Questions on form: Bench Press, Squats, and Leg Press

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goldberg

These exercises are done with maximum weight between 3-5 reps

Bench press:

I understand your elbows should be a 90 degree angle, however, I find unless I don't go all the way down to my chest, this angle is impossible to achieve, any suggestions:

Squats:

If I tore the lateral tendon in my foot doing squats, what foot positioning error am I committing

Leg Press:

If I'm feeling a lot of pressure on my lower back doing these, what is wrong with form or foot placement?

Thanks for your help

Bench press, you should go to your chest. Try a wider grip. A wider grip will also put more emphasis on the pecs and shoulders than triceps.

Squats, feet should be shoulder width (or wider, what ever is comfortable) and pointed slightly out. The wider your stance, the further out your toes will go. Your knees need to come out over your toes coming up, not in, like many do. Without seeing your form, I'd guess poor support for your feet. Don't squat in tennis/running shoes, the sole isn't made for it. Get a pair of squatting shoes and see how you do.

Leg press, usually wider will help. Like squats, narrower foot placement hits the quads more and wider will focus more on the adductors and hammies. You need to find a comfortable mid-ground. Also, if you're going down so low as to bring your butt/lower back off the rest, stop, that's like arching your back doing squats. Frankly, you're better off doing squats, maybe throw in some leg presses after squats every few weeks.