Deadlift Form Check (Meet Prep)

Training Powerlifting
1

Hey everyone, im currently preparing for a meet that will be held on august later this yr. Its my first meet so im pretty excited, and im training hard to try to get good numbers by then. Currently im at 62kg bw, and will be trying to compete in the under 59kg bw class.

So after 2 mths of not testing my 1 rep max, today i decided to work up to my 1rm by going for 130kg x 3, 140kg x 3 reps, and finally 150kg x 2 reps. I tried to go for 160kg, but i couldnt even lift off the bar from the ground. For all 3 attempts the bar didnt even budge from the ground. So i decided to do singles with 150kf for 4 reps, heres a vid of my 3rd set of singles.

My current stats are
120kg squat
150kg x 2 deadlift
85kg bench

I know my numbers arent that good but im hoping i could work up to somewhat respectable numbers by august!

Anws my qn is, from the video that i posted, is my deadlift form optimal for my limb length and stature? Im really weak off the ground, and i just cant seem to recruit more of my quads in my deads, im pretty ham/glute dominant in my deadlifts i think. Could anyone of you prob give me some cues or insights into how i could improve my form more, and be better off the ground?

Any help/advice will be greatly appreciated!

2

Heres a vid of my fail attempt at 160kg

Is it cause the weight is too heavy? Or is my set up not optimal? Or could it just be fatigue, cause the preceeding sets before this were
130kg x 3 reps
140kf x 3 reps
150kg x 2 reps

It felt like i could have lifted it, if only i can bring it up the ground in the first half of the lift lol.

3

[quote]rafsanjaniii wrote:
Heres a vid of my fail attempt at 160kg

Is it cause the weight is too heavy? Or is my set up not optimal? Or could it just be fatigue, cause the preceeding sets before this were
130kg x 3 reps
140kf x 3 reps
150kg x 2 reps

It felt like i could have lifted it, if only i can bring it up the ground in the first half of the lift lol.[/quote]

I think you need to have the bar touching your shins before you start to pull. Also you need to be more patient off the bottom, it seemed like you have up on it too early. Also you might want to start with your hips a little bit higher.

4

F[quote]rafsanjaniii wrote:
Heres a vid of my fail attempt at 160kg

Is it cause the weight is too heavy? Or is my set up not optimal? Or could it just be fatigue, cause the preceeding sets before this were
130kg x 3 reps
140kf x 3 reps
150kg x 2 reps

It felt like i could have lifted it, if only i can bring it up the ground in the first half of the lift lol.[/quote]

Commit man for real. You budge ot and then just stop. Your psyching your self out. But in the mean time Deficit Pulls

5

[quote]rafsanjaniii wrote:
today i decided to work up to my 1rm by going for 130kg x 3, 140kg x 3 reps, and finally 150kg x 2 reps. I tried to go for 160kg, but i couldnt even lift off the bar from the ground. For all 3 attempts the bar didnt even budge from the ground.
[/quote]

This is why you failed. If you want to test your 1RM then you should be treating your training session like a competition, not a workout.

Do this:

Take a week off. Or do a week with weights similar to a 5/3/1 deload week (40-60% of your estimated 1RM for 3 sets of 5. Dats it. Go home.) In other words, rest, recover and get stronger (as you would prior to a comp).

Walk into the gym and start your warmup session. Do some bodyweight squats, empty bar, 60kgx5, 80kg x 2, 100kg x1, 120kg x1, 140kg x1. You are now ready to test your max. More importantly, your CNS is ready to test your max.

Now test your 1RM. If your warmups went fast and smooth go for your 160x1. It will go up like a brides nighty. If you are a bit wobbly, mentally (physically, you will be strong enough to do 160, trust me) then go for a half baked 150x1 first. But you are better off hitting 160 straight away. Its only a 10kg plate each side. Easy. Once you get it, have a rest for 15 min and go for a heavier weight. If you pulled 160 without too much of a grind, add 5-10kg. If it was a bit grindy, att 2.5kg.

[quote]
I know my numbers arent that good but im hoping i could work up to somewhat respectable numbers by august![/quote]

This is complete horse shit. As you will realise, once you’ve done your first comp, no one cares if you did not set a world record. It’s your first comp. They will all be supportive, helpful and encouraging. We all been there. More importantly, your first comp is not to show the world how strong you are. There is enough time for that. It’s to learn to lift in a comp environment, which is completely different to training in a gym. Timing your warm ups, picking your openers, keeping calm and focused, keeping hydrated, following the refs commands, being ready to lift when you are called, etc, etc.

Once you have done your first comp, you will now be a powerlifter. You will have competed in front of a crowd and posted a total (unless you let your ego get in the way and bomb). You now have accomplished something that 98% of your gym buds have not. You have competed and walked the walk.

For the same reason, forget your bodyweight. Don’t cut or change your diet, except maybe to eat some more. First comp is no time for such ego centric crap. Turn up, lift your weights and do the deed. Next time you can cut if you need to.

Have fun.

6

The 2 things that stand out to me are that you aren’t wearing a belt and that you set your hips before your hands. If you are competing in a meet, you owe it to yourself to wear a belt. It’s only going to help in most cases. For the latter, I find that the more time I spend with my knees bent and hips low, the less explosiveness I have in the pull. I find it’s better to bend over at the waist, grap the bar with my hands, and once I am secure with my grip and foot pacing, roll my hips down and start pulling.

You can see what I’m talking about here. This is a video on my second attempt at my last meet

Basically, instead of squatting down to the bar, pull yourself down to it before the lift. It also makes it harder to psyche yourself out, because you spend little time in the “ready” position.

7

appreciate all the replies guys, will take note of all thats been said. i’ll try spending lesser time with my hips low and probably get a belt soon.

i’ve got another question, im kinda still finding the groove into where to position my hips exactly. could anyone else share on how they set up for their deadlifts as well, probably with about the same limb proportions and stature as me.

8

Ya, too much weight being pulled as warmup for a 1rm, especially for deadlifts. From my experience, for dead’s, nearing max weight, or doing sets of 2-3 at 95% or so, really drain me. I could do a set of 3 at around 425, for example, fairly easilly, then fail miserably at 440 for a set of 1. But the next session, I could do a set of 2 of 440 fairly easilly because I didn’t do any big sets before it. Same goes for bench.

Squats it seems, for me at least, I can do all sorts of reps of whatever weight before my 1rm attempt.

9

On a side note, the pad you are standing on is compressible. Isn’t it??
If so it may mess with your balance and take off pounds from your max.

10

Not really, only the green ones are compressible. The black ones (the ones im standing on) arent compressible at all. I just put it thr so i could get the same level as the green ones

11

In the first vid, your setup looks somewhat ok. I think for your height (only perceived by the vid) and shorter arm length, I think your hips are too high. That’s why your butt shot up just before the weight got off the floor and your shoulders move forward ahead of the bar. Too much back and not enough legs. Bar is not close enough to your body in relation to your hips.

Think “butt down and chest up”. See if that helps and gives you some better leverage. Make sure the bar is against your shins when you begin your pull and keep the bar against your legs as you pull up. It’s all about leverage. Find your best leverage.

12

[quote]osu122975 wrote:
In the first vid, your setup looks somewhat ok. I think for your height (only perceived by the vid) and shorter arm length, I think your hips are too high. That’s why your butt shot up just before the weight got off the floor and your shoulders move forward ahead of the bar. Too much back and not enough legs. Bar is not close enough to your body in relation to your hips.

Think “butt down and chest up”. See if that helps and gives you some better leverage. Make sure the bar is against your shins when you begin your pull and keep the bar against your legs as you pull up. It’s all about leverage. Find your best leverage.

[/quote]

I’m about 5 foot 2 inches (158cm) so im pretty short lol. i think my set up was kinda screwed up cause prior to this, i have been doing only deficit deadlifts in my work sets for 3 months, cause i figured i was really weak off the floor. I guess this really screwed up my setup cause it felt weird when i removed the deficits.

Gotta try to relearn the set up now i guess. and yeah you’re right, i didnt really feel much use of the legs, felt really back dominant in these lifts.

will take a video again soon after my deload week and post it here, in the meantime, any more useful cues for ppl with a short stature would be greatly appreciated!

13

Stick w/ normal deadlifts. Better off in the long run. Practice the lifts, not the variations.

Do deficits as assistance w/ lighter weight if you want to do assistance. Maybe do them after squat workout for 3x5.

At 5-2", definitely get your hips lower and bar against your shins. You don’t have a big gut so that should work just fine.

14

hey everyone, just to update you guys on my progress, i took a week off and retested my rep maxes yesterday.

i decided to set up my hips lower to incorporate more leg drive, and i tested for triples instead of a 1 rep max.
i was kinda happy to find out that im currently able to do triples for three sets with my previous one rep max unbelted!

heres the video of the first set. 150kg (330lbs) at 62kg bw (137lbs)

and heres a video of the last set

i feel much better now setting up my hips much lower, but i realised that in my last set my hips kinda shot up early. is it due to a weak lower back? should i incorporate good mornings, hyperextensions etc, or just keep working on my form.

and i also tried to do good mornings ytd, it was my first time doing them so i dont really know whether im on the right track lol

15

This looks great. Keep at it!

16

[quote]ahnz wrote:
This looks great. Keep at it![/quote]

Thanks man!

17

Try to keep your head more neutral and avoid that pez dispenser look. But overall nice pulls, a 2.5x bodyweight triple is impressive!

18

[quote]tylerkeen42 wrote:
Try to keep your head more neutral and avoid that pez dispenser look. But overall nice pulls, a 2.5x bodyweight triple is impressive![/quote]

Thanks man, i’ll try to keep it more neutral next time

Anws, im still wondering, how do i keep my hips from shooting up when i set it lower like in the vids above? Is it due to my lower back being weak? Or should i just practise setting up more?

And can anyone check on my form for the good mornings as well, its my first time doing them so i dont rly knoa whether i did it right. My lower back is sore as fk now, followed by my hamstrings. But not so sore in my glutes. Wondering if im hitting the right muscles.