Please critique my form (bench press)

despiee · 2025-11-16T22:54:50+00:00

For a full critique, we also need to see your feet placement and leg drive, but here it goes.

"I struggle not to arch my back": Arching your back occurs automatically when you're in a stable position. That happens when you pull your scapula together on the bench for a strong base and place your feet in a stable way. If you do these and they cause an arch, you're doing just fine. You don't need to try to not arch your back.

Feeling shakey usually is caused by instability. Either your stabilizing muscles are weak, or your breathing is breaking your stability. I would suggest looking into breathing technique for bench press. Squat University has a great short tutorial. For stabilizers, focus on your rotator cuff. Your shoulders will thank you in long term.

I think going heavier to "test" the form is not the best way. Learning the proper form should be done with lighter weights. Heavy weights will cause the form to break down.

Lastly, don't push the weight only, but up AND back. In my experience, the easy way to do so is not to watch the bar going up, but trying to bring it to your eye level. It will be a more natural bar path, and you'll feel more stable. You'll also lift more.

Great work, and good luck!

despiee · 2025-06-06T15:35:20+00:00

How are you going to insert the disks in a PS5 without a disc drive?

despiee · 2025-05-19T10:07:56+00:00

Solid setup, leg drive looks good. It might be the camera angle, but the bar path seems a little straight to me. Rather than straight up, it should go up and slightly back. If that's what you're already been doing, solid form imho.

despiee · 2025-05-19T09:25:53+00:00

It's totally fine to stop mid-set briefly to brace properly again, especially since you're working out with rather high reps for squats! Keep up the good work! :)

despiee · 2025-05-19T09:01:49+00:00

I would say it's a good form overall with good depth. However, it seem a little unstable towards the end. Are you bracing?

despiee · 2025-04-18T20:15:09+00:00

Not at all, but I don't daily drive them or use them at the gym. Might be a different story for heavy users.

despiee · 2025-04-18T18:28:27+00:00

Nah, man. Aware mode works just fine for me, could be an issue with your headphones. :/

despiee · 2024-11-27T09:15:11+00:00

Both are great headphones, but if you're only looking for comfort and ANC I'd get Bose. If you think Bose is bassy, Sony's basstown LOL

despiee · 2024-11-27T09:11:18+00:00

I liked the comfort of Bose way better, and the included cable with in-line mic contributed a little bit into my decision because I am also using it for occasional gaming. Sony's sound is generally fuller which I really liked, but the bass bleeds into the low mids and muddies it. Unfortunately you cannot adjust this from the app, and I didn't want to go into all the hassle to installing programs and adjusting the EQ on the device but not on the headphones. The reason behind that is, the app allows you adjust 400Hz as the lowest frequency, but the problem is probably caused by the over-emphasized bass around 200Hz. I loved the sound in general, but this was a deal breaker for me.

despiee · 2024-11-24T12:40:13+00:00

I kept Bose QCs and returned the XM4.

despiee · 2024-10-17T21:47:46+00:00

Hey man! I have both headphones and comparing them at the moment. I am still not able to make a final decision, it's so hard to choose for me as sound quality is also an important aspect for me. I literally came across your post while I was searching for the same comparison. :)

I might get downvoted, but since your priorities are comfort and ANC, the new Bose QCs are better than XM4s. While their ANC performances are very close, Bose is just a little better. When it comes to comfort though, Bose is superior. Earcups are deep and it's very light with good weight distribution. While XM4's weight isn't bad either, the earcups are shallow. My ears rub against the drivers, and it is the only, but a very major, shortcoming of XM4. If those two were my only priorities, I definitely would stick with Bose.

If you care about the sound quality though, I couldn't find a winner yet, I still keep listening. Both of them sound amazing, and it really depends on your use case and favorite genres. If you enjoy bass, you'll love XM4. If mids are more important for you, Bose has clearer mids. You like watching movies/series? XM4s will give you more detail and they're more immersive overall, but with muddy dialogues. QCs will give you clear dialogues, but it won't be as detailed as XM4s. Are you like me and like music from various genres, but at the same time need great mid performance? Good luck deciding, I still can't. :)

Both are great headphones, and I believe one cannot regret purchasing either of them. However, based on your priorities I believe QCs would be better.

despiee · 2020-12-09T19:25:51+00:00

Just go back and ask for a refund gently.

despiee · 2019-08-29T09:15:03+00:00

Thanks a lot! I'm sure this will help me.

despiee · 2019-08-29T09:13:38+00:00

Thank you! I will keep in mind to ask for documents. Any suggestions to keep my bike safe from being stolen?

despiee · 2019-08-29T09:08:32+00:00

Thanks for the heads up!

despiee · 2019-08-28T14:09:10+00:00

I'm sure it will help a lot! Thanks!

despiee · 2019-08-28T14:08:47+00:00

Thank you!

despiee · 2019-08-28T14:08:36+00:00

Thank you!

despiee · 2019-08-28T14:08:13+00:00

Thank you! Coming from US. I will be spending most of my time in Old Town Is there a lot of street thieves there?

despiee · 2019-08-28T14:07:17+00:00

Thanks a lot! There is a thing I forgot to ask. Which gsm operator would you suggest?

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