Hey Dolly, out of curiosity, are you possibly around the Danville/San Ramon area?
My girlfriend and I train/live here, and she basically focuses on the compounds a lot too. It would be great if she could find a training partner besides myself, because well…I’m a guy and her boyfriend and she might like having another girl to train with hah.
I am. Where do you guys train? PM me if need.
We are getting some very strong chicks in here.
Ok I’m uploading some vids for my form. I went lighter for form sake. My husband was the one taking the vid and critiquing as well.
Appreciate any tips or critiques.
I know I tend to arch my back a lot for squats. I know I should start box squatting but is there anything else I can do?
And here’s my deadlift. Mind you I only started deadlifting, so I know it’s light. I feel more comfortable with wide stance although not as strong, just feel like I can keep my form better.
Husband tells me I need to lean back a little bit more, any tips or critiques?
You should not do practice in all days in a week three or four times only.
Hi Dolly, I’m not a powerlifter so I don’t have much to offer except it sounds like you’re not far from Jo Ann and Max Aita:
http://maxaitatraining.blogspot.ca/2012/05/jo-ann-aita-deadlifts-155kg-in-same-way.html
http://maxaitatraining.blogspot.ca/p/about-max.html
Jo Ann is 48kg bw or something crazy like that but insanely strong.
[quote]dollytan86 wrote:
Husband tells me I need to lean back a little bit more, any tips or critiques?[/quote]
Next time try dead lifting in a flat sole shoe or in socks. It’ll let you
“sit back” more due to not having a heel like those squishy running shoes you had on. You’ll probably also find that you’ll be more upright from the start and pull better because of that small change. It may not seem like much but little things often produce big results.
Dolly, very nice numbers !
Deadlift - yes, flat soled shoes for sure, and pull the bar back and up, it should really ride your legs up. You can baby powder the legs too.
website above is Cara Westin’s (also out of SuperTraining in Sacramento, CA) she may be a bit far for you to travel but she may know of PL’s nearer to Danville also. She is a super nice and talented person.
Also there is a Women’s ProAm on Nov 4th at SuperTraining gym in Sacramento. You may want to do that meet as it is all females, novice to Pro, Raw to Multiply. The atmosphere at these meets is like nothing else. Even if you feel you don’t want to compete that soon, please stop over just to watch, it will get you even more motivated!
If that military press is strict form and not inflated, that is a ridiculous lift your BW.
Your squat looks fine except for appearing to be slightly high and having a buttwink on a couple of reps. Flat shoes or being barefoot should help with leaning forward on your deadlift.
[quote]dollytan86 wrote:
I’m in the East Bay Area, CA (Danville) so I think Sacramento is really out of the way sadly. I know there’s a Diablo BB club but they are super expensive from my research. Do I have other options?
How can I find a PL training partner around here? On the forum or do I need to craigslist it? Kinda scary.
[/quote]
If you’re serious about competing in PL, go to Diablo. They are the best option in this area. I also live around Danville. I trained at Diablo for two years and put hundreds of pounds on my total. It is expensive, over $100 a month, but the technique advice and training environment is second to none.
If you’re not interested in spending that much money, I’d be interested in training together. PM me if you’re still into it.
There is also a PL gym that Jesse Burdick works at in Livermore.
Great progress. Keep it up.
abbey - I’m not doing a power lifting routine. at least not yet.
debra - emeryville… kinda far but will keep that in view. thanks!
strengthdawg - I usually deadlift in my nike frees. I think they’re flat enough.
lilpower - thanks! I think I’ll wear long stretchy pants instead of baby powder. I don’t think I’m good enough for a meet yet!! with no coach and all. I might go watch and learn and mingle.
amaya - military presses is seated. does it still count? haha. my squats gotta go lower? then I think my squat pr is lower than stated.
mostmajor - yeah I’ll check it out once I can spare the money. thanks for the offer to train. ill take you up on it after I’m done cutting. not focusing on strength for now, just form and higher volume.
Even seated that is still good. Your standing strict press is probably in the elite category!
The only reason I say to squat a little low is because it looks like you’re just a hair above parallel but it is really hard to judge it unless you’re looking at the side or the squatter is obviously breaking it. You might be right on the money, its hard to tell.
Yeah don’t really know what angle to take vids haha. So I’ll film my squat from the side in future. I’ll take a vid of my military press sometime later, shoulders a little bit sore so laying off that.
Anyways here is my bench vid. Didn’t do too heavy today as my spotter/husband was videoing me. Just 125lbs x 5. Please tell me what you think of my grip width, my depth. I def touched it to my chest but does it look PL legit? I have problems trying to keep my wrist really straight, and wraps just kinda bothers me cos I’m not used to it.
Have you watched Dave Tate’s videos on benching? They are very helpful for a beginner.
Yeah I have. Is there anything in it that I’m not doing?
It’s hard to tell, but your arch looks small. As long as it feels fine for you, go with it. 
[quote]dollytan86 wrote:
Anyways here is my bench vid. Didn’t do too heavy today as my spotter/husband was videoing me. Just 125lbs x 5. Please tell me what you think of my grip width, my depth. I def touched it to my chest but does it look PL legit? I have problems trying to keep my wrist really straight, and wraps just kinda bothers me cos I’m not used to it.
[/quote]
Good benchin.
Your grip looks good. Like stated above you could arch more. Watch those bench videos from Tate again. Looks as though you are flaring your elbows out. On the descent you should aim to keep your elbows tucked in more towards your sides. On the way up its ok to flare out a bit. Pull your shoulder blades together, pull your chest up and “bend the bar” to get tight.
Form could always be better, for everyone. But it looks good.
Gripping the bar tight makes a huge difference.
Oh gosh I’m so happy today. Took your advices, arched more, keep my shoulder blades and traps tight, elbows tucked in ( for some reason all these helped with my wrist not bending back as much) and I did 135lbs x 4 relatively easily. yay! Ecstatic!