Powerlifter Critiques Your Squat, Bench, & Deadlift

[@lukewtattoo]

The diving squat re rack had me rolling in tears

[@ilaybenita2727]

Thank you so much! I'll start light anyway after the lockdown in my country(I'm the kid from the fourth clip).

[@tusharbaghel2952]

Take ur TIMEEEE BUDDDY🤞🏿💪🏿

[@in-solo7545]

FXP

[@yuvalavis2499]

סגרו לנו תחדכים אחי סעמק

[@willrandall4012]

You are pretty jacked for a 14 year old

[@ilaybenita2727]

@@willrandall4012 Thanks!

[@Daniearp]

I really enjoy this channel, Bryce is so polite and non condescending, nice to see this for a change

[@janaired]

Thanks for reviewing my submission! Really appreciate it!!

[@TonyNgo]

Love watching these and learning. Started your free program and starting week 8 soon. Already increased my totals from 890 to 965.

[@Delabeled]

As far as a rounded lower back. Injury happens when the lumbar spine enters and "end range flexion". So while you are not wrong that a slight rounding of the back wont cause problems, if that rounding reaches "end range flexion" you are almost certain to have a severe injury, sometimes even irreparable. To go further into this for most professional powerlifters that have a rounded back it is usually the upper back that is rounded and not the lower. For some the body is able to produce more force when the back is slightly rounded and the flexion muscles are contracted. This small rounding has show to improve stability in the spine and allowing people to lift heavier loads. Rounded backs tend to happen in advanced lifters when they go above 90% of the 1RM. For everyone else it can simply be improper form, ego lifting, or even a weak link in the posterior chain or the supporting muscles during a deadlift/squat. However the safest spinal posture is absolutely without a doubt a neutral position. (I'm not the absolute expert nor am I claiming to be the most knowledgeable person. I am a licensed Personal Trainer certified through EREPS (EuropeActive) and I am currently completing my degree in physiotherapy.)

[@MythXuriu]

this is so damn helpful. please keep doing these. bam subscribed.

[@FCMorba]

I love that you watch and comment on the whole video where possible. Catching that squat re-rack is a great spot :)

[@steeftop2451]

Could u make a video about the right way to do the overhead press feel like alot of people are doing it wrong and would love to see ur explanation of it.

[@maersel]

this is a powerlifting channel, OHP is not a powerlifting movement. I doubt he'll do it.

[@dylann.m8]

9/10 times people who suffer from lumbar rounding in heavy deadlifts, it’s weak legs. think about it; your body tries to move the weight in the most efficient way possible by utilising its strongest muscles. if your lower back is much stronger than your legs, your body is going to attempt to move the weight with your lower back as opposed to your posterior chain.

[@lanestevens9894]

So my back isn’t a part of my posterior chain ?

[@dylann.m8]

@@lanestevens9894 the erector spinae is of course part of the posterior chain, however i was referring to individuals who appear to use it in near exclusivity when they deadlift, preventing the posterior chain being utilised in its entirety.

[@lanestevens9894]

@@dylann.m8 I know what you were saying I was just being an ass haha. I love to see a good ol’ cat back deadlift!

[@josptyoutube5832]

Your body uses your muscles to its fullest potential. It doesnt look which is the strongest and uses that more. Muscles fire, or they don't. Based on form, some get less load and then your body moves to it's strongest position so those other muscles are in a better biomechanical position so you can move more weight. Its just your lower back that isnt strong enough at that muscle length and it moves to a more flexed position until it can handle it. And thats because muscles are stronger at around half the length.

[@RyleyRehab]

Lol at "Thats an interesting rerack"

[@nathanvanderriet209]

Constructive criticism: Whenever you see a w where you think there should be a v in a person's name, pronounce it as a v, it's just the eastern European spelling where w makes the v sound

[@bmstylee]

Gearing up for a trip to a sports medicine specialist Monday to get my shoulder examined. I haven't been able to bench in almost 6 weeks from pain when I perform the bench press.

[@-keks-8897]

get well soon!

[@nikahmadkhair]

Thank you for critique my lift. Really need your opinion. Will take you point. Need to down a lil bit my max. (1st video)

[@filippoc888]

The first thing that jumps out at me is it appears like Marwin loses tightness on the bar's descent. It almost seems like he knows he can handle this weight, so he sort of drops it then pushes it up once the bar hits his chest. I think this can be fixed by really focusing on squeezing his shoulder blades together and down (towards his butt) throughout the entire range of motion. Doing this will also help him to lower the bar slowly, and conversely by lowering the bar slowly, he will be forced to maintain a good, tight position throughout the entire descent, which will keep him in a good position to press the bar back up. So keep scapulas pinched together and down, think of squeezing everything while lowering the bar. Lower the bar slow and controlled. Maybe doing some spoto/tempo presses will help. Press massive weight.

[@justinazevedo6701]

Agreed

[@Hossak]

A lot of people have also picked up he is just not keeping things locked in and tight, certainly not having the shoulder squeezed enough and the lats locked in and down. This shows up in how the bar path is wobbling all around as the set progresses, the bench then degenerates into a pure arm/upper shoulder movement - pecs/lats/core no longer involved. This is when you flare out your elbows trying to engage your triceps as much as possible to make up for the lack of assistance from the rest of your body. The bar bath then becomes straight up and down - not pushing behind you as that is only possible if you kept everything locked in as above. If you are locked in and focussed, the bar path should remain very similar for each rep, there should not be any hunting for the sweet spot as is occurring here. I would drop the weight, focus on getting everything locked in and progress from there. As soon as you feel that flaring or things get wobbly - re-set! Good luck!

[@buffkillua]

In my opinion the main thing Marwin could work on is back tightness; pulling your chest into the bar towards the descent and having the chest "follow" the bar up. When the bar is on his chest you can see it kinda gets loose, like he's just letting it sit there. Body should be tight throughout the whole movement. Focusing on back tightness will help reinforce the retracted, elbows tucked position throughout the movement. A bit of elbow flaring is generally okay as it stacks better, but too excessive flaring may result in losing tightness. I think Michael Seay (74kg) uses these techniques very well.

[@arnokalliokorpi7048]

Marwins elbows seem to shoot back into flared position before the bar even leaves the chest. Maybe it requires just more focus on the elbow tuck and patience, might just be a bad habit he has picked up during his training.

[@momsspaghetti3885]

Weak chest i’m guessing and the arch could be better and the legs don’t seem tight enough maybe

[@Hal_bowman]

@@momsspaghetti3885 would be weak triceps, that's why the elbows flare to put more weight on chest and delts. I think paused bench with the focus on keep tight and elbows in would help. Even using a light band around the wrists to focus on driving g hands out and elbows in

[@siddyfisher1765]

I really quite like Marwin's bench. Maybe just keeping those elbows in position as he starts the movement. They look like they're flaring out a bit or sinking down a little before the press starts. Could maybe try getting the legs a bit tighter. I really like the bar path though.

[@spencerkisby7040]

idk about other people but if i round my back i cant deadlift for another week. I have to be straight back or else i get injured

[@youngman7655]

Same I hurt my back

[@SurvivalGames1]

i hurt my back even with straight back

[@Northen_Alberta_Wilderness]

I think Marwin could benefit from more engagement in his back, specifically his lats. That could either come from changing his position slightly prior to starting the lift or even bringing his bar path down just to a lower position towards the belly Looking forward to what you have to say about the lift next Friday 👍

[@PinataOblongata]

Good call on that lower touch point.

[@nickw22689]

First guy might just have the bar an inch or two too far forward from what I see. Then he might be able to pull his back in a bit better to prevent the rounding.

[@ForTehNguyen]

i noticed he tightened his lats right before the lift but then untightened soon after

[@nikahmadkhair]

Thanks bro. Will take your point.

[@jamesscott6661]

He's not losing his hamstrings. Needs to move knees back, bar back, big breath of air, brace the core, keep the back tight, load the glutes and hams my two cents.

[@BANHMIZON]

That rerack at 5:20 has me in tears

[@calgarybarbell]

Definitely not ideal haha

[@nateristowa6899]

i had the same problem marwin has. i just upped the reps and lowered the weight for a few months and focused on consciously keeping my elbows tucked. now when i try and hit my lower rep-higher weight work, its second nature.

[@fiffo416]

these vids are gold

[@raphaelkaiser3570]

how low is optimal on rdls? -personally I feel strongest If I only go to the knee and obviously I can lift more weight. thanks for any of your advice greetings from germany nice video also keep it going

[@coughhy]

I'd say the first guy should try starting with his hips way higher and being a little more over the bar. His hips shoot up straight away. Also, try unlocking your hips first on the descent instead of your knees. You will end up with the bar in a good position for your next pull that way

[@KhalilJamar]

This is a dope video !

[@ForTehNguyen]

adjust squat rack height so the bar is around armpit level. Its safer for the hooks to be slightly lower than slightly higher

[@joelchong5060]

I think Marwin’s back isn’t arched enough and he lacks back engagement in his bench. He might also be slightly exaggerating the j-curve. He could lessen how much he does the j-curve and play with that

[@joejoward1287]

04:00 maybe use flat shoes, the heal is higher so that's why us can push you forward?

[@zeidnahhas7304]

Excuse my ignorance, how do you send in videos to get form critique?

[@calgarybarbell]

[e-mail]

[@zeidnahhas7304]

@@calgarybarbell thanks!

[@zander5402]

I think it would help Davis to brace more ribs down, along with everything Bryce said. I noticed Davis has some anterior pelvic tilt which turns neutral as he initiates the squat, bracing more ribs down should help this.

[@PinataOblongata]

Marwin! Close grip bench, mate! Get used to the tuck and strengthen triceps, then hit the regular bench again. Also, maybe a little lat work and keep 'em tight. Nice paused reps, though!

[@-nath-7837]

Not long subscribed after finding your channel couple days ago. Probably watched every fcf video you've done 🤣 great stuff . Very helpful. I've found when I'm incline benching leg drive is easy to keep on and shoulders down and back but flat bench no matter how hard I try and focus i cannot keep leg drive and shoulders down and back simultaneously. after the first rep it goes to absolute shit.. Edit .. just to add I train alone and the hooks on the bench are non adjustable so its a fix height . Problem is maybe my unrack too

[@beerd6706]

Could be that you're sliding up the bench whilst engaging leg drive? Maybe wrap some bands or put a matt on the bench?

[@-nath-7837]

@@beerd6706 annoying thing is I can strict ohp 92.5kg but barely manage 115kg flat Bench for a single

[@joebot9309]

How many years does it take to get the website going lol?????

[@joojotin]

Can anyone help? I have had some knee pain when squatting my bodyweight its weird because I can still do my squats with weight. As I get To my working sets my knee pain is comoletely gone. Any tips? Have been doing leg extensions too maybe they are bad for my knees?

[@owenshen36]

Try doing hamstring curls, they should help balance out the tension/possibly stronger quads from doing leg extensions

[@joojotin]

@@owenshen36 I already do them tho🤔

[@owenshen36]

@@joojotin Try foam rolling quads and IT band more, I recommend checking out Limber 11 for some stretches

[@joojotin]

@@owenshen36 okay will try thank you! My IT band is really tight

[@seanhussain1338]

Anyone have any idea why I get pain from benching around the bone that meets your shoulder near your traps?

[@jasonlozano1638]

I'm not a coach or anything but I'd say you're shrugging your shoulders when you're benching so work on keeping them down and back

[@skude3]

Lack of lat tightness probably. You’re getting pain in the ac joint from shrugging during ur bench.

[@seanhussain1338]

@@skude3 you're right man, I was trying to lock my lats back, but I didn't realize I was locking them up too high and basically shrugging. Was able to lock them in lower and felt much less pain. Gonna skip chest for a week to heal up and I should be good to go.

[@joemfahey]

@@seanhussain1338 AC joint injuries take some time to recover. Benching a bit closer may help for a while, as well as some floor presses to limit ROM

[@Fammyy.]

I have MAJOR rounding when I pull conventional despite being tight throughout the lift😔 Can any of y’all help me out?

[@robinw4354]

Bryce always says a round back isn’t always the biggest problem. Lumbar(lower back) rounding can sometimes be inefficient and can harm the lowback more often than none, but if you are pulling with a good kinetic chain, staying tight, pushing off the floor, bracing, etc, you’ll be fine my dude!

[@Fammyy.]

Robin w Thanks a lot bro, I appreciate your explanation🤝

[@JValerianS]

Also a really helpful thing that he keeps saying is this: if you can reach the position and hold the form strict with a lighter weight - you might want to practice with that lighter weight. As he said on this video, if there's a certain form you would prefer and there's a way you can practice that - practice that, don't try to magically bring that form into a set that is too challenging for pulling it off.

[@paardenkrachtakahorsepower9966]

MARWIN should arch is upper back more, so tighten his upper back and keep that tightness when he unracks. His schouders are loose now and so the bar is out of control

[@moses9647]

for Jan, I'd recommend programming in heavy dips. I've plateaued on bench a lot and I found heavy dips to be a game changer for me at least

[@chewygamin]

marwin is definetly losing tightness in the chest during the touch the chest collapsed

[@robertcolebrooke7557]

To me jan looked like he was flaring his elbows too much and the bar path was straight down like a guillotine press? Thought that was bad for shoulders

[@ferreus]

How are we supposed to progress if we should stay on a level of intensity that is comfortable for our technique or whatever?

[@thalonga3709]

higher volume, like Sheiko

[@robinw4354]

ThaLonga I agree. Rep scheme and more added volume in that regard can really help

[@AP2922]

Some breakdown is ok, just try to get more reps with good technique. But overtime you push what you can do with good form

[@joemfahey]

Add in very light drop sets to work on form. Do some more warm up sets as well. Practice the lifts multiple times a week. Tempo work to emphasize form but still get good enough stress. There are plenty of variations that help emphasize form but still allow you to progress

[@jaxonsevero1045]

Edmonton boy

[@TEOtheBOSS]

my meet got canceled for the second time today :(

[@Divine_R]

Consider it more time to get prepared :) get your weight, technique, sleep in order

[@AllieEm1]

That’s awful but I agree with the other commenter. More prep time.

[@JJones-nf9ce]

So what would Jason Blaha say about this subject matter?🤔🤔

[@calgarybarbell]

Not sure. Does anyone care?

[@JJones-nf9ce]

@@calgarybarbell Of course they do! In the online fitness community you have many different coaches and trainers that incorporate different training methods. Some are similar and some are different. It's always interesting to hear how others compare to each other....

[@sophisticatedbeaver3569]

Guy 1 will go to snap city. Reduce your weight and lift properly

[@vid0302]

14 years 120 kg deadlift? Defuq

[@calgarybarbell]

Some strong ass kids out there

[@00oo0000oooo]

Marvin, more back tension and get some tricep work in.

[@stijnswerts8759]

Am I first?

[@ForTehNguyen]

im first on your first comment

[@ezra4566]

You shouldn't say it's okay to round your back. That's horrible advice.

[@jdata]

Its not horrible advice. Rounding your back doesn't increase a risk of injury according to the data. Inconsistent technique on the other can get you hurt

[@biesman5]

No

[@mayanksharma7952]

2 nd guy with squat clearly having but wink and this guy doesn't even see it.

[@iclimbtrees8981]

Little butt wink isn’t killer. Just like a little rounding in the back during deadlift.

[@joemfahey]

That was hardly his problem and not significant at all

[@JohnDoe-mt6gb]

Tbh bro after watching some of your meets your squat IS NOT to depth

[@AP2922]

It is if the judges say it is.

[@JohnDoe-mt6gb]

Adam in his own words he said “hip crease below knee level” and come on if you’ve seen his meets he doesn’t even live up to his own standards

[@AllieEm1]

John Doe Judges say you’re wrong, I guess.

[@JohnDoe-mt6gb]

Allie Em Judge can say I’m wrong but like I said he said himself, hip crease below knee level 🤣

[@AP2922]

@@JohnDoe-mt6gb the standard that the judges are looking for is hip crease below the top of the knee. If your competing you only need to go that deep, no more. Also to actually judge depth you need to have a direct side view, like the judges. But if you have a problem with the judging, take it up with the IPF.