Fomcheck: Deadlift

[Mr. Mu]

Hi, today was my 25th workout on SS and I'm doing great so far. Well, except for my deadlift. I'm at about 200 lbs but can't seem to keep a proper form. It just does not feel right and I have a slight lower backpain after my DL workouts that tells something is wrong. I would like to hear your opinion (sorry for the bad quality and low angle of view):


(I lowered the weight to 165 lbs to practice form)

I guess I should lean forward a bit more to avoid lifting my butt before lifting the bar. Is that right? Another thing I am not sure about is my back angle. Is it too horizontal? Should I step back from the bar to make it more vertical?

Thanks, guys.

[Gunnhild Bruno]

From what I can see here, you should start with hips higher to begin with. To help keep your back set, look ahead of you about 12-15 feet, not down toward the floor. It’s hard to give any more feedback with the quality of the video. Can you get us a better video to work with? Tom’s sticky has good tips on how to best video a DL for critique.

[Mr. Mu]

Hi spar,

first of all thanks for your help.

Yes, the video is bad quality. Unfortunately I have no other camera and the light in my gym is pretty dim, so I have to up the ISO speed contributing to the bad quality. But I will make one from a better (hip) angle and with shorts next time. Hope this will make it easier.

Will try your advice and post a video in about a week. Thank you very much!
Mr. Mu

[veryhrm]

The video quality (lighting , resolution, noise , frame rate etc ) is fine, we don't need to see the sweat glistening on your brow :-) The angle / positioning is the issue. e.g. need an to see what it looks like from the side.

So far though, whatever issue there may be w/ hip position, bar path etc, your low back looks pretty decent at least from this angle and at this weight. Not seeing any issue. On a couple of reps on the way down you're letting your back relax as the bar is hitting the floor, but i don't know if you're doing that before or after it actually hits. If it's before, then that would of course be a problem. (I have a harder time keeping things tight on the way down than the way up).

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi Mr. Mu,

in every rep your hips move first, raising until your legs are almost straight. Then you start moving your shoulders, which means most of the work is done by your back.
Also, you seem to bring the bar back down too close to our shins. Look at the height of your hips when you start the very first rep, and then when you start the following reps. In the first reps the hips are almost fine, but in the other they are higher; this means your legs are taken out of the lift, and your back ends up doing the work.

Last but not least, it looks t me like you have the bar resting at the bottom of your fingers, just curving them to make a sort of hook. Make sure you grab the bar properly, with the full hand, and squeeze it tight.

Hope this helps,


IPB

[Sutor]

IlPrincipeBrutto

Hi Mr. Mu,

in every rep your hips move first, raising until your legs are almost straight. Then you start moving your shoulders, which means most of the work is done by your back.
Also, you seem to bring the bar back down too close to our shins. Look at the height of your hips when you start the very first rep, and then when you start the following reps. In the first reps the hips are almost fine, but in the other they are higher; this means your legs are taken out of the lift, and your back ends up doing the work.

Last but not least, it looks t me like you have the bar resting at the bottom of your fingers, just curving them to make a sort of hook. Make sure you grab the bar properly, with the full hand, and squeeze it tight.

Hope this helps,


IPB

^ This

You are taking the legs out of the pull. Keep tight in your set up (in both back and legs) and think about pushing into the floor with your feet. Concentrate on not allowing your legs to extend without it moving the bar first.

[Mr. Mu]

Thank you very much, guys. Lots of good advice you are giving me. I will try to implement it next time.

Also, you seem to bring the bar back down too close to our shins.

But isn't that what one is supposed to do and what the coach writes in SS?

Look at the height of your hips when you start the very first rep, and then when you start the following reps. In the first reps the hips are almost fine, but in the other they are higher; this means your legs are taken out of the lift, and your back ends up doing the work.

Did not see that. Thanks for pointing it out.

Last but not least, it looks t me like you have the bar resting at the bottom of your fingers, just curving them to make a sort of hook. Make sure you grab the bar properly, with the full hand, and squeeze it tight.

On page 110 of SS it says: "Gripping the bar correctly, well down into the hook of the fingers, will reduce the amount of callus development. Gripping the bar to high in the hand will allow the bar to slide down into the fingers, folding the palm skin as it goes..." That's why I'm grabbing the bar like that.

You are taking the legs out of the pull. Keep tight in your set up (in both back and legs) and think about pushing into the floor with your feet. Concentrate on not allowing your legs to extend without it moving the bar first.

Yes, I think that's one of the main issues I have with the DL. I have a hard time preserving the back angle while raising the bar. That's very good advice.

Thank you all for your help
Mr. Mu

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hello again,

But isn't that what one is supposed to do and what the coach writes in SS?

I think the book simply says that descent it the opposite of ascent, and that the bar needs to be brought back to its starting position. Which is over the mid foot, not right back in touch with vertical shins.

On page 110 of SS it says: "Gripping the bar correctly, well down into the hook of the fingers, will reduce the amount of callus development. Gripping the bar too high in the hand will allow the bar to slide down into the fingers, folding the palm skin as it goes..."

I think there is a happy medium between the two, and that means keeping the bar at the base of the fingers. It also makes using hook grip easier, which is not possible if you grip the bar with the tip of your fingers. In any case, that's not such a big issue, and if you are happy with your grip go with it.


IPB

[Mr. Mu]

I think the book simply says that descent it the opposite of ascent, and that the bar needs to be brought back to its starting position. Which is over the mid foot, not right back in touch with vertical shins.

You're right, this may in fact be a problem. I will make another video from the side to check if the bar is moving in a straight line. Thanks!

[Gunnhild Bruno]

I think the book simply says that descent it the opposite of ascent, and that the bar needs to be brought back to its starting position. Which is over the mid foot, not right back in touch with vertical shins.

In the ascent, the bar should be in contact with the legs all the way up. Therefore, yes, it should be the same on descent. ADDED: It doesn’t have to scrape either on the way up or down, but it should skim.

Re: the video
Yes, I was referring to the angles of view. The one you’ve chosen isn’t good for what you’re doing and for seeing anthropometry.

On page 110 of SS it says: "Gripping the bar correctly, well down into the hook of the fingers, will reduce the amount of callus development. Gripping the bar to high in the hand will allow the bar to slide down into the fingers, folding the palm skin as it goes..." That's why I'm grabbing the bar like that.

The bar should be gripped down where the fingers join the palm, not all the way down in the fingers. There’s a video on this in the resources section of the website.
http://startingstrength.com/index.ph...aging_calluses