A Note About Pulls from the Floor

[Tom Campitelli]

We like to see deadlifts, cleans, and snatches come off the floor in a particular way - a straight line. No, this is not a thread to argue about whether you think sweeping the bar back from over the toes is better. Fortunately, there is a particular setup that allows a straight line pull to happen with just about every trainee we have ever seen. It is detailed here:

http://startingstrength.com/resource...468#post182468

Read this before you post a form check about deadlifts, or any time a barbell comes off the ground. If you aren't doing this prior to every pull, there's a very good chance we are going to tell you read it and do it.

[Sqwt]

That's a great post, I've found it to be most useful, especially the "leaving your hips up" part. I struggled for weeks with my deadlifts, weights I pulled months ago seemed disproportionally heavy and weird. I eventually figured it had to be a form issue (duh), and it turned out I did indeed let my hips come too far down between reps. Hips too far down -> bar in front of the midfoot -> bad pulling mechanics.

Same thing happened when my girlfriend started lifting a couple of months ago, everything clicked when she left her hips up between reps. The first rep is easier due to the initial setup, the challenge was to keep the hips up between reps. If the hip comes too far down, get it back up and pull the bar into the shins over the midfoot again. I found the DVD to be of great help as well, as it's the only way some of us outside the US can see the lifts being coached. Great stuff.

[OCG]

Personally, my issue is that I deadlift with my hips too high. But then again, I'm special.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Nominating Tom's post above for a sticky. This comes up often enough, and folks are out there actively trying to muddy the waters.

[Steve Hill]

Any admin (including you, Sully ) can do that...so I did.

[Jonathon Sullivan]

Oh. Well I feel silly.

[Bluntschli]

Oh. Well I feel silly.

At least it's not me this time.