Kwesadilo form check

[kwesadilo]

I haven't done a form check in a while, and it seems like my form on a few things might be shaky. I've been doing squat, bench, deadlift, overhead press, and power clean as described in Starting Strength, although I am no longer doing that program. Hopefully it won't be too confusing to do all five in one thread.

 

Seems like my depth here is borderline.

 

Here is where I think I might have a significant form problem. For several months now, whenever I do overhead press, the outside of my right elbow (possibly my lateral epicondyle) hurts at the bottom of the press. It gets better when I focus on controlling the descent, but it doesn't completely go away. I don't get elbow pain at any other time, including during bench press. I'm not aware that my form changed recently, but it didn't always feel like this. Sorry that the video is too zoomed in. Hopefully that doesn't frustrate analysis.

 

Regrettably, I was not able to finish this set, despite the powerful encouragement from my spotter. Since this was taken, I have been able to do 187.5x5. Like overhead press, my bench press has increased very slowly (less than 2.5 lbs a week).

 

I am starting to see a little back bend on the last rep. I'm not sure if the video captures it, but my hook grip was also starting to fail.

 

When I watch this, it seems like it takes me forever to get under the bar.

 

I appreciate anybody's feedback.

[AlanaKFitness]

Okay, for your OHP you might want to try a slightly wider grip. That might be why you're having some pain. It might also be due to you trying to keep your forearm exactly perpendicular to the bar. If this is the case try letting your elbows flare out just slightly. It is hard to know exactly what is going on from this angle but hopefully that should help. Careful with your lean as well. Make sure you don't let it get too excessive. You should be leaning back just enough to get out of the way of the bar. No more. Some of your reps get a little excessive. 

 

Again it is hard to tell from this angle but it looks like you are letting yourself loose tightness on the decent of your bench press. Make sure you are staying tight. Think about it as if you were rowing the weight down. You should feel your lats. Don't just let the bar come down.

 

 All of your other lifts look pretty good. Though I can't help you with your power clean. Oly lifts are not my forte. 

 

Keep up the good work! You are already pretty dang strong!

[kwesadilo]

 

Okay, for your OHP you might want to try a slightly wider grip. That might be why you're having some pain. It might also be due to you trying to keep your forearm exactly perpendicular to the bar. If this is the case try letting your elbows flare out just slightly. It is hard to know exactly what is going on from this angle but hopefully that should help. Careful with your lean as well. Make sure you don't let it get too excessive. You should be leaning back just enough to get out of the way of the bar. No more. Some of your reps get a little excessive. 

 

Again it is hard to tell from this angle but it looks like you are letting yourself loose tightness on the decent of your bench press. Make sure you are staying tight. Think about it as if you were rowing the weight down. You should feel your lats. Don't just let the bar come down.

 

 All of your other lifts look pretty good. Though I can't help you with your power clean. Oly lifts are not my forte. 

 

Keep up the good work! You are already pretty dang strong!

Thanks for the tips.

 

Re: OHP, I didn't try all of the suggestions, but I did try to keep the bar closer to my face last Wednesday. I perceived this as me keeping the bar path parallel and avoiding going forward, but I may also have been decreasing my layback. I don't have a video. But the results were pretty dramatic. No elbow pain! Hopefully this week will be more of the same. Thanks!

 

I also tried rowing down my bench press on Friday. It felt more stable on my warmup sets but didn't seem to make much difference on my work sets. I do think back tightness is an issue for me, and I have to focus on keeping my legs braced so that my arch doesn't collapse at the bottom.

[AlanaKFitness]

Yay, I am glad to hear you got rid of your elbow pain! That's great ^-^

Yeah, it can be hard to keep your arch when you are benching. Just keep practicing. 

[kwesadilo]

It seems to help a lot if I consciously flex push towards the head of the bench with my legs, but it's hard to focus on that for the whole set.

 

Does anybody on here do power cleans?