I could use all the help I can get on my deadlift form. My current max is 415 lbs. and I’d like to kill that record this year.
I’ve loaded some videos to my profile of me doing some deadlifting today. I’d really appreciate all the tips and advice I can get on my form. So, if you could check out the videos in my profile and help me out that would be great.
Thanks.
Oh, you can skip the first two or three videos. Those are old.
I think you are useing your quads to much, get your lower back, hamstrings, and abbs stronger. When you do that your form will change just by relying more on those muscles, and your deadlift will go up.
Raise your butt up and straighten out your legs some, not a ton. You should not bend down any more than about 45 degrees to get into position especially since you are tall. You are at about 70 degrees or so at the bottom.
Also if your gym doesn’t allow regular chalk try invisible chalk or something similar, you can normally find it at outdoor climbing stores, works okay.
Good luck with it.
It may just be the angle, but it appears as though you are not over the bar as you should be, but rather are behind the bar a little, and hyperextending your back at the top.
-Edit, I think that it’s just the angle in the first video.
What I’ve done to help my form was to first unlock my hips until theres a slight stretch to my hams. All this while keeping the back neutral.
After this let your hands hang, then grab the bar and bend the knees however much you need for it to feel comfortable.
What this does for me is it keeps the lower back neutral, and the upper back rounds out. But yea I think you have your hips too low.
So, I’m setting up too low huh? Interesting. I don’t think it’s the angle that makes it look like I’m behind the bar. I think I really am behind the bar. I’ll work on that.
Thanks for the advice so far. And please, keep it coming.
And my gym doesn’t allow chalk but I do use some liquid chalk.
I would just like to say that in all of Dave Tates deadlift articles he says to keep the shoulders behind the bar, if they go forward the bar will tend to pull you down more. Also because he says to use your your body as leverage. EX: “use your body weight as a lever and leaning back to help move the weight”. You would have to have the bar in front to get the full benefit, the further distance the bar has to travel back the more your pulling back = the more bodyweight leverage you can use.
That is very hard to explain… but anyway, having your shoulders behind the bar inst a bad thing, at least one of the worlds top strength coaches dosent think so.
If you are deadlifting conventional man… you have to keep your upper back tight as a mother or you will look like you do. ALso you need to come up with you hips first… if you try and stand up without the hips first… you’ll end up straight legging the damn thing up. Think about deadlifting man as a squat with the bar at the bottom instead of on your shoulders. You are not going to lock you knees out first when you squat right? So why would you do it when you deadlift?
[quote]Uber N3wb wrote:
I would just like to say that in all of Dave Tates deadlift articles he says to keep the shoulders behind the bar, if they go forward the bar will tend to pull you down more. Also because he says to use your your body as leverage. EX: “use your body weight as a lever and leaning back to help move the weight”. You would have to have the bar in front to get the full benefit, the further distance the bar has to travel back the more your pulling back = the more bodyweight leverage you can use.
That is very hard to explain… but anyway, having your shoulders behind the bar inst a bad thing, at least one of the worlds top strength coaches dosent think so.
[/quote]
Dave who? Just kidding, yes, I’ve looked around some more and that seems to be the consensus. Here’s the article I confirmed my critique with, in any case. http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=460295
My advice is to really extend your entire spine. I only saw the last video but you’re spine is flexed! Never ever ever a good thing.
Imagine keeping your back locked and tight and really pull your shoulder blades back. Keep your elbows straight and shoulder blades over the bar. Explode from your center and push your your heels and really work to squeeze your glutes at lockout. Stand big and tall at the end too. On the way down, break your hips first, kind of like putting a stretch on your hams. Then when the bar is past your knees you can bend them.
[quote]Chefbc14 wrote:
If you are deadlifting conventional man… you have to keep your upper back tight as a mother or you will look like you do. ALso you need to come up with you hips first… if you try and stand up without the hips first… you’ll end up straight legging the damn thing up. Think about deadlifting man as a squat with the bar at the bottom instead of on your shoulders. You are not going to lock you knees out first when you squat right? So why would you do it when you deadlift?
[/quote]
You want to keep your upper back loose actually, doing this will let your hands drop a couple inches lower, and let you round your upper back so you can get even lower than that. A couple world class lifters stand by this. One of them being a 945 deadlifter in the 275 weight class. There is a article on Elitefts explaining this but Im to lazy to find it.
Also, if you read the deadlifting articles by Eric Cressey or Dave Tate or realy anyone who writes deadlift articles and pulls over 300lbs, you will see that deadlifting is nothing like a squat. And if you try to do it this way you wont be near as strong. Infact that is supposedly one of the bigest mistakes according to one of the authors who’s name I cant think of.
So both those points were wrong, if moving the most weight is your goal that is.
[quote]cgeezy wrote:
My advice is to really extend your entire spine. I only saw the last video but you’re spine is flexed! Never ever ever a good thing.
Imagine keeping your back locked and tight and really pull your shoulder blades back. Keep your elbows straight and shoulder blades over the bar. Explode from your center and push your your heels and really work to squeeze your glutes at lockout. Stand big and tall at the end too. On the way down, break your hips first, kind of like putting a stretch on your hams. Then when the bar is past your knees you can bend them.[/quote]
again, pulling your shoulder blades back will make your reach shorter, and tighten your upper back up which will also make your reach shorter. This inst the form for someone interested in useing the most weight possible.
Also, again with the shoulder blades over the bar, this would put your shoulders way over the bar and wouldnt be good for your leverage at all.
If sounds like your trying to tell him how to deadlift as if he was trying to clean the weight.
I second the observation that you’re using your quads too much. It looks like you’re squatting the weight up, not pulling it.
[quote]Uber N3wb wrote:
again, pulling your shoulder blades back will make your reach shorter, and tighten your upper back up which will also make your reach shorter. This inst the form for someone interested in useing the most weight possible.
Also, again with the shoulder blades over the bar, this would put your shoulders way over the bar and wouldnt be good for your leverage at all.
If sounds like your trying to tell him how to deadlift as if he was trying to clean the weight.
[/quote]
Well the technique I described is in line with many strength coaches suggestions and to me it makes the most anatomical sense.
I just finished reading this article as well: How to Deadlift with Proper Form: The Definitive Guide | StrongLifts
Mark Rippetoe contributed to that piece and he says similar things in “Starting Strength.”
I didn’t suggest the technique for the sole purpose to move as much weight as possible (but isn’t that pretty much the point for most people? Not even just powerlifters) but to make sure there isn’t undue stress in the wrong places.
With your scapulae over the bar, you pull the barbell in the straighest line which is also the most efficient. Correct me if I’m wrong but when you’re moving big weights (400+ lbs is big!) you need to stay as tight as possible. It’s the irradiation principle capitalized by Pavel Tsatsouline.
Clearly there is more than one way to skin the cat, but to me, the points I made seem like good advice.
It looks like your set up is to tight. I also think you upper body could b over the bar more in the starting position. you need to find your groove if you want 2 pull bigger weight. you should really look at cressys articles or go over to elitefts.com where do you work out?
I noticed in the 315lb deadlift video that your stance looks a little wide. I know for me when deadlifting conventional I am in a much stronger position with my feet under my hips. And I can pull more. Plus my hands have a better grip on the bar. The wider the hands go away from the shoulders the weaker the grip.(i.e. snatch grip)
One thing I noticed was the amount of space between your legs and hands. I’d move your hands as close to your legs as possible, and give it a try.
[quote]cgeezy wrote:
Uber N3wb wrote:
again, pulling your shoulder blades back will make your reach shorter, and tighten your upper back up which will also make your reach shorter. This inst the form for someone interested in useing the most weight possible.
Also, again with the shoulder blades over the bar, this would put your shoulders way over the bar and wouldnt be good for your leverage at all.
If sounds like your trying to tell him how to deadlift as if he was trying to clean the weight.
Well the technique I described is in line with many strength coaches suggestions and to me it makes the most anatomical sense.
I just finished reading this article as well: http://stronglifts.com/why-your-shoulder-blades-must-over-the-bar-on-deadlifts/
Mark Rippetoe contributed to that piece and he says similar things in “Starting Strength.”
I didn’t suggest the technique for the sole purpose to move as much weight as possible (but isn’t that pretty much the point for most people? Not even just powerlifters) but to make sure there isn’t undue stress in the wrong places.
With your scapulae over the bar, you pull the barbell in the straighest line which is also the most efficient. Correct me if I’m wrong but when you’re moving big weights (400+ lbs is big!) you need to stay as tight as possible. It’s the irradiation principle capitalized by Pavel Tsatsouline.
Clearly there is more than one way to skin the cat, but to me, the points I made seem like good advice.[/quote]
I would say your way would be safer, I just dont think it would be stronger. Then again theres no way I could keep my shoulder blades back if I was close to my max on deadlifts so I guess I am biased.
EDIT: im not completley sure about pulling the bar in a straight line being more beneficial, all I have read on the subject is dave tats stuff about leverage.
I personally dont try to pull it back, or in a straight line, I just pull it and Im sure it wouldnt make that much difference either way. I just said it because I read it and it made sense to me.
heres the video of a guy relaxing his upper back to make his reach longer.
It may look horrible but its just his upper back rounding, his lower back is still good.
[quote]Uber N3wb wrote:
heres the video of a guy relaxing his upper back to make his reach longer.
It may look horrible but its just his upper back rounding, his lower back is still good.
Konstantine Kostanov Deadlift - YouTube [/quote]
I noticed two things while watching that video. His stance is much narrower than mine and he doesn’t get as low as I do either. Maybe I need to change both of those things. Thanks for the advice and posting that video.