Deadlift Questions

[Tony Patriarca]

Greetings:


This is my first post, and I really did try searching for the answer in your archives, but I was not able to find anything relevant. I have a couple of stupid questions about the deadlift.

The first one is a form/flexibility question. I cannot reach the bar. I cannot yet deadlift 135 pounds, but even if I were to put 2 45 pound plates on a bar and then bend over and squat down as low as I can, my fingertips are about an inch above the bar. How can I increase my flexibility? Everyone says that dynamic and static stretches are bad. Most of you guys do not believe in foam rolling and jamming yourself with ping pong balls and other weird looking instruments. What is a good way of stretching and increasing my flexibility?

I am trying to follow the starting strength program exactly as laid out. At first in order to deadlift I would kneel on the ground and put the bar in my lap. I would then wobble and pull myself up onto my feet and do the deadlift starting with the bar in my lap. After a couple of times I began to get that creepy Oompa-Loompa feeling that this would end up terribly awry. Now I do a reverse deadlift where I start at the top and then lower myself down as low as I can go. Are either of those good alternates for the deadlift? Is there a better alternate? I want to do the program as laid out without deviating from it. I can do the bench press alright. I can also do the overhead press. I just cannot get my arms behind my head, so instead of looking like page 85, the bar is out in front of my head. Squat is still quite a bit off because my version of the low-bar squat has the bar low on my neck. I cannot quite get it to touch my shoulders yet.

Thank you very much for reading and replying to this post.

[Jeff Illingworth]

Post some form videos.

[Bill Coyne]

Bishop, CA isn't very close to any SSC's but if you're having this much of a problem, go see a coach. Looks like Adam in Reno is the nearest option.

SSCA : Coaching

[A Schenck]

What is your height/weight/age/injury history?

[autumnal]

When you said put the bar in your lap, I thought "Zercher Deadlifts", but that's not quite right. Maybe look into block deadlifts, where the bar is raised up to where you can reach it. Then you can gradually lower the blocks.

I like doing deadlifts from the top position, and the stretch it gives the hamstrings. The nice thing is you can control how low you can go, and work from there.

Those are my thoughts, but I'm sure the posts above are more relevant as to the problem.

[Tony Patriarca]

Greetings:

I am going to have to see if I can get permission to film at the gym. I never see anyone taking photos or video, so I do not know if they allow it. And, seeing as to how it is the only gym, I do not want to anger them. If not I will buy a broomstick and film at home.

As far as my particulars, I am male, 47, 5'6", 227 lbs, 29% body fat (down from 44%), and generally ignorant of anything that involves nutrition, medicine, or exercising. I do have some weird brain / nerve issues. I cannot move one side of my body without the other side moving the same way. I do not have a normal opposite muscle relaxes reaction. Most of the time both muscles stay tense whenever I move. I think that is the main reason behind my lack of flexibility. I also have a very limited sense of where my body is in space. Unless I can see my limbs, I have no idea where the darn things are or what they are doing. So for my bench press, for instance, I can always line the bar up with the lights at the top, but at the bottom the bar hits anywhere over about a 5" area.

I have seen a Neurologist, but, I just nodded a whole lot as he was saying a bunch of really big words, then he handed me a prescription for epilepsy and Parkinson's medicine and I left.

I will have to look into going to Reno to see a coach.

Thank you very much.

[A Schenck]

Bad news: I don't think trying to fix you issues over the internet is going to work.
Good news: This sounds like a movement problem and not a flexibility issue. SSC's are
masters at solving movent issues.

Get to a coach. It will save you a lot of time if you have someone knowledgeable working with you in real time.

[Tony Patriarca]

Greetings:

One more stupid question. When you say rest days do you mean some light activity like stretching and cardio or do you mean on the couch binge-watching Joan of Arcadia with Yoo-hoo and Twinkies? I try not to ever schedule days off from working out because I am by my very nature, extremely lazy. Rest days quickly become rest weeks, or rest months. I once had a rest decade.

Thank you very much.

[ChrisRozon]

Don't ask for permission to film yourself, just prop your phone on a convenient spot and do it.

[autumnal]

Don't ask for permission to film yourself, just prop your phone on a convenient spot and do it.

And then find out that it violates gym policy and risk getting kicked out or pushed to the side?