Reply With QuoteAre you bringing your shins to the bar? It's impossible to see through the plate.
Member
deadlift check 135X3
I'm working on learning the lifts at this point. The deadlift is the only lift that I'm not comfortable adding any weight to. The instructions seem fairly simple. I have even read the book, and I have even spent some time working on the "chest up, butt out" posture in order to get a feel for what my lumbar muscles need to be doing during the lift. After my shins touch the bar, I really do try as hard as I can to lift my chest up (I have gotten the impression this is the hard part). Once I set my lower back correctly (if it is correct) I try to keep it that way throughout the lift. However, I do sometimes feel an uncomfortable compression in my spine once the bar gets past my knees. Maybe this is normal, but it feels like I just can't maintain a tight lower back, and so the one thing that must be correct about the lift is not. In any case, I just don't feel good going forward with the lift yet. Some final details: I'm not doing the program yet (as far as eating 4000 or so calories per day, 170 or so grams of protein, adding weight to the bar), and it did occur to me that this is keeping me from gaining the strength needed to keep my lower back tight throughout the lift. Nonetheless, 135 really does not feel that heavy otherwise. But for now, I'm just trying to move forward without the worry about popping a disk. Thanks to all who can help.
135 pound deadlift - YouTube
Starting Strength Coach
Are you bringing your shins to the bar? It's impossible to see through the plate.
Member
More weight will expose more issues, right now this is nonsense. Show me 5 reps with 185. I see a small issue but you aren't getting the cues until I see more.
Member
Yes, initially about 1 inch from the bar, then I bring them in contact without moving it. I tried to shoot from that perspective to get a better view of my lower back.Originally Posted by JoeJ
Member
I was afraid this would happen. I'll have to see a SS coach. I'm not popping a disk by making a form check video for the internet. Thanks anyway.
Starting Strength Coach
Coach Joe is on to something here. Either you are not bringing your shins to the bar, or the bar is not over your midfoot when you start (too close to you) so that when you do bring your shins to the bar, they are vertical (same effect as not bringing the shins to the bar). Coach Joe and I do not have x-ray vision, so we need to see to be sure. 45 degrees off of the front, per the sticky.
Either way, you are essentially doing a SLDL when you are attempting to do a deadlift. This is putting more stress on your lower back and could be responsible for the "uncomfortable compression" you are feeling. Not sure what you mean be this BTW. Barbell training is uncomfortable, and your spine will be loaded in compression during all of the barbell lifts. Do you squat? Do you experience an the same uncomfortable compression while squatting?
Also, you are jerking the weight off of the floor - you go from 0 to 100% instantly, resulting in that metallic "click" you hear as you pull. The jerk, or the instant loading of your back, is adding undue strain to your back. When you lift your chest, you should be physically lifting/pulling up on the bar. You should hear that same click when you lift your chest, not when you actually pull. However, the weight is relatively light enough were you can get away with it, and it doesn't result in any subsequent form issues.
Last edited by Adam Franklin; 12-28-2016 at 09:28 AM.
Member
There is no chance you will get injured trying to deadlift 185x5. You don't need to see an SS coach, you need to try to deadlift. Adam franklin gave you the right cues, but I wanted to see how you looked with a few lbs in your hands first, it might have cleaned itself up.
You are safe to try pulling, if you need to pay someone to tell you that, do it, but I don't have money for that.
Member
That's a nice response. Thanks. I can promise that I start 1 inch from the bar, then bring my shins to the bar without moving it. But seeing is believing, and so I will make a new and better video (this time without jerking the bar off the floor). The feeling in my spine is just that of it being rounded AND loaded. I actually thought you all would take one look at my low back and see too much rounding. I do squat. I got to the point of doing 5X5 at 190 pounds fairly easily (although if I post a video on that you might see some problems with depth). But squatting with that weight on my back feels very good. I can get into lumbar extension and keep my low back very tight when squatting, and it was easy to add the weight once I learned the lift even though I'm not doing the program yet. But there is something wrong with my deadlift because the moment force on my lumbar spine feels very different and wrong, even at significantly less weight than the sqaut. But I think you are probably correct that jerking the bar off the floor is the issue, more so than back rounding. Thanks again.
Member
Thanks. More than anything I'm happy to hear that I'm safe pulling more weight (I have some faith in this forum). I'll add more weight and another video later.
Member
What you'll see now is 5 reps at 165 pounds shot at a better angle. The first two pulls felt great. I worked at lifting up my chest enough to take every bit of slack out of the bar, which made things feel significantly better (thanks Adam). With pulls 4 and 5 I felt like my lower back gave into some rounding under the load, but this is 30 pounds more than I'm used to. I believe I read in the book that no one should start learning with more than 135, but here goes anyway. Quick recap: I am at the stage of trying to learn the lifts, and I had some concern about popping a spinal disc, so I'm trying to be deliberate about learning how to do this correctly. Anyway, thanks to all who have and will help.
165 pound deadlift - YouTube
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