Narrowing DL stance = greater speed from the floor?

[holyinstantrice]

Hey Rip, I have some questions for you about conventional deadlift stance width and its effect on the speed of a deadlift off the floor.

A few weeks ago, I had noticed that the knurling on the bars at the gym I go to when I'm home starts much narrower than the knurling of the bars at school. Because I've always used the edge of the smooth portion of the bar as a reference for my DL stance width, this made me narrow my stance. Usually, I'm very weak off the floor, but all of a sudden this was no longer an issue. I hypothesize that it is due to this change that my DL jumped up roughly 30 lbs my first time pulling back home.

So my questions are: Is this not unusual among certain lifters to experience what I experienced given the stance change? And more curiously, what could it have been about narrowing the stance that allowed me to break the bar off of the floor more easily?

My DL went from 405 -> 435 in one session
I have a long torso, short legs, and long arms
Stance went from maybe 12-14 inches apart to 6-7 inches apart
I'm following the standard SS-prescribed DL technique

I appreciate your time, Rip.

[Mark Rippetoe]

That's interesting. I like a narrow stance, but yours was already about like we teach. I'll bet it had more to do with your narrower grip.

[rtamesis]

Why would narrowing one's grip increase the ability to execute the deadlift? Does it have more to do with the ability to hang onto the bar when pulling it off the floor?

[Mark Rippetoe]

It doesn't have to travel as far to get to lockout.

[sunetdanne]

Hey Rip, I have some questions for you about conventional deadlift stance width and its effect on the speed of a deadlift off the floor.

A few weeks ago, I had noticed that the knurling on the bars at the gym I go to when I'm home starts much narrower than the knurling of the bars at school. Because I've always used the edge of the smooth portion of the bar as a reference for my DL stance width, this made me narrow my stance. Usually, I'm very weak off the floor, but all of a sudden this was no longer an issue. I hypothesize that it is due to this change that my DL jumped up roughly 30 lbs my first time pulling back home.

So my questions are: Is this not unusual among certain lifters to experience what I experienced given the stance change? And more curiously, what could it have been about narrowing the stance that allowed me to break the bar off of the floor more easily?

My DL went from 405 -> 435 in one session
I have a long torso, short legs, and long arms
Stance went from maybe 12-14 inches apart to 6-7 inches apart
I'm following the standard SS-prescribed DL technique

I appreciate your time, Rip.

I have experienced the same. A couple of weeks ago when I finally understood the "setup" and made my stance narrow it felt great. I think that a narrower stance combined with "duck feet" position allowed me to engage my PC much better.

Regards
Daniel