[quote]
racarnus wrote:
Is a 405 deadlift after 4 months of general training and a 6 weeks of deadlifting at a bodyweight of 150 lbs anything special?
I feel surprised and pleased with my fast progress, but I’m wondering how commonplace this is before I decide to feel too terrific.
Edit: Raw, no belt, no straps etc…[/quote]
In response to that post, many of you requested a video, so I went to the gym today and got someone to videotape me. It’s poor quality and my form is a little off (didn’t lock out), but I’ll try again in a couple days. I’ll try and get a better camera set up too.
Tough to make a great judgement from this but it looks like you never locked it out. Also in the future a side view or 45 degree is much better for analyzing a deadlift than a straight on view. Biggest problems here are you were sure of your set-up. You set-up, then had to re-set-up. I imagine you might have been rushing for the camera but don’t worry about it, take your time. Every time put your feet and hands in the same position. You were better with the second set up so that was good. Have your hands as close to your legs as possible.
Big issue was you starting the pull looking down. Drop hips a bit, puff up chest and look straight ahead or up slightly. Finally drive through the lockout with the hips by squeezing the glutes and pushing your hips forward (like the bar was a good looking woman ;). I didn’t see any chalk on your hands and you should use that for that weight.
In a couple workouts you will be pulling 3x bodyweight with good form tho Im sure.
EDIT: Just watchin the video again, you definatley want to learn new form get a belt and some shalk. Anything near a 3x bodyweight deadlift is injury material.
I would be intrested to see how you do in the next 10 weeks or so, it would be cool if you got your form down and posted a 450 video.
Yeah, I didn’t lock out. I can lock out, I’ve done it before. I’m going to do it again this week and I’m certain I’ll be able to lock out. I haven’t worked out in about a week due to a neck injury while attempting the one arm pullup and I was advised to stay away from the gym until I was better. This wasn’t a workout I just went into the gym to shoot the video.
When you guys are going for PRs, how much do you warmup? I don’t want to induce any fatigue, but I feel like I have to lift something lighter first to get my body to remember what pulling heavy feels like.
It’s interesting how much it looks like my back rounded. It felt straight! I know rounding can cause injury. Any tips for figuring out whether your back is straight?
If I’m not having trouble with my grip, is chalk still necessary? Isn’t it just a crutch that I would do better to do without?
And if I’m able to fix my form problems and my goal is to just get stronger (as opposed to hitting specific numbers), is there any reason for a belt?
First thing, I’m no expert but I warm-up very little for a PR. I do maybe 4 or 5 lighter reps to get warmed up.
As for chalk, it’s not a crutch, it just keeps your hands dry. Ever rock climbed? And besides you were using a switch grip, which is ok, but it means that grip IS an issue. Try a hook grip with some chalk if you want a challenge.
To those noting his form sucks: He weighs [u]150 pounds[/u] and only started dead lifting a few weeks ago. He doesn’t even know enough to use chalk or wear a belt! If your first thought is to criticize rather than have a tear well up in your eye, then you just plain suck and drink way too much Hater-Aide.
Again, dude, made propers. Sure, there is much room for improvement. You are clearly a beginner. Read all the articles on dead lifting and then post if you have any questions.
Oh, and don’t max out again in a couple of days. You are asking for an injury.
You need some serious mentoring and are worthy of being mentored. I do not know enough about power lifting to help you. If I did, I would. But I imagine someone else will lead you down the right path if you keep a good attitude and listen.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
Holy crap. That is seriously impressive.
To those noting his form sucks: He weighs [u]150 pounds[/u] and only started dead lifting a few weeks ago. He doesn’t even know enough to use chalk or wear a belt! If your first thought is to criticize rather than have a tear well up in your eye, then you just plain suck and drink way too much Hater-Aide.
Again, dude, made propers. Sure, there is much room for improvement. You are clearly a beginner. Read all the articles on dead lifting and then post if you have any questions.
Oh, and don’t max out again in a couple of days. You are asking for an injury.
You need some serious mentoring and are worthy of being mentored. I do not know enough about power lifting to help you. If I did, I would. But I imagine someone else will lead you down the right path if you keep a good attitude and listen.[/quote]
Right on…everything but the whole mad propers thing
That was a very strong lift after such a short peroid of time.
[quote]Racarnus wrote:
When you guys are going for PRs, how much do you warmup? I don’t want to induce any fatigue, but I feel like I have to lift something lighter first to get my body to remember what pulling heavy feels like.
It’s interesting how much it looks like my back rounded. It felt straight! I know rounding can cause injury. Any tips for figuring out whether your back is straight?
[/quote]
Wow, you just went to the gym and ripped 405 off the ground with no warmup? That’s just asking for an injury. You’re right about not wanting to fatigue yourself, but you need to warmup and the best way is to practice the lift with lighter weight. Start with 225 for 3 reps, rest 2 minutes, hit 315 for 1 rep, rest 2 minutes, 365 for 1 rep, then rest about 4 or 5 minutes before you go for 405. Since you can hit 405, these earlier sets will not fatigue you, infact they should charge you up for the max effort lift.
The easiest way to keep your back straight is to reach down and grab the bar while keeping your head up and your eyes fixed on the horizon. Your shins should be close to the bar, and your arms should hang straight just outside of your knees. You should’t have to look down at the bar to set up once you get the hang of it. Try to practice the setup with 135. Just bang out a bunch of singles, like once every 30 seconds or so on your days off to find the groove.
Reading about something isn’t as good as having an actual coach, or even a semi-experienced lifter watch and off pointers, so talk to people in your gym and try to find someone else who deadlifts.
Damn impressive lift, by the way, even if you didn’t lock it out. Good luck.
Youve had some good advice and some schite post LOL but ill just add. Bro if you keep training damn hard bringing the intensity but add in a little thinking, Youll be in a damn fine spoot bro.
Nice lift now keep that work up learn the lifts and reap the rewards
Rack Pulls. Some say they don’t do much for helping the lockout but I think they could really help you to get your glutes firing and teach yourself how to handle heavy weight with better body control. That and you’ll be able to get the feel for what 450 feels like in your hands before you try it off the floor.
And it looks like your wearing boots. Wear something with a low heel like chuck taylors or wrestling shoes to make deadlifts easier.
Thanks for all the support and suggestions guys. I don’t have a lot of cash to blow, but I’ll look into finding a coach and purchasing some equipment (belt + chalk).
I’ve read through the EC deadlifting articles, and will continue to read through the articles on this site. There’s a lot of material. I’ll start by seeing what I can do to correct my form and improve my lockout and I’ll post back.
If things go well I hope to see 450 and 500 in the near future. I need to balance this with other strength goals that I’m working on, such as the weighted chinup. I’m currently at BW+100 lbs, but I’d like to get it up to BW+150.
I think when I started training I didn’t have a clear goal in mind. (Physique? Strength? Powerlifting numbers? Other athletic goals? I thought about considering a strength sport such as powerlifting or wrestling or mma.) I just wanted to get into the scene and learn as much as I could and then figure out where I wanted to go.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
Rack Pulls. Some say they don’t do much for helping the lockout but I think they could really help you to get your glutes firing and teach yourself how to handle heavy weight with better body control. That and you’ll be able to get the feel for what 450 feels like in your hands before you try it off the floor.
[/quote]
Thanks for the advice, FS. I did some rack pulls today, targeting the top 6 inches of the motion. I was able to lock out with 405 several times so I moved up 455 and locked out solidly for 5 reps.
I haven’t tried to max out from the ground again, but everything is feeling stronger. I think my form has improved a lot. Looking up at the start of the lift really seemed to help.
I’ve read a bunch of articles advocating to avoid directly training the deadlift and train the muscles through other exercises, such as back hyperextensions, good mornings, squats, and leg presses. This seems fair enough.
Also, I’ve decided against using a belt in the near future as I’ve read some compelling arguments on this site and others discouraging the use of a belt.
But I’m still totally excited. 500 seems very likely by the end of the summer.
First off, you are a nice piece of clay begging to be molded into a deadlifting machine…
Here’s my honest advice and 2 cents. You’re running on 100% balls right now and what you need is technique. To put it simply , you need to train your body to Go Down and Come UP efficiently. I’d start with deep knee bends daily done slowly keeping your butt and head on the same plane. learn what it feels like to drive through your heals and “launching yourself” out of the hole.
Mastering that will put 50 lbs on your pull in just a few weeks. Also, go all out every 6 weeks or so but not at the expense of form. Once you master the deep knee technique you’ll know what it should feel like. PM me if you want more…the weight will come but only if your tecnique is sound and you stay injury free.
