite recently. Please check my form: I'm basically new at this.

[Brian Sloan]

Squat: Bring your stance in about 2-3 inches, reach back with your butt further, and stay with your hips longer.

Bench: More torso and lower body tightness. Scoot your butt a little closer to your shoulders, and keep your chest raised throughout the entire set. You see how it starts raised, and you flatten out after a few reps? Also move your feet a little wider, and be sure they're directly underneath your knees. Brace everything, and imagine your upper body as a spring that's loading as the weight lowers.

(Insert disclaimer about the necessity of lifting shoes here)

[Darixan]

Squat


Thanks for the advice.

Is the squat any better?

And I'll get some shoes. Any brands I should buy over others? Does brand matter?

[Brian Sloan]

Now you're breaking at your hips before your knees, so ensure knees out and butt back happen simultaneously. These are significantly better, but keep working on it. Beware of form creep. The heavier it gets, the easier it is to freak out and stay vertical, so you constantly have to police things.

With the shoes, I'd go expensive. That way, you only have to buy once. Here's a buying guide:

[Caleb Krieg]

Looks like Brian's got you all covered here Darixan! The only other thing I'll add to the squat here, is that your descent is a hair too fast. Slowing down a little will help you stay tighter and implement the cues he's giving you.

Good feedback here Brian. You're Stanton's lifter on SSOC, right?

[pd_oldguy]

For shoes, here is a great price on Adidas PP2s (recommend by many people) I just ordered a pair to replace my Dowinns.

Power Perfect II weightlifting shoes

[Darixan]

Friday, Sept 7:
Squat


Bench


Thank you all for the feedback, I really do appreciate it.

Gotcha, Caleb. I'll try to slow things down next time by a bit.

I'm getting shoes today, so bear with the ugly chucks for these last two videos.

[Jstrause]

Nice improvements from your first post!

I had a tough time with breaking at the hips and knees simultaneously and I thought using TUBOW a few times helped me straighten this out.

[Brian Sloan]

Looks like Brian's got you all covered here Darixan! The only other thing I'll add to the squat here, is that your descent is a hair too fast. Slowing down a little will help you stay tighter and implement the cues he's giving you.

Good feedback here Brian. You're Stanton's lifter on SSOC, right?

Yes sir, it has been awesome so far.

[Caleb Krieg]

Nice. Congrats on that 405 PR triple you just pulled the other week BTW! Good stuff man.