Back rounding on deadlift - acceptable or not?

[confuzzl3don3]

Ok, so for my worksets you can probably see i end up having some rounding in my back, especially the last 2 reps. I know it's never good to compromise form, but would this still be considered acceptable if its just the last 1 or 2 reps?

at 121kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t9RNRt_65I

[blowdpanis]

I don't think you need our permission to round.

That said, I think part of the problem is you attempting to set up again between reps. Some people do this very well, others not as well. Have you tried a more continuous style, in which you stay tight on the eccentric and just pull again after the bar deloads against the ground? Might help.

[LudwigVan]

I think the first rep looks acceptable, but by the fifth rep it doesn't. That's one of the challenges of a heavy set of 5 deadlifts -- continuing to set correctly before each rep despite the fatigue.

[PVC]

I think the first rep looks acceptable, but by the fifth rep it doesn't. That's one of the challenges of a heavy set of 5 deadlifts -- continuing to set correctly before each rep despite the fatigue.

100%. By the last rep your body is saying "just pull it and get it done as fast as possible so I can rest!", but if you do that you'll lose good positioning. You can take a little bit longer between reps than you are currently to make sure that your back is set properly.

Somewhere Rip mentions that it's helpful to pull lightly against the bar when setting up for your next rep. You set your back and get ready to lift, and then you "squeeze" the bar upwards, like you're starting the rep, but you don't pull hard enough to lift the bar off the ground - just hard enough to put pressure on your body, which makes sure your midsection is tight and your arms are straight. Then you start the rep. This doesn't take more than an extra second to do, but I find it really helps me to get tight enough before each rep.

[confuzzl3don3]

Yeah i thought as such. I'll try what you said PVC. Hopefully i can get that tight back all the way through. So other than the back rounding everything else, like barpath, etc is ok?

[imnotbncre8ive]

Thx for asking this, OP, I was wondering the exact same thing.

[Nauticus]

Somewhere Rip mentions that it's helpful to pull lightly against the bar when setting up for your next rep. You set your back and get ready to lift, and then you "squeeze" the bar upwards, like you're starting the rep, but you don't pull hard enough to lift the bar off the ground - just hard enough to put pressure on your body, which makes sure your midsection is tight and your arms are straight. Then you start the rep. This doesn't take more than an extra second to do, but I find it really helps me to get tight enough before each rep.

Thanks for this. A cue I'll try next time.

My personal (and everyone else's, probably) rule of thumb for rounding: If there's a mild amount, and nothing hurts the next day, it's just fine.

[confuzzl3don3]

I tried putting everyone's advice to practice and i reckon today's workout at 122kg was a lot better. Last rep was probably the worse but it's always like that.

Plus i had a lot of gas in the tank (listen carefully to the start of the set

122kg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXwZZ-s2FB4

[PVC]

Nice set. Yeah the last rep wasn't as good as the rest, but if you're using a heavy enough weight that's what happens.

One minor complaint though - those bags attached to your barbell stay on the ground after you've started the lift, so for the first foot or so of the lift you're moving less weight. Maybe you can tie the bags so they're closer to the bar?

[Force Production]

Are you microloading or did you run out of weights? ;D
Are you still deadlifting twice a week every other week?