bad deadlift form and hyperextended knee

[QSAlexander]

I did deadlifts yesterday, and while concentrating on breaking the hip-angle before the knee-angle (on the way down), held the former too long, and ended up with a heavy bar away from my body and locked knees.

I had no immediate pain from it, but soon after the workout and today I have some pain and stiffness in the pocket behind one knee ("popliteal fossa" according to med journals). I think the damage is all ligament, as I can massage the two tendons back there really well with no pain. From what I've looked up, it sounds like a hyperextended knee. The only increased pain comes from locking the knee, and swelling is minimal.

Program changes during recovery:

- I plan to go ahead and squat tomorrow, and just not extend to lockout where it becomes painful. I think the knee is stable up until that point.

- I wont need to sub for cleans, because I'm still doing bent-over rows till my deadlift form is perfect (obviously still isnt).

- Do partial deadlifts (up to knees and back down) for two weeks, or until back to normal.

Does this sound like a good workaround to you? Any other changes you can suggest to keep me on track?

Thanks for the digital coaching Rip. If I ever get back (Hirschi/Iowa Park/MSU alum here) to Wichita Falls, I owe you many beers.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The longer you sub assistance work for basic exercises, the longer it will be until you learn how to do the basic exercises. Deadlifts are just not that complicated, and I can't imagine how you pulled this off. Your plan sounds fine and the knee will heal quickly, but it very well may be that the bar-in-the-air-out-in-front position you have become accustomed to while doing your rows is the movement pattern that got you in trouble when you deadlifted. If you keep the bar smashed into your leg from the ground up there is just not much way to hyperextend your knee.

I sincerely wish you guys would get less infatuated with the barbell row.

[George Noble]

Question: to me it seems that doing barbell rows - which teach an early elbow bend off the floor - as a means to learning cleans seems contradictory, especially for a novice. Is this as significant a deal as I think it is, in that it would compound the problem of early elbow bend which lots of novices already have?

[Mark Rippetoe]

You're right, anything that teaches people to lift the bar with bent arms or by using an arm bend will make it harder to teach those people to clean and snatch with straight arms. Upright rows and to a lesser extent barbell rows have fucked up many a clean before it even had a chance to get learned.