FORM CHECKS
How to record your lifts for a form check
A form check is only as good as the video. Most bad ones fail on angle, not on lifting.
The short answer
Film each lift side-on at roughly hip height, far enough back that your whole body and the bar stay in frame for every rep. Fix the phone so the angle does not change between sets, and record on the back camera. Send the clip with the weight, sets and reps so your coach knows what they are looking at.
Step by step
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Choose the view your coach needs
Most form checks are filmed side-on, because depth, back angle and bar path all show from the side. Add a front view only if your coach asks about knees or a hip shift.
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Fix the phone, do not prop it
A phone leaning on a water bottle slips, tilts or ends up filming the floor. Stick the metal disc to your phone or case and put the mount on the rack upright or a nearby frame, so the phone stays exactly where you left it.
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Get the whole lift in frame
Head to feet, plus the full path of the bar or weights. Swivel the mount until there is a little space above your head at the top of the rep and below the plates at the bottom.
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Film the working sets, not just the easy one
Form tends to change as a set gets hard. Record the heavier sets, and keep every rep of the set in the clip.
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Use the same spot every week
If you film from the same upright at the same height, week-to-week clips line up and changes are easy to see.
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Send it with context
Weight, sets and reps, and what you want checked. Trim dead time from the start and end so the lift is the whole clip.
“Both magnets are nice and strong and the hinge is secure, with no drooping over time. Nothing worse than getting a good angle in your video, just to end up reviewing the footage and you’re staring at the floor.”
Why the angle matters more than the camera
Your phone's camera is sharp enough for a form check. What makes a clip useless is a tilted horizon, a cut-off bar or a view from the floor. A fixed mount solves all three, because the phone stays where you put it for the whole set.
“Gets all the angles to review and really analyse lifts”
Stop filming from the floor
Fix your phone to the rack at the angle your coach needs.
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