[Form Check] Squat 200lbs 3x5, Deadlift 205lbs 1x5

By shrugging, do you mean that my shoulders are hunched too far up or forward? I'm assuming it's the latter because I kind of struggled with the 4th rep as my grip was loosening

You can see it from the first rep. Your shoulders are moving up like you would do a shrug.

Also, how are you able to tell that there's little/no leg drive? I'm curious about this because I definitely felt the weight in my legs.

This has to do with set up and pulling the slack out of the bar. During your set up, you really want to bring that bar as close to your body as you can without actually lifting the weight off the floor. A cue that I use to initiate leg drive is by pumping my hamstrings before the lift:

  1. Knees slightly bent, reach down and grip the bar lightly.

  2. Stick ass out in the air while keeping my head in the neutral position. Think like 160 degrees with my ass elevated and my head lower.

  3. Lower ass and level out head to parallel. While I'm lowering myself into the pull, I begin to lean back and pull the slack out of the bar.

  4. If it feels right, as soon as I pull the slack from the bar, I'm ripping the weight as hard and as fast as I can. If it doesn't feel good, I raise my ass again and start the process over.

That being said, when you pull slack out of a bar, if you were to let go with the slack pulled out, you should fall on your ass. The leverage being you sitting back. The pull follows immediately after pulling the slack out of the bar.

For the tightness before the lift and pulling slack out of bar, was this apparent in every rep? I'm certain that it was there in the first couple of reps, but I may have lost it in the last 2 or 3. I'm thinking if I went slower I'd have more to 'reset' after every rep, that way I could keep the tightness.

Yeah, every rep should be a complete stop. My form check was based off your first and last rep since they were the only ones to start from the floor. Tightness is important because it will help prevent back injuries.

One thing I forgot to mention was your speed. I don't know the % of this weight for you, but I feel that you could've gone much faster. If you're looking to hit big weights, right now is a great time to practice speed pulls. The concept being, treating every rep like a 1rep max where you're pulling off the floor as fast as you can. Don't hurt yourself trying this. Make sure you pull the slack out of the bar before ripping it off the floor or you might get hurt.

Squats

I only watched the third set but I see a few problems.

Bar moving around. Again, this has to do with tightness. I cannot stress the importance of tightness in powerlifting enough. It is the only thing protecting you from that weight breaking your back. You need to work on your set up so that bar is locked in your back. It shouldn't be moving at any point. It should be uncomfortably tight. You can accomplish this by moving your grip closer and forcing your shoulder blades together.

Also, I'd suggest moving your knees forward more. It doesn't seem like you're utilizing your hamstrings to their capabilities. Think of sticking your ass out. Try to maintain an upright chest. You do not want to drop your chest at any point.

/r/Fitness Thread Parent