Squats will help the most from the bottom.
I have poor deadlift form, I pretty much stiff leg the weights, they shoot up to just above my knees then i have to grind it out to the lockout.
although rack lockouts are not the same movement, i feel they have carryover to the ENTIRE deadlift, even off the floor. I mean, you hams/glutes/back are getting stronger when you do them. I just hit 600 x 6 from below the knees, im aiming for a 650 pull in a few months here at my next contest.
Doing Olympic squats at least once a week helped my pull off of the floor.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
My weakness is from floor to knees. I find that if I can get the weight up that high, I can usually lock it out.
What are some things to bring up the bottom portion of the lift-- is this where the squats come in?[/quote]
I feel your pain- I can rack pull 405X10, but can’t get it to my knees off the floor. My squat sucks, though, because of my knee.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
My weakness is from floor to knees. I find that if I can get the weight up that high, I can usually lock it out.
What are some things to bring up the bottom portion of the lift-- is this where the squats come in?[/quote]
Lots of stuff can help the bottom. Deficit deadlifts, stiff legs, anderson squats (use your deadlift stance), pause squats, good mornings from pins or chains.
You can also work speed deadlifts with moderate weight to try to get more explosive and blast through that sticking point (more like an area as you defined it). That’s pretty much a typical Westside DE day.
Lifting from blocks will help too. Try different heights - 2, 4, and 6 inches.
Rack pulls are probably going to help so I would stick to mid shin or below.
And if you have access to them, deadlifting from the floor against bands will really teach you to pull fast.
To be honest, I think pulling from the floor is the best for getting power at the begining of the lift. Deficit deadlifts are up there for sure, but that is assuming one has proper flexibility to use proper from a deficit.
I am also under the impression that lower back strength is one of the biggest factors for pulling off the ground. PL style squats and heavy stiff leg deads are good for that imo.
Carnak, haha, you named almost ever method of pulling possible…
[quote]getfast24 wrote:
to be honest, I think pulling from the floor is the best for getting power at the begining of the lift. Deficit deadlifts are up there for sure, but that is assuming one has proper flexibility to use proper from a deficit.
I am also under the impression that lower back strength is one of the biggest factors for pulling off the ground. PL style squats and heavy stiff leg deads are good for that imo.
Carnak, haha, you named almost ever method of pulling possible…[/quote]
Funny that eh? That’s because they all work. Pulling from the floor may be the best for starting strength (not sure I’m in total agreement there), but regardless you don’t want to just pull from the floor, especially if you’re pulling heavy.
In our training we rotate max efforts exercises in waves and won’t do anything more than three weeks in a row max. That’s why I listed so many different exercises.
Squatting, bent over rows, power cleans. When I take breaks from deadlifting, I always come back a little stronger from my other exercises.