I’m currently 5’9 at about 200lbs with about six months of serious training. Before these six months I had been in and out of the gym through highschool. I’m currently 20 years old and would like to compete in a powerlifting meet around summer 2015.
My main goal right now is to get stronger in the squat deadlift and benchpeess for the meet.
1rm:
Squat:365 few inches below parallel
Bench:275 paused, 285 tng
Deadlift: 315
I feel confident with my bench and squat progression so far, however my deadlift seems to be lagging behind. I have short arms and am not specifically “built” to be good at deadlift but I’m confident I can bring it up.
I’m currently running Madcow 5x5 and doing heavy manual labor 4-5 times a week(landscape install and maintenance). This usually has my lower back pretty trashed for my deadlift sessions on Wednesday and leads to some weak pull sessions. Would it be too much to add in some additional deadlift work on the weekends. Perhaps 50-70% of my max focusing on technique and speed?
Saying your deadlift seems to be lagging is a huge understatement. I would definitely recommend posting a video of your deadlift. With a 365 squat, there’s no way your deadlift should be that low, even if you’re not built for the lift. There has to be a technique issue. How are you failing? Grip? Lockout? Breaking the floor? Some combination of those things? I just have serious doubts that you’re not already strong enough to pull more than 315, particularly since both your bench AND squat are solid.
Exactly what flip said. Unless your Squat is in wraps it or high it should not be that much over your deadlift and honestly even in wraps at your current strength stage should not be a 50lbs gap. Post video soon of about 250+lbs for a rep or two. Preferably from the side and front view.
Alright, I’ll post a video within the next day or two of my form on deadlift. I did have a previous lower back injury in highschool but that was almost 4 years ago( some X-rays showed bulgin disc others showed nothing so my physical therapist at the time treated it as a muscle inflammation around my erector muscles).
I just finished my first week of madcow and my only set I didn’t complete was my final set of deadlift on Wednesday which was 1x5 @270 lbs. When I pulled 230 before that it felt heavy and after I loaded up 270 and made my first attempt on my first rep I unloaded and figured it would be unwise to complete the set due to it being so damn heavy and feeling weak.
Thank you guys for your input I’m really relying on these forum post to help me through this trouble since my gym has very little truley strong guys at it.
Flipcollar:
I’m going to post a video and you and Reed can be the judge on if my technique is just god awful.
I don’t have trouble with any particular part of the lift, I.e. Lockout or off the floor , it just feels like I’m trying to pull a tree out of the ground (extremely difficult the entire way through). I’m just unsure how guys who have similar squats and benches are pulling 400+ and I’m stuck with a true beginner pull. I’ll probably post a squat above 300lbs just to show my technique in that lift as well. Hopefully with y’all’s advice and some technique criticism I’ll be able to pull respectably.
Thank you again for y’all’s input and is look forward to reading your critiques of my lifts.
Sorry for all the separate post but I keep thinking of relevant information. Today my pulls felt a lot better conventional which is actually not how I’ve been pulling. My sumo felt terrible and my hips/hip flexors were really tight even after doing a few of the agile 8 warm ups, bodyweight jump squats , and 3-4 minutes on the elliptical.
My hips were pretty tight yesterday during squats so my next goal will be getting some squat videos up. I have a feeling my stance may be a little wide during squats since I squat high bar but you two can be the judge of that. I squat to an inch or two below parallel with belt only.(heavy squats I have a buddy give me a cue on when I break parallel so I know when to come out of the hole )
I could see getting a little straighter with my back an keeping my head more neutral. Thanks for the input aero I’m not gonna take criticism as an insult. The reason my c.o.g seems off is the shoes I was wearing have about a 1 inch heel on them. The reason I suck at pulls is they have either not been a part of my training te last few months or they were treated as an afterthought
To be fair I imagine his Squat is probably high. Also squatting a much higher number than you pull is not impossible when your making mistakes like this. How ever I can’t see the video. Up load to YouTube and post link.
I had problems with the deadlift myself. Not in the sense that I had trouble getting weight up, but after it got heavy it just stopped feeling safe. I stopped deadlifting for a long time due to a herniation.
If you aren’t build for the deadlift, try a different technique. I personally enjoy double suitcase deadlifts, I can get about 180lbs in each hand. With the conventional deadlift I got to about 350 before my back started feeling funny.
I also firmly believe that deadlifts should be done as singles, with maybe 20 seconds rest between reps, for safety reasons.
What exactly are your goals with the deadlift. Is it just a movement to add size or are you looking to compete in powerlifting. Your knees at over the bar a fair amount it looks like. Which is making you pull out in front of you pulling in your toes. How ever other than that doesn’t look horrible. If your interested in honest absolute strength I think you might try Sumo Pulls you just look like you might have a easier time getting power generated through your heels that way.
Just food for thought. If you insist on pulling conventional look for Th3Punishers deadlift tutorial its a pretty good one.
The main issue I see here is you are not loading your hamstrings or getting any kind of tension at the top/setup. You just seem to crouch at your knees. Learn to hinge at your hips creating tension in your hamstrings as you get down to the bar, and utilize torsion of your feet to break the bars inertia. Your setup before you bend to the bar can make or break your pull. Check out Kelly Starrett’s deadlift videos. Among those, you will also find some mobility stuff and dynamic stretching to aid your pull.