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New to lifting, need help with form (with videos)

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Nick Fernandez:
I just finished reading the Starting Strength e-book and I'm trying to get familiar with the lifts. Like I said, I'm new to lifting and I want to make sure I'm doing it correctly.

Was hoping you guys could help me out if I post vids of my form on all the SS lifts (besides power clean, I won't be doing that because of equipment and space issues).

Right now I only have a video of my squats so I'll post that here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PvWp9nXAJ4

I noticed my back rounds a bit right when I hit the bottom, although I haven't really been able to fix that

Joe Brock:
The back rounding that you're seeing at the bottom is pelvic tilt.  Since you're squatting with a semi high-bar position, your knees are tracking forward.  Your elbows don't drive underneath the bar at the bottom position, and this puts your center of gravity too far towards your toes.  I noticed you trying to fight that by pushing your neck back into the bar, which means you're not focused on a point about 6' in front of your toes.

By dropping the bar position lower on your back, exaggerating the "chest out" posture, and driving up from your heels...you should see some improvement. 

This isn't a bad squat, though.  Part of it is that you've just started lifting.  You're not being challenged enough by the #95 on the bar to see any MAJOR form breakdown.  When the weight gets heavier, you'll be much more able to see the little issues.

Do you have a spotter or way to catch the bar when things go wrong?

Nick Fernandez:
Sadly I wasn't able to afford a cage, so I'm just using the bench. The only person in my house capable of spotting would be my dad, and I know that a one-man spot is just pointless. Which is why I'm very cautious not to up the weight too soon.

I'll fix the bar position for sure. All I could think about during the set was trying to lower the bar down and tightening my back because it was killing my neck. Definitely not doing that again.

What do you mean about driving the elbows underneath the bar?

Joe Brock:
A one-man spot is not "useless."  It's not the best answer, but it's better than nothing.

What I mean about "driving the elbows," is that in the bottom position of the squat, as the torso tilts forward, the elbows should move down more under the bar.  If they flare out behind you like a set of wings, then you're far more likely to allow the chest to collapse down/forward.

Scott Eustice:
Joe, could list the form differences between the high bar back squat and the low bar back squat? I'm doing the high bar because it carries over better to running (according to coach), but I don't know of any significant form differences, besides the bar placement.

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