Yeaa! More Deadlift Q's...

[ricka182]

I'll keep this quick..

I load the bar. Knees are very slightly bent, back as straight as I can keep it, but still maintaining a natural arch. I take a grip, and stand up. Bar stays close to my body, sometimes too close. 1 second rest at top, then bring bar back down to rack. Rack pegs keep the weights about 6" above the ground...

How bad is this form?

* I'l try to get a video, but I have no place to host it and I'm just slightly anti you-tube...

[kman025]

very hard to tell from this... it sounds good from this.... but you really cant tell without a vid

[jwood]

very tough to tell but why don't you start from the ground??

[Fire36]

I was told cant have it too close. I have marks on my shins from teh bar hitting scraping them. I was also told, when getting into position for the lift you want to "compress" the hamstrings think of them like a spring. Keeping the slight arch in back letting the "springs" force u you and then at the top explode the lift back.

Hope that makes sense

[BendtheBar]

First, make sure your feet are halfway under the bar from a side view. Then, reach down and grab the bar. Lower your hips until your shins touch the bar. Tighten your back, thrust your chest out, tighten your traps and triceps, lock arms, and stand up. This is a good start.

Sometimes it will feel like your feet are too far under.

Also, don't have your feet too wide apart, but it's ok to have toes pointed out.

[cooltom]

If you are doing traditional deadlifts, I agree with Fire36 that you can't have the bar too close. Drag the bar up your shins and thighs. Keep your arms straight, don't bend them.

It's hard to tell without a video, but I do recommend that, in the meantime, you do some video research of your own. Mark Rippetoe has some instruction videos you can find on youtube, and I believe here on M&B. Also, watch other powerlifters do the lift and take notes. I watched lots of youtube videos of guys like Ed Coan, Andy Bolton, Chad Aichs, Jim Wendler, Matt Kroczaleski, and on and on, studying their movements, their forms, etc. I even used a broom stick and did squats and deadlifts in front of the computer to fix what I thought were problems.

[Grim83]

well since everyone else seems to have addressed everything but this, if you use a conventional stance heres a little trick i got from dan john about your foot position. try jumping, and have someone see where your feet naturally start and then land at. the starting position is your ideal width for pulls, and you landing position is a good width for your squats

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by Grim83

well since everyone else seems to have addressed everything but this, if you use a conventional stance heres a little trick i got from dan john about your foot position. try jumping, and have someone see where your feet naturally start and then land at. the starting position is your ideal width for pulls, and you landing position is a good width for your squats

^ This is one piece I forgot to add. I picked that up somewhere as well and use it for my own setup.

[ricka182]

Originally Posted by jwood

very tough to tell but why don't you start from the ground??

My gym room is pretty small, and I don't feel like moving stuff around for a bar with plates...I could probably do it, but I figure it's only giving me a 6" advantage, and I'll eventually get rid of some of the old equipment that's cluttering the place up.

Originally Posted by Fire36

I was told cant have it too close. I have marks on my shins from teh bar hitting scraping them. I was also told, when getting into position for the lift you want to "compress" the hamstrings think of them like a spring. Keeping the slight arch in back letting the "springs" force u you and then at the top explode the lift back.

Hope that makes sense

By too close, I don't mean my legs. Maybe I should wear some more "support" under my shorts... I tagged one of the boys going up and almost dropped the damn bar...



I forgot my digital camera does video, so I can record myself next week... I guess I'll have to break down and open a YT account to post them..I've used photobucket before for video hosting, but it can't be embedded properly on a forum.

Muchas Gracias fellas...pure video entertainment to come..just don't laugh too hard.. haha

[Trevor Lane]

Originally Posted by ricka182

By too close, I don't mean my legs. Maybe I should wear some more "support" under my shorts... I tagged one of the boys going up and almost dropped the damn bar...

I'm a noob to deads, but I have found the most usefull advice for me to be to ensure that it feels like your heels are supporting your bodyweight, do that by basically "sitting" with your butt just to the point where you would fall over if you continued sitting. Before I started doing that I felt it all in my quads and was asking "Why don't I just suqat?"... hopefully that's correct, clear, and helps.