Trembling Above the Knees on Deadlift

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
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Ok, so I have been messing with my technique on the deadlift trying to improve my pulling position and have a adopted a mental cue to lean back on my heels once I reach the knees. This helped me alot but when I reach 405+ I start to shake uncontrollably towards the end of the lift.

I’m wondering why this is happening and if its a legal thing to do at a sanctioned meet, I doesn’t negatively affect my lift, it actually makes it a bit easier just not sure why the shake/jerk is occuring on its own. Thanks

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If your shaking results in a negative (downward) motion of the bar, the lift will most likely get redlighted.

For your mental cues, I would say the leaning back should be done at the start of the lift, rather than the midpoint. Once the bar gets to the knees, more focus should be on shooting the hips forward.

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Weak hamstrings

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http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/deconstructing-the-deadlift/

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When my deadlift starts to slow in above the knees, I concentrate on Glutes. Weighted back extensions and dimel deadlifts. Really concentrate on flexing your glutes like your trying to hump the bar.

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[quote]Hamemax wrote:
Ok, so I have been messing with my technique on the deadlift trying to improve my pulling position and have a adopted a mental cue to lean back on my heels once I reach the knees. This helped me alot but when I reach 405+ I start to shake uncontrollably towards the end of the lift.

I’m wondering why this is happening and if its a legal thing to do at a sanctioned meet, I doesn’t negatively affect my lift, it actually makes it a bit easier just not sure why the shake/jerk is occuring on its own. Thanks [/quote]

Maybe a video?

If you are not hitching, shelving or, as noted earlier, not allowing the bar to drop, most decent judges will not have a problem with this because this is very, very common especially during the 3rd attempts.

I’ve always had this problem (by always I mean not every time I go heavy, but it happens time and time again). My case and with many I have seen is that the upper back has rounded a bit as the hips are trying to shoot which causes your shoulder girdle to try to pull up rather than back as the hips go forward. Some guys follow this with a massive series of secondary knee bends and hitching.

Seen it happen with guys who cannot use the belt well, that is bad abs. They fall into themselves and the above situation happens: you are pulling to unwrap your spine not lift the weight.

I’ve also seen it happen when the knees open too quickly and the bar cantilevers out front at or about the knee and you go through this crazy “where am I?” routine.

As I have seen it on the platform, it tended to happen more to guys who look at the clouds when they pull, more with conventional pullers than sumo. The harder they hyperextend the cervical spine, the more the top of the thoracic spine curves forward to facilitate this. Like performing the head toss supersedes the pull itself.

Question: before you started the shift to your heels thing, did you have this problem?

Anyway, maybe a video? Thanks.

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[/quote]

Question: before you started the shift to your heels thing, did you have this problem?

Anyway, maybe a video? Thanks.

[/quote]

No this never happened prior to me attempting to do this new thing shifting the weight back on my heels, I used to lean forward too much before. It might be hamstring weakness but I can stiff leg 85% of my 1rm deadlift and GHR’s are easy for me especially with bodyweight so I didn’t think it was a hamstring weakness but it might be. Ill get a video of me doing it but here is an example of what I’am talking about, skip to 8:00 min mark when Pete Rubish is up, that is exactly what happens to me just only at the knee up. Heavy Deadlifts- Lilliebridges,Chris Hickson,Pete Rubish 3-16-13 - YouTube

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[quote]Hamemax wrote:

It might be hamstring weakness but I can stiff leg 85% of my 1rm deadlift and GHR’s are easy for me especially with bodyweight[/quote]

Probably isn’t your hamstrings then :stuck_out_tongue:

I used to shake around the knee, and when I added in RDLs for reps as assistance work, and made an effort to use hamstrings instead of glutes as much as I could it went away, that why I suggested that. Probably could’ve given a bit more info in my first post.

Anyway, looks like there’s plenty of other things that could be going on :stuck_out_tongue: I will say that in your avatar it looks like you’re throwing your head back like emskee mentioned.

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Lighter weight + more sets/reps? I don’t know what they are considered or called, but when I pull reps; I don’t let the bar go all the way to the floor. I stop just before the floor and reverse it back to lockout. I get a pretty good stretch on those for the upper back and the glutes/hamstrings.

I don’t know of another exercise for me that will train my glutes/hamstrings harder than multiple sets/reps of deadlifting that way. But…whatever works best for you is the way to do it.

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[quote]Hamemax wrote:
[/quote]

Question: before you started the shift to your heels thing, did you have this problem?

Anyway, maybe a video? Thanks.

[/quote]

No this never happened prior to me attempting to do this new thing shifting the weight back on my heels, I used to lean forward too much before. It might be hamstring weakness but I can stiff leg 85% of my 1rm deadlift and GHR’s are easy for me especially with bodyweight so I didn’t think it was a hamstring weakness but it might be. Ill get a video of me doing it but here is an example of what I’am talking about, skip to 8:00 min mark when Pete Rubish is up, that is exactly what happens to me just only at the knee up. Heavy Deadlifts- Lilliebridges,Chris Hickson,Pete Rubish 3-16-13 - YouTube

His chest collapses over the bar at and above the knee and he struggles to unroll his spine to lock it out. So his hips do go forward at or about the right point, but his upper body at the shoulder girdle stays where it was and the bar hangs out in front and bar upward movement stalls for a sec. He then struggles to unroll the thoracic spine and un-bury his sternum. Now forces within the pull reflect back and forth through his body between the two most immovable objects which are the Earth and the bar. Joints which should be stationary are now loose and there are multiple degrees of freedom.

I can’t really fault him, this is an obvious max attempt and sometimes things have to give.

If you keep it all barrel solid along the spine (lumbar, thoracic, cervical - NEUTRAL HEAD)and through the chest wall, when you shoot the hips and the bar stays close to you, your upper body naturally pivots back in one piece and so the bar cannot stop its upper movement. It’s like the only major degree of freedom left is the femur going to the vertical.

If you start the hip shoot and let your upper back flex like that you thin out and the bar hangs in front and its motion stops for a bit because you rounded your upper body to meet it. You must now try and uncoil.

Assume a posture and stay with it rep to rep. Use the belt. Remember that you have lats you can flex to keep the bar in and your chest to the front.

If you use a belt get on top of it and stay there. This may sound funny, but I have seen an overtight belt a hindrance to some conventional lifters because they cannot create that pushout which keeps the chest up and out.

I have a post yesterday evening at the Training Log So Injured, So Old: 600lb DL Before I Die. Not saying that I am an expert, but if you go there see how my upper body just stays open and solid and just naturally pivots back through the hip shoot.

But again, I am by definition a 56 year old amateur. Just trying to help. Your mileage may vary.