DL and PC Form Check

[Xararsis]

Hi folks,

New to the board and wanted to see if I could get people to take a look at my deadlift and power clean. Read through Starting Strength and watched the DVD and wanted to see if people thought I have it or at least on the right track.

This is the deadlift video:
http://youtu.be/qhSEWxgaifc

This is the power clean video:
http://youtu.be/zmb0qMtqaew

I'm just starting week 2 of the SS program and I wanted to pin down these two and the squat before things actually start to get heavy. Thanks a bunch in advance.

[Cambero]

Deadlift looks pretty good, except in my opinion (not the best angle to notice) you do not have the bar over the mid-foot. Make sure that the bar is over the mid-foot and the scapulae is over the bar; the bar in contact with your shins/socks, etc.

Power clean, the problem is more obvious, the bar is not in contact with the thighs at the jump. But you do have straight elbows, good. Since I cannot see your foot position/stance from the angle the video was recorded, you either do not have the bar under your mid-foot or you are worrying too much about scrapping your legs and therefore avoid a proper vertical path; i figure those are the best reasons since your back angle seems fine and you do not seem to be jumping early.

[mrflibble]

Not bad on the DL. Might be just me, but hips look a bit low and you're squatting it a little.

Do this the following. It's the main reason my DL is semi-decent (well, less shit than everything else!)

The Deadlift: Perfect Every Time



1. Take your stance, feet a little closer than you think it needs to be and with your toes out more than you like. Your shins should be about one inch from the bar, no more. This places the bar over the mid-foot – the whole foot, not the mid-instep.

2. Take your grip on the bar, leaving your hips up. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

3. Drop your knees forward and out until your shins touch the bar. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

4. Hard part: squeeze your chest up as hard as you can. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR. This establishes a "wave" of extension that goes all the way down to the lumbar, and sets the back angle from the top down. DO NOT LOWER YOUR HIPS – LIFT THE CHEST TO SET THE BACK ANGLE.

5. Squeeze the bar off the floor and drag it up your legs in contact with your skin/sweats until it locks out at the top. If you have done the above sequence precisely as described, the bar will come off the ground in a perfectly vertical path. All the slack will have come out of the arms and hamstrings in step 4, the bar will not jerk off the ground, and your back will be in good extension. You will perceive that your hips are too high, but if you have completed step 4 correctly, the scapulas, bar, and mid-foot will be in vertical alignment and the pull will be perfect. The pull will seem "shorter" this way.

[IndividualThoughtPatterns]

PC; what Cambero mentioned + try to lift the bar with your legs first, then extend the back as fast as possible. The weight should be mound as you lift the bar, then transpose it to the heel when the bar is at knee level and finally jump from your forefoot.

[Xararsis]

Deadlift looks pretty good, except in my opinion (not the best angle to notice) you do not have the bar over the mid-foot. Make sure that the bar is over the mid-foot and the scapulae is over the bar; the bar in contact with your shins/socks, etc.

Power clean, the problem is more obvious, the bar is not in contact with the thighs at the jump. But you do have straight elbows, good. Since I cannot see your foot position/stance from the angle the video was recorded, you either do not have the bar under your mid-foot or you are worrying too much about scrapping your legs and therefore avoid a proper vertical path; i figure those are the best reasons since your back angle seems fine and you do not seem to be jumping early.

Thanks a bunch Cambero and others. Although the angle is not there for you folks, I'm quite certain that I'm starting over the midfoot and I'm making contact with my shins each time. However, you are correct that I'm finding it awkward to make sure the bar is tapping my thighs on the way up with the PC. I just feel like when I'm trying to do this I'm also losing a lot of my explosiveness on the way up.

So is it fair to say that on the PC the concern is mainly the lack of a truly vertical bar path?

[Cambero]

So is it fair to say that on the PC the concern is mainly the lack of a truly vertical bar path?

Yes, as IndividualThoughtPatterns pointed to, try to concentrate on your legs first (pushing through the floor).

[RRod]

Another way to help with leg drive in the PC is to be conscious of where your balance is along your foot. As you come up, it should shift towards the heels (not stay towards the ball of the foot as it seems to now).

[m1nt]

try keeping your shoulders over the bar more, and using more of your knee extension for the first pull, then extending your hips after you pass the knees, extending everything at once

[IndividualThoughtPatterns]

Another way to help with leg drive in the PC is to be conscious of where your balance is along your foot. As you come up, it should shift towards the heels (not stay towards the ball of the foot as it seems to now).

This is good suggestion too!