Newbie Form Checks

[Vanessa Hill]

I've been practicing the Starting Strength squat and deadlift. Here are my first videos. Thanks for checking my form.

Deadlift
Deadlift 2024.08.31 - Google Drive

Squat
Squat 2024.08.31 - Google Drive

[BareSteel]

Hi Vanessa, your deadlift is decent. Be mindful not to bend your elbows before the pull. Over time, this could cause you to try to jerk the bar of the floor, which is not desirable. Think of squeeeezing the bar off the floor. As weights get heavier, this will make more sense.

When you put the bar down, be sure to use hips and knees. On a few of these it looks like you might slightly be leading with knees. Don't get me wrong, you absolutely use knees to help the deadlift (both up and down) but if you lead with the knees when putting the bar down, it could push the bar forward of your mid foot. I hope that makes sense. You're only doing this slightly. If you're in the learning phase of the deadlift, you might just slightly slow down your descent to get this right.

There is some room for personal preference on stance. I like to point my toes out a little bit and spread the knees accordingly to get some adductor involvement. I see that you use a toes forward stance. Just something to consider trying.

You might post a video from another angle to help us see more about your mechanics.

Your squats are high bar. I don't perform these and can't give too much valuable advice. Maybe just be mindful of safeties if you're squatting alone.

[Maybach]

Have you read the book?

The bar needs to be an inch or two lower on your back for the squat. Your stance needs to be about six inches wider on each side.

You are rushing the deadlift setup. You are "bouncing" into it in the bottom, and the back loses extension immediately off the floor. Follow the five step deadlift setup detailed in the book and make sure each step is done no shit. Give yourself an out loud count of a second after each one if you have to. Do not let the steps bleed into each other.

(Notice how you bend your arms during it? That means that your chest cannot be in the correct position, which means your hips cannot be in the correct position. Widen your stance a good shade on these too. )

[Vanessa Hill]

Yes: "Heels should be about shoulder width apart." (p. 57) I wish, though, that I my shoulder width WAS six inches wider on each side.

When I position the bar lower on my back during the squat, I cannot hold it in position, as a low bar puts my inflamed joints in a compromised position. Due to borrelia-induced rheumatoid arthritis, this higher position helps. I will try tweaking it though. One physical therapist suggested using lighter weight and forcing the arms down, breaking up the scar tissue during each work out with the idea that it will heal into a position of greater ROM. (A heavier weight, he said, would probably just tear my joints.)

About everything I do in barbell work involves compensating for the joint problems, so I apologize that this probably makes it difficult to coach from a distance. With this condition, there may be a limit to how far I can progress. My elbows, for example, are permanently bent due to Lyme disease. Thanks for the tips on the deadlift though. I'll definitely slow down on my setup.

Thanks for taking the time to provide your insights!

[Jason Donaldson]

When I position the bar lower on my back during the squat, I cannot hold it in position, as a low bar puts my inflamed joints in a compromised position. Due to borrelia-induced rheumatoid arthritis, this higher position helps. I will try tweaking it though. One physical therapist suggested using lighter weight and forcing the arms down, breaking up the scar tissue during each work out with the idea that it will heal into a position of greater ROM. (A heavier weight, he said, would probably just tear my joints.)

A lot of folks have gotten good results with the so-called Horn stretch for shoulders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yV-jQmVUEWk

I don't (to my knowledge) have arthritis, but I've gotten better results from the stretch by alternating light pressing movements to warm up my shoulders with iterations of that stretch.

I love that you're taking a good, proactive approach to the things you're dealing with. Well done, Vanessa - keep it up!

[Maybach]

If you really can't get your grip into place you might have to high bar squat. You might have more subtle problems if it's aggravating the arthritis (where specifically does it hurt? Your hands? Your wrists?) The joints in the arms are not actually bearing any weight, or at least shouldn't be: heavier weight doesn't impact them any more than lighter weight. Grip problems are really easy for an in person coach to solve.

Most people misjudge "shoulder width": what is often thought of as shoulder width is slightly narrowed than shoulder width (perhaps based on a combination of visual perception of the body and the natural position of the legs.) There should be enough room between your feet that your torso can fit between your thighs without bumping into them. A very closed hip angle is what we're after

I can see your elbows might not extend fully, regardless, you are actively bending them at the bottom of the deadlift. They start out straight, and you "row" yourself into the bar slightly. Take the setup slowly and deliberately. The elbows should be locked as straight as you can make them