Deadlift Form 101
It is rare to see beginning lifters practicing proper deadlift form. Far too many trainees perform the lift at a mechanical disadvantage, trying to lift the bar with their hips up. This resembles a Romanian deadlift or stiff-leg deadlift and is hard on the lower back.

To deadlift properly, follow these guidelines:

Feet. Position your feet about halfway under the bar. From a side view it should look like the bar is running directly through the middle of your feet. Looking down, it can be difficult to gauge if your foot position is correct, so ask another lifter for guidance or video tape your deadlift set up.
Stance. Your feet should be at a comfortable and natural width, but not too wide. Toes can be pointed just a hair outward, but you should not deadlift pigeon-toed.
Grab the bar. With your feet properly in place, reach down and grab the bar using either a double overhand grip or an alternating grip. An alternating grip will allow you to hold more weight.
Sink your hips. Sink your hips until your shins touch the barbell. You want to feel like your hips are in a natural and powerful/maximal position of leverage, so you may need to raise or lower them just slightly. If you start the deadlift with your hips too high you will be at a mechanical disadvantage and will tax your lower back. Starting with your hips too low will also cause you to lose your leverage and power.
Head. Next, you want to make sure your eyes are at least looking directly ahead. During the deadlift your body will follow your head. If you start the deadlift while looking down, there is a good chance your hips will lift up causing you to lose form and lift with your lower back. This is a very common deadlift mistake.
Back. Make sure your back is not rounded. You do not want to start the deadlift with a rounded back.
Now that you are in a proper set up position, it's time to perform the deadlift. Do not try pulling the bar off the floor. Though the deadlift is often called the pull, lifters who mentally focus on pulling the bar off the ground often raise their hips too high at the start of the lift. They also tend to move their heads down when pulling, which also contributes to an elevation of the hips. This causes the deadlift to be performed like a Romanian deadlift. It is a bad leverage position, and can strain the lower back.

Instead of pulling on the bar, concentrate on standing up with the bar in your hands. Standing up is a natural movement, and by keeping the deadlift as natural as possible, you will tend to keep better leverage and form throughout the lift.

Start this standing up movement with the head. Lead with the head. Think about exploding your head upward while trying to stand erect. The body will follow the head.

As the bar rises above the knees, try to thrust your hips forward. Many deadlifts fail at lockout because lifters are still “pulling” on the bar. At lockout, focus only on:

Standing up. Again, a natural movement.
Driving your hips. Thrust your hips forward.
Remember, the deadlift is not really a pull. Pulling objects off the ground in a bent over position is not a natural movement, but standing up is.

For more information on the deadlift, please read:

How to Deadlift: Proper Form and Information
Bench Press Form 101
The bench press can be a frustrating exercise. A small percentage of lifters are naturally able to press a ton of weight, while the rest of us struggle to hit 225 pounds for reps. Is there anything you can do to improve your bench press numbers? Absolutely.

The following form tips and tricks will help.

Plant Your Feet. One of the hidden keys to a bigger bench press is leg drive. Stop shuffling your feet, and learn to plant them firmly in a position of leverage and power. Start each bench press rep by driving from the floor. If you focus on turning the bench press into a full body exercise, your pressing numbers will improve.

Squeeze The Bar. After finding your proper grip width, squeeze the bar and pretend you are trying to bend the ends of the bar inward towards your feet. This will help you keep your elbows in a better position, improve your eccentrics, and assist with keeping your upper body tight and strong.

Stop Flaring Your Arms. This is by far and away the biggest bench press mistake. Stop flaring your arms! This is horrible on the shoulders, bad form and not good for strength. It is far better to have your elbows at approximately 45 degrees from your torso. This is a good starting point, and minor form adjustments can be made from here.

Row The Bar. Row the bar? Yes, row the bar. Row the bar towards your chest. We all know that keeping a tight back is an essential aspect of good form. To help achieve a tight back, concentrate on rowing the bar towards your chest as if you were performing a barbell row or lat pull down.

Eyeball The Ceiling. After unracking the bar, keep your eyes on the ceiling. When completing each rep try to press the bar back to the same spot on the ceiling each time.

Explode. Power involves speed, and speed requires an explosive force. Stop trying to baby or power each rep up. Instead, focus on pressing the bar in an explosive manner. This will not only help complete an extra rep or two, but will also help build strength in the long run.

Practice Proper Alignment. When the bar is at chest level, your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor. Also, make sure your wrists are directly over your elbows, and that your knuckles are pointing towards the ceiling. This is proper bench press alignment.

Military Press/Push Press Form
The military press and push press are two variations of the same exercise. Both movements are performed standing up, holding a barbell at shoulder level in front of the body. The military press is performed in a more strict manner, while the push press is performed more explosively, utilizing leg drive.

Many trainees wrongly avoid overhead pressing, believing it is inherently more dangerous for the shoulders. In reality, the biggest threat to shoulder health is training imbalance. In recent years it has become quite common for lifters to overwork chest pressing movements while giving little attention to heavy overhead pressing movements. This lack of balance is not good for the shoulder girdle, and can lead to consistent strains and injuries.

Do not fear overhead pressing movements. Instead, aim for a better training balance between chest presses, shoulder presses and back rows.

When performing military or push presses, use the following form tips.

Foot position. Position your feet as if you were about to jump into the air. They should be about shoulder width apart, or a hair more. Your should feel stable and balanced. If needed, you can also stagger your foot stance, placing one foot behind your body for extra balance.

Hand spacing. Place your hands in a comfortable position and lift/unrack the bar to chest level. Your forearms should be nearly perpendicular to the ground. This angle should be about the same when the bar is fully extended overhead.

Bend the knees. Perform the military press with a slight bend in the knees. This will help with stability. For the push press you want to descend into a slightly more exaggerated knee bend and then drive the weight up, starting with the legs.

Lean back. As you press, keep your chest up and lean back slightly as needed. This will help with stability and balance.

Eyes forward. Try to keep your eyes forward during the press. If you move your eyes upward you will have a tendency to lift your head up. This can compromise form and create instability.

Romanian Deadlift Form 101
The Romanian deadlift and it’s sister exercise the stiff leg deadlift are very misunderstood. Let it be known that they are not the same movement. Listed below are a few important differences between the lifts as well as some form pointers.

The Stiff Leg Deadlift. The stiff leg deadlift is performed with the knees slightly bent, but with the legs locked. You can also perform this movment as a straight leg deadlift, with legs straight and locked.

During this movement the bar is lowered naturally, hanging slightly away from the legs. Start the descent with the lower back in a tight and arched position. Downward movement should be stopped when the lower back feels as if it may round.

Romanian Deadlift. The Romanian deadlift is performed in a similar manner at the stiff leg deadlift except for one major difference. When lowering the bar, it should be kept close to the legs. Move your hips backwards as the bar travels downward, stopping the descent when your lowerback feels as if it may round.

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