squats and deadlifts

[devestating]

i was wondering what i can do to improve my form for squats and dead lifts. I wear a belt to help and i dont lift very heavy right now, trying to get the form down for both exercises, ive done squats before but injured my back, so im afraid to do them now. I dont have a permenant back injury or anything, i just dont want to be out of commission for a week, it happened about 4 months ago......

[F4iGuy]

http://www.**********online.com/fix-your-deadlift.shtml This should help with deadlifts. Once you have the form down the weight will follow.

For squats have somebody who knows what they're doing watch your form. Getting low and proper range of motion if more important than the weight. Watch some videos on youtube of Tom Platz. When you lower the weight imagine sitting on a toilet. Stay tight keep the lower back flat as you sit. Everybody has a diferent build but I like to place my feet slightly outside shoulder width, toes pointed out slightly. DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE WEIGHT until you are comfortable with your form. The bar should rest on your traps and elbows should point down. Take a deep breath into your gut then sit your ass back as you lower the weight. Breath out and explode back up. Don't look down. Find a spot at or above eye level and keep your gaze focused there during your set. If you finish and you feel like you just sprinted a mile and the quads are burning you did it correct. Don't be suprised if the low back gets pumped because it is a major stabilizer for this movement. Now go kick some ass.

[aportinastorm]

another sugestion for squats is doing then in front of a mirror so you can watch how your form looks and also put a bench behind and go all the way down until you are sitting on it, this will get you use to going down far enough.

[Nooomoto]

Get rid of the belt. It will not help you improve your form or save you from injury. The reasoning behind the belt during squatting is so that you have something to press your abdomen out against during heavy lifts to help stabilize the motion. You don't need it for learning how to squat with a lower weight. As mentioned above, do not sacrifice form for heavy weight. It's not cool to put 500 on the bar if you're only going down 3"...focus more on depth and form. Slow on the way down, hold for a split second, explode on the way up.

You might feel silly only squatting 135 or whatever, but I promise in the long run it is the better way to go. There is nothing to fear from the squat. I'm assuming your gym has a proper squat rack with safety arms? If you get in trouble, just drop down and let the arms catch the weight. It's embarrassing but **** it...that just means you're pushing yourself.

Remember, you need to get at least to parallel (your hip in a straight parallel line with your knee) before coming back up for a fully effective squat motion.

[The_Irish_Dave]

There are so many articles on squats out there. It's a very hard exercise to master. I think once you get it, you get it. It takes time though. I found the most important aspect of it was at the start. Gripping the bar and squeezing the shoulder blades together so it rests a bit lower on your traps. Squeeze them together like you're arching your back and tense up your body so it's really tight. This is really important and will affect your form as you go down. When you descend keep that arch and lower it sticking your ass out like you're sitting back not really straight down. As you get to the bottom you will feel your hamstrings come into play to support the lower range of the movement and your ass muscles. Keep going until you feel that tightness and they will bounce you back up from there. You have to go this low to activate them otherwise you will be using just your front thigh muscles and will lean forward and round your back. The next few days of muscle soreness and you will feel it all over your legs from thighs, hams and ass. You know you've done it right then. If you're more concerned about ego and lifting heavy with bad technique you'll be stuck at that weight forever. Take a plate or two off and get the form right and it will go up steadily from there.

[dooie]

i was wondering what i can do to improve my form for squats and dead lifts. I wear a belt to help and i dont lift very heavy right now, trying to get the form down for both exercises, ive done squats before but injured my back, so im afraid to do them now. I dont have a permenant back injury or anything, i just dont want to be out of commission for a week, it happened about 4 months ago......

Do front squats if your worried about your back, or hack squats, or stand one foot on each bench put weight on your belt and squat so the weight fall between the two benches, there are heaps of alternatives! Nothing beats a real deep heavy back squat though,

start light and go deep, stop when your bum start to roll under, chest up, weight on your heals, don't over arch your back, done

[Mr.Louaghos]

Lower the weight and practice your form.

[DiamondJim]

I'd drop the belt. Unless you are lifting extremely heavy and are worried about spine stability then keep the belt. For all other reasons the intraadominal pressure created through Valsalva maneuver will be more than enough.

[Daniel_CN]

I strongly recommend you check out Starting Strength by Rippetoe. I remember reading it years and years ago and it really helped me get down the proper technique.
He put out a new edition (3rd I believe) and it is a great resource.

[nikepump8844]

Agreed on losing the belt. Keep head up, back strong, and going down until you hit a bench is not a bad idea

[GetItHot]

Great advice in this thread.

[castiron]

Dont use belts or wraps, they just weaken your core and supporting muscles. Also you have to focus on keeping your chest out and you absolutely cannot round your back when doing these excercises.

[jsn23]

I really like the Hack-squats, you can get the full range of motion, while not having the stress of the barbell on your shoulders