In this section you will find videos that include demonstrations and explanations of how to do basic exercises including the squat, deadlift, and bench press. The videos provide several variations of each lift because some people have long legs and a short upper body and others have short legs and a long upper body. Of course there are also a lot of people who have more of an equal balance between the upper and lower body. In addition, each person will tend to vary in regard to which muscle groups are strongest relative to the others. These differences will will cause a lifter to favor a specific technique that is compatible with their individual anatomical characteristics.
Variations of the Back Squat
Max Aita and Chad Wesley Smith give excellent information in regard to the squat that emphasizes the quads and a fairly upright position.
Assessing leg strength vs. back strength. This will often affect the type of squat technique that is best suited for your body.
Mark Ripptoe is a fabulous coach and weight training instructor. His squat method involves the lower back more than the very upright quad dominant style and Rip is an expert at teaching the starting strength squat method.
Differences in Hip Structure and Squat Technique
This is an excellent video for assessing hip structure and the way in which it can affect optimum squat technique on an individual basis.
Variations of Deadlift Technique
Richard Hawthorne
Richard Hawthorne is pound for pound the strongest deadlifter in the world. He emphasizes his belief that proper technique is the greatest key to training and success and performance. Watch Richard’s video if you want his expert training advice.
Andy Bolton
Andy Bolton is one of the few people on the planet who has exceeded a 1,000 pound deadlift. I can remember a time in the past when experts were speculating that a 900 hundred pound deadlift might not ever be achieved, but it has and Bolton belongs to a tiny number who have surpassed it by over 100 pounds. Bolton gives some excellent advice by emphasizing five deadlifting secrets in the following video.
Ed Coan
Ed Coan is one of the greatest, if not the greatest powerlifter of all time. In the next video, he gives instruction to Mark Bell and Silent Mike. Ed doesn’t teach an exact deadlift technique in this video, but stresses variations according to what works for each individual.
Alan Thral
Alan Thral is an excellent deadlifter who gives outstanding advice to lifters with different proportions. Some lifters have proportionally long legs compared to their upper body, others have a long upper body compared to their legs, and some have upper and lower bodies that are relatively equal in length. Each body type will look somewhat different in regard to deadlifting technique. Alan explains and demonstrates these differences in his video.
Larry Lrkr Barcello
If you prefer the sumo deadlift, Larry Lrkr Barcello gives excellent information on how to set up for the sumo deadlift and how to perform it in the following video
Eric Cressey
Eric is an excellent deadlift coach and is an excellent resource for both the traditional deadlift and sumo deadlift. You can sign up for his deadlift instructions at the following link: (click here for Eric Cressey’s deadlift instruction).
Bench Press Instruction
Power lifting Bench Press
More Bench Press Advice