Beginner questions

Hi guys just had a few questions.
When doing barbell squats, how upright should my body be at the bottom point? Is it ok for my knees to be beyond my toes? Ive done many squats(bodyweight) but dont feel that it would be possible to keep that shape when using a barbel(i.e body pretty much straight, knees not going beyond my toes)?
When doing bench press, should the bar come right down to touch my chest?
When doing deadlifts, how much of a gap is acceptable between reps? When I put the bar on the ground should I be lifting it back up immediately or is resting on the floor, for say 4 seconds ok?
Sorry for stupid questions but not many people at my gym use weights and it hard to know what is right when googling.

Not stupid at all...........No two bodybuilders do the exercises you mention the same........we are all different and get better results doing it different ways...

Squats - I take my time between reps so the form is correct......and go down about parallel no further and do it slow.......(because I go heavy and want to make sure my balance is fine.....)

Deads - I never used to put the weight back on the floor used to pull it back up just before.....then maybe put it down when my grip went and carried on.....

Bench - If you go to the chest don't bounce it off......

Believe me you will find on the big exercises what works for you..........

Just train hard............It'll come

Cheers Truss, mainly I just want to make sure I dont do things that get me injured when I progress.

Try and sit back while pushing your belly out when doing squats and this should keep your knees in behind your toes. It can be daunting when the weight gets heavier but it'll prevent back pain and enable you to increase the weight on your barbell quicker.

Deadlifts, if you need the 4 second rest then take it, you'll feel better for getting your reps done.

But as Truss says, you'll eventually get to know what you are doing right for your body. Good luck!

I have a question- i have an ok physique but a pretty scrawny neck. Has anyone any tips or advice on how to build the neck? (i thought it would get thicker with bodyweight increase but it hasnt)

Shrugs, I'd imagine.

Depends what you mean by neck really. Shrugs and upright raises really hit the traps, which taper up to your neck. But if it's actually your neck's width that is small, that's a lot harder to hit. Mostly comes down to genetics I imagine. However, if you look at some NFL players, they have necks the size of their head, to protect against sudden neck-knocks in tackles, or blind siding. To improve muscle size in that area, they have to target the sternocleidomastoids and surrounding muscles. They have machines for this, but because they are so bespoke, they are hard to come by. Another way of doing it would be by using a neck brace (which can have weight added to it via a chain). This is commonly employed by rugby players, especially prop forwards.

Still though, in a basic gym, I think shrugs that really focus on the contraction are the best exercise.

Quite an interesting article http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/increase-your-neck-size/

Sorry for the long response guys

Ive done plenty of shrugs and deadlifts over the past couple of years and gained nearly 20 lbs bodyweight but the neck is the same. I'm guessing something more specific like curls are needed, connecting the weight to your head can be a problem though.

Ps thanks blustone

Anyone found a way to build up shrugs without doing those mind numbing dumbell shrugs?

You've built up plenty of shrugs on here...already.

True but I can only do one side at a time.

ShahenshahG wrote:Anyone found a way to build up shrugs without doing those mind numbing dumbell shrugs?

hex bar??

Thats quite interesting actually, i've never seen one before.