Too inflexible for proper deadlifting

[WeakLifter]

Hey there!

I'll try to make it quick: For the last 4 months or even more i have tried to get my dead lift to work. I have tried all kinds of cues, i have tried the setup you, Mark, suggest, and a lot more.
Basically i have been building the lift up to 3 plates and then gone back because i felt that my lower back started hurting one day after the lift as well as i can see from videos that my back is not in a correct position. Again and again.

That's all i have done the past 4 months and i am starting to lose hope that i will ever successfully perform this lift.

I figured that in the years of training you have probably had an athlete that was unable to perform the deadlift with his natural setup because he could not get his lower back into a straight position, no matter how hard he tried.

I have seen your platform video on how to contract the lower back muscle. I can successfully do so when i am standing straight, however i feel absolutely no way to address this muscle when i am in the deadlift position.
The only way i can try achieving tightness in that area is trying to chest up as hard as i can while bracing my core with all force.

Here is a video of me deadlifting, but let me say something in my defense first: The reason my hips go so low is because this was just another of numerous attempts to get my back straight. Hips higher would have made my back even less straight and thats why i tried stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTtMp_mFZVk

Now, my actual questions: Have you actually ever trained an athlete that couldn't perform the deadlift without first addressing other issues such as inflexibility?
What did you walk him through, what kind of mobility routine?
And what can i do while i "wait" for my body to respond to mobility conditioning? RDLS?SDLS?Rack pulls?

Thank you!

[Mark Rippetoe]

Fix the orientation of the video.

[WeakLifter]

Sorry for that, i have adjusted the orientation. The link is still the same.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The only things wrong here are your overextended cervical spine and your low hips.

[Scott Jenkins]

Ill chime in here...

I have extremely tight hamstrings, the tightest I have ever come across. I played sports growing up, we would do this test every year where we would have to sit down on the floor with our legs out in front, stretch forward and push a device forward to measure how "flexible" we were. I could not ever reach the thing to even push it forward, that is how tight I was compared to everyone else.

Deadlifts have never felt good to me either, I would do them a few sessions, it would hurt, then I would not do them for several weeks, then try again.

I went to a SS seminar a couple months ago, and with the great coaching there found out I was not getting my lumbar spine in extension, thus causing me all my grief with the deadlift. I do have control over those muscles, when we did the standing demo I was able to contract them.

When you are in the bottom of the deadlift position, your hamstrings are competing against your back for control of your lumbar spine. My hamstrings are SO tight, they win that battle and that causes my lumbar spine to not be able to get into proper extension. I suppose you could also say at this point in my training my back muscles are not strong enough to win the battle with the tight hammy's?

Anyway, I spent some time with Andy Baker at lunch on the second day, and we determined it would be best for me to just do rack pulls at this point. We determined that at about 2.5 inches off the floor I can get into the proper position. I have made some blocks of wood that are 2.5 inches tall, and I deadlift off of them, so the bar is 2.5 inches higher than a normal deadlift.

Over time as my back gets stronger, I might make some new blocks 1.5 inches tall, and try that.

I dont plan on competing, so I suppose I don't really have to do an "official" deadlift off the floor, and now when I do my modified version my back feels great, I do them every week, and my back is getting bigger and stronger...the whole point of the deadlift I suppose you could say.

[WeakLifter]

Thank you for your answers!

@Rip: Cool, i never thought that the form in that video could be acceptable.

Now, sorry for posting another one, but here the problem is way worse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6-d3Z8np2Q

I guess here we can clearly see that i do not have control over my lower back. You might think i am not trying to embrace, but i actually try it as hard as i can, honestly.

You are absolutely right about the head-position, i get carried away because i actually try so hard to reach my lower back by getting the chest up :/
Hips higher is also a thing i got back to. In the end its useless to have them as low, you have your reasons why you advice to keep them way higher.

@Scott
Hey there, thanks a lot for your input! Sounds a lot like me, haha!

So your solution currently is rack pulling? Are you doing any kind of mobility work? I feel like letting the spinal erectors compete against the hamstrings if those are also tight on top of it is a battle that the back cannot win. I mean ... take the sheer size of the two muscle groups!

But rack-pulls are definitely my fall-back option. I think they could translate very well to conventional deadlift if done right and heavy!

[Scott Jenkins]

Thank you for your answers!

@Rip: Cool, i never thought that the form in that video could be acceptable.

Now, sorry for posting another one, but here the problem is way worse:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6-d3Z8np2Q

I guess here we can clearly see that i do not have control over my lower back. You might think i am not trying to embrace, but i actually try it as hard as i can, honestly.

You are absolutely right about the head-position, i get carried away because i actually try so hard to reach my lower back by getting the chest up :/
Hips higher is also a thing i got back to. In the end its useless to have them as low, you have your reasons why you advice to keep them way higher.

@Scott
Hey there, thanks a lot for your input! Sounds a lot like me, haha!

So your solution currently is rack pulling? Are you doing any kind of mobility work? I feel like letting the spinal erectors compete against the hamstrings if those are also tight on top of it is a battle that the back cannot win. I mean ... take the sheer size of the two muscle groups!

But rack-pulls are definitely my fall-back option. I think they could translate very well to conventional deadlift if done right and heavy!

Yes, solution for me is rack pulls, but I don't use a rack...I use the wood blocks.

Andy Baker also said that rack pulls or block pulls will actually work the back and spinal erectors etc more, due to the fact that less hamstring is involved when you pull from higher up like that. I can say that my hamstrings still get a lot of work, I can feel them burning toward the end of the reps.

For me, I want a big strong back, so if this will accomplish that without such a risk to hurt myself, then I will just do them like this and not worry about an actual deadlift...nobody cares if it is an actual deadlift...it makes my back stronger with less injury risk? I am all in.

Andy also said it is much better to find a way to train than to keep getting hurt like I was..makes sense to me.

ETA I dont do mobility work.

[WeakLifter]

Alright, i guess i will do these next time!

I will try adding in some mobility work though, it might work. While i probably wont compete for another year my goal is still to perform a legit conventional deadlift in the end.

I hope my back doesnt give up before i can do so.

[perman]

Daily standing hamstring stretch (just letting gravity do the job while you relax downwards) together with doing SLDL's has fixed it for me. Used to have the same exact issue. I think many people here discount stretching too much, for those of us who are too tight, it does matter. So just try to get more flexible hamstrings over time, I reckon a straight-legged toe touch is a thing it's generally beneficial to be able to do.

[Tennisgolfboll]

Rippetoe told you your deadlift is fine. Stop obsessing

And stop finding excuses not to deadlift.

I agree with post workout stretching is good.