Hey guys. New to this forum. Was hoping to get my deadlift fixed, specifically my posterior pelvic tilt as seen in the videos.
Background:
Age: 26, started going to the gym only last year, although inconsistently (no prior gym experience at all). Had to take a 3 month break, and then went back to the gym November 2018 and started on StrongLifts 5x5 with minor modifications (please don’t hate, I really just enjoy doing it and its simplicity). Initially started going to the gym with the hopes of increasing my vertical (volleyball player for around 15 years now) but fell in love lifting instead, specifically barbell movements. No plans to compete in powerlifting, but I really love the approach of powerlifting compared to other approaches in training. Not really leaning towards hypertrophy/getting ripped, so really just training for strength, and hopefully maintaining body weight at 155 lbs.
Here’s a video of me deadlifting 105kg (231lbs) at 71kg (156.5 lbs) BW
And here’s me a week later trying to fix my posterior pelvic tilt at 100kg (220lbs):
Other problems I’ve identified:
needs more tightness in the upper back (lats)
I forget to pull the slack out of the bar before initiating the pull
Notes:
hook grip is life!
I have long ass limbs and a short torso (benching sucks!), so my hips start high. As you can see, they still shoot up a little before I initiate the pull, which means they’re still a tad low relative to where my hips are really supposed to start. Correct me if I’m wrong though.
I don’t really want to add weight on the bar yet until I get my form fixed, so any comments on my form would be greatly appreciated!
You aren’t tight at all, you appear to set up with a neutral spine/pelvis but as soon as you start pulling your back rounds. You need to learn how to brace. There are a million youtube videos on bracing, watch some until you understand what this is about. Using your lats is part of it as well.
You’re wrong. Long arms are an advantage for deadlifting, if your technique sucks it’s because you don’t know how to lift properly. Starting with high hips is not necessarily a bad thing, you want them as high as possible while being as close to the bar as possible (in the horizontal plane), which does NOT mean stiff legs. Your hips are shooting up because you have no tension in your torso, glutes, lats, and hamstrings. Trying to start with your hips too low will have the same effect.
Yes, I agree that they are an advantage in deadlifting. What I said was having long arms sucks for benching, not deadlifting. Thanks for pointing out the lack of tightness. I’ll keep that in mind
Everything chris mentioned. You still round as you start to lift. No tension in hamstrings, glutes, lats or torso. You should work on your brace and tightness.
Regarding your lats, if I were in the gym with you, standing where your phone is I would say, “point your elbows behind you. Rotate your arms and point your elbows behind you to engage your lats and straighten your arms.”
The good news.
You’ve done a great job with the pelvic tilt and posture. Great work in 1 week! Watch in the first video when you’re messing around with some shit on the floor. You’re bent over like an old man, with locked out, almost hyper extended knees. It’s gross!
In the second video when you mess around on the floor you squat nicely. Even that just changed your life dude.
Going forward
Do assistance lifts for hamstrings, glutes, torso and lats using good pelvic tilt to learn how to generate tension in those muscles.
Get tighter and deadlift better. Keep your shins vertical with hamstrings and your back straight with lat tension. Maintain this position with your glutes and abs as you lift. Keep your knees out of the way! Watch your back get rounder and founder as your knees drift farther and farther forward.
um… for clarification hypertrophy and getting ripped are not the same thing if that is what you were meaning. Now if your saying guys whom are powerlifters dont or never lean towards training for hypertrophy than your mistaken
Why would you not want to stay 155 if you could add solid muscle mass.? Which in turn would help you get stronger.
Have you noticed that there are a lot of guys who just started lifting and say they want to get stronger without getting bigger? They must think that bones can move weight or something, I don’t get it.
That’s true, what’s up with that? It seems like the average guy you find in a gym is only concerned with how much they can bench, how is it that there are so many online deadlift specialists who can’t deadlift to save their lives?
well the Deadlift has now replaced the Bench online at least for guys under a certain age. Plus I believe that the look most guys aspire to look like, tends to lends itself more to the deadlift.
Oh my bad. Yeah I meant getting hypertrophied. I’m not saying that powerlifters never train for hypertrophy. All I’m trying to say is that it’s not a goal of mine to look like a body builder. I wouldn’t mind looking like someone who lifts, just that I’m not into the bodybuilding thing.
As for me staying at 155, volleyball is still my main sport for now and plan to play it as long as I can and with all that jumping, I don’t think getting heavier will help in the long run. Going up to 165 tops maybe is ok but I think that would be the most I’d be comfortable with. Ever seen a really big muscular volleyball player? Lol
Actually I was planning to post videos of my squat and other lifts too. Just uploaded Deadlift first cause I think that will injure me sooner when done wrong. Uploading them all at the same time would be too much to comment on for you guys and for me to absorb all in one thread, don’t you think?
Yes, he mentioned that in one of his videos with Mark Bell. It was the squat video I think. Key word here is “used to”. What did he look like when he was still playing and not yet competitively powerlifting? At his body now, can you imagine what beating his knees would take if he were to still play volleyball?
Of course he is no longer a competitive volleyball player. But what would you rather be, a mediocre volleyball player or elite powerlifter? The choice is yours. No sarcasm.
Well, I did say in my background that I really have no plans on competing. Can’t I just lift for the sake/love of lifting? Getting stronger for me also means having less chances of injury in my sport, something that will be hard for us to measure compared to being able to count the absolute weight on the bar as a measurement for getting stronger.
No way. Once you post on this forum there is no turning back.
To be honest though, you might be better off posting in another section of this forum like “bigger stronger leaner”, this is the competitive PL forum. Coming in here talking about volleyball is like bringing a case of beer to a mosque and asking if anyone wants a drink. Once you get your technique sorted out you would probably do well with a “general strength” type of program, 5/3/1 would work and there are templates that include stuff like box jumps and medicine ball throws that would make sense considering you are into volleyball.
Hahaha! Now I understand why you guys were kinda coming in hot. Sorry about that. I thought it was because I came of as a usual newbie lifer instantly looking to lift what takes at least 5 years to be able to do… or because I mentioned SL 5x5 hahaha (I know, it has its weaknesses). Thanks for taking the time to look at it though.
Squat video coming up maybe tonight. Should I just post it here or make a new thread? I’ll move this thread to begginer where it seems more appropriate. Thanks man!
