Deadlift form check

[enwar3]

Quick form check. I did as proper of a set-up as I could but I still can't keep my back straight on the work sets.

Warm-up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HXZOp8uRTU
Work set: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Oyl3u0FMU8

 

[MegaVovaN]

Try squatting down more before each rep. After all, kinda difficult to keep straight back when you start with almost straight legs.

edit: at the start of your reps, your upper body is parallel to the floor! This is wrong IMO.


What you need to do is: put your ass lower and keep your upper body/chest more vertical.

 

[GenHoth]

Jeez, that gym is huge

 

[brikis98]

Those don't look too bad to me. A few comments:

1. It looks like you are trying to pull the weight from the floor with your back. This isn't really how the deadlift works. The first part of the deadlift, where the bar goes from the floor to the knees, is primarily done by your quads straightening out your knee. During this time, your back angle should remain more or less the same. Once the bar clears your knees, your glutes/hamstrings kick in to drive your hips forward. Only at this point should your back angle start to significantly change as your upper body becomes upright at the end of the rep. From the video, it looks like you're not using your quads much at all and your back angle starts changing from the very bottom. Compare to this video, where you can clearly see his back angle stay the same until the bar clears the knees.

2. During the entire lift, the muscles in your back have only one role: keep your back in extension. If you're worried about back rounding, you have two options: learn to engage your back muscles harder to maintain extension or lower the weight to one your back muscles can handle now. The former option means tightening every muscle fiber in your back before the rep starts to get your back in extension and keeping it there. Using the Valsalva maneuver is also essential. Strengthening the back through back extensions, and supermans can be helpful too. The latter option means using a lower weight that your back can handle and slowly working your way up.

3. Having said that, as Rip mentions in this thread, "if we insist of perfection of technique, we preclude the use of limit weights and thus limit out ability to get strong." Yes, your back rounds the tiniest amount on the work sets. Unless this is causing you pain, it's probably not worth worrying about. We aren't looking for perfect form, but safe form.

 

[Kipper]

You may find it easier to assume the starting position if you roll the weight to meet your shins, rather than moving your body into position around the barbell. I'm unable to deadlift due to a injury-prone lumbar region, but whenever I do rack pulls I have always had trouble getting into the correct form if I try and "fit myself" around the weight. Rather, I squat down as much as I can, roll the weight to my shins, and then pull.

One of the main reasons, I feel, why the people doing deadlifts using a Smith press are asking to get hurt.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: Kipper
You may find it easier to assume the starting position if you roll the weight to meet your shins, rather than moving your body into position around the barbell. I'm unable to deadlift due to a injury-prone lumbar region, but whenever I do rack pulls I have always had trouble getting into the correct form if I try and "fit myself" around the weight. Rather, I squat down as much as I can, roll the weight to my shins, and then pull.

One of the main reasons, I feel, why the people doing deadlifts using a Smith press are asking to get hurt.

So wait... you do rack pulls because you think deadlifts are going to injure your back? The first part of the movement, as brikis said, should be mainly quads so rack pulls are very back dominant. If you have good form and unless you have some sort of degenerative joint disease, deadlifts might still be a good and valid, non-injurious option.

OP: The form doesn't look too bad. Brikis covered a lot of the points, but the one thing that helped me really get my form into shape was getting the bar about midfoot, bending down to grab the bar, and then squeezing my chest up as high as I could. Everything else just kinda falls into place after that. Honestly though, your form is fairly decent. I would probably just drop the weight a little bit until it hit perfection and then work from there.

 

[gramboh]

Overall pretty good, I agree with brikis points (as usual). Try for more tension in your back throughout the movement, also ensure you have tension in your hamstrings before the bar moves. Start the movement by straightening your knee, versus "pulling" on the bar with your arms (this will use your back).

I know some people like to roll the bar into their shins, but I prefer Rip's setup procedure as it encourages tension: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

 

[Deeko]

I know lifters that roll the weight to them - but they primarily do this because they are wearing gear that largely prevents them from getting into position otherwise.

 

[amicold]

I roll the weight to me because I'm built like a fireplug and have short limbs. Your lift looks fine aside from your ass being too high, try and lower it by moving your thighs closer to parallel, and your torso to upright, start the lift more by "standing up."

 

[Eric62]

Please understand: There is no one right way to deadlift!!! A zillion (give or take) factors come to play. Just to mention a few: Leg length, torso length, arm length, hip width, personality and attitude. And maybe most importantly your ability to with stand the stress of max effort training - my personal weakness.

My opinion of what I saw: Text book perfect - if that book was written for you. My only recommendation is NOT to come to a complete stop between reps. I'm not saying drop or bounce the weight off of the floor. Just lower it under complete control and explode into subsequent reps.
By pausing you're doing defacto singles, which IMO will lead to overtraining your central nervous system.
Also the many (maybe majority) who say you need to lower your hips seem to suggest you should squat the weight up. I say you should PULL the weight up using your Hams, lower and upper back muscles to do it.
Example of me repping out for 5 recently: http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=330w9it&s=5 That was my all time best quintuple at the age of 46.
Last DL day (23 APR 09) I did 655 x3 - a all time personal 3 rep record. It's a rarity that people my age with 20 years in the sport are able to improve. I'm not the only one - Louie Simmons comes to mind - but I'm one of the few.

I'm not saying my way is the only way - or even the best way. But it is the way I continue to improve despite my advancing age.

I'm NOT saying to disregard anyone else's methods or suggestions. I am hoping you'll keep an open mind and keep experimenting until you find the winning formula for your body, AND personality type. DON"T under estimate the importance of personality. I thrive off of lower reps in the DL (1 to 5), others feel better going with a higher rep range.

Good luck to the OP, and no offense to those who choose to train different than I.

Other examples of great deadlifters that shame me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EuD-b3Ae4E This was my all time inspirational DL vid - until the cut off the soundtrack
But you will notice that none of these Super Stars of DLing keep their hips low - just sayin'
Out...

 

[Eric62]

Originally posted by: Deeko
I know lifters that roll the weight to them - but they primarily do this because they are wearing gear that largely prevents them from getting into position otherwise.

Magnusson comes to mind - see you tube vid.
Now I'm really out...