Deadlift form check

[zackpassman]

I'm posting my 2nd warm up set and my work set because my work set is my 5RM and I've read enough Rip responses to other deadlift videos expecting form to break down a little on 5RM sets. So hopefully the warm up set will be a better indicator of my real form.

Warm up set 2 @ 245x3 http://vimeo.com/70448797
Work set 375x5 http://vimeo.com/70448835

Was going to post my press video today but I've been having wrist issues and had a pretty bad failed press today. Hopefully Saturday.

Thanks in advance for the help

[John Hanley]

The technique on the warm-ups looks pretty good. You could probably squeeze a bit more tightness into your back/trunk (you seem a bit nonchalant while tightening up). If you set your back right, your hamstrings will feel "loaded" and ready to spring.

Your 5rm max set looks off. Did you work your way patiently up to 375 over many months...or did you sorta rush to heavier weights? You're very slow between reps and lacking in explosivity and aggression. You're crossing a threshold into some pretty heavy deadlift sets and you need to have absolute confidence in your technique so that you can stop thinking and go fucking crazy. I'd consider deloading to 335ish...and working back up focusing on the fucking crazy bit.

375 is definitely decent weight for a set of 5, but you're a big enough dude that you should own those reps.

Also: turn your toes out more and push your knees into your arms on setup

[zackpassman]

Thanks John.

I was doing deadlift for a while before I found Starting Strength using a reverse pyramid technique. My numbers moved fast until I hit 410x2. I was concerned with form, but not overly. This is right when I came across Starting Strength. As I was reading and learning, I tweaked my back a bit and really screwed up my shoulder so I deloaded all my lifts big time as I was learning the Starting Strength form. So I have since built back up to this. I'm not above deloading again to further improve. Glad to know my warm ups were looking good. I did notice the toe/knee issue when I reviewed the tape after my lift. I will aim to work on more tightening and explosiveness.

Thanks again!

[zackpassman]

Just read this post http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=10196 and now I know why the reverse pyramid approach wasn't good to use

[zackpassman]

Ok. Gonna revive form check here.

http://youtu.be/v2NfsvK-GoM

[Milo's Ghost]

I don't mean this to be an insult, but this vid is a textbook example of nearly every common problem we see with the deadlift.

The good news is that it's eminently fixable.

1. You lower your hips after taking the bar, knocking it forward. See how it rolls forward before you pull? Once you grab the bar and lower your shins to the bar, DO NOT MOVE YOUR HIPS. PERIOD. You can also see the before the bar actually breaks the floor, your hips shoot up to where they're supposed to be anyway. So just stop it. Yes, it'll feel weird. Yes, your hips will feel too high. If you are a stubborn little twerp, you will question me (and the SS platform coaches) endlessly about your hips and whether you're actually doing an SLDL. BUT you will be deadlifting with the bar staying over your midfoot and no extraneous movement in your hips before the pull. It will feel lighter. Promise.
2. SQUEEZE your chest up and set your back much harder. Point your tits at the wall. This is HARD. It's not comfortable. That's how it's *supposed* to feel.
3. Don't let your back round as you pull. As the set progresses, your back rounds more and more. Really focus on this.
4. Don't get back on your heels. You are pushing through the floor with your whole foot, not your heels. I can see your toes coming off the floor. Stop that.
5. Because your not getting tight enough at the start, you're jerking the bar off the floor. There should be no slack in your chest or arms when you start the pull. There should be no way for YOU to move up before the bar does.
6. You abandon any pretense of keeping your back flat on the way down. This can get you hurt. Let it down fast but don't let your back round.

Try again and post another vid. Maybe take a bit off the bar to really work on keeping your back flat and not letting it round. Post another vid.

Good luck.

[zackpassman]

I was working on fixing set up with cleans. Will deload a bit. I think the belt was throwing me off too. Ill try 335 without belt then with and see which is better

[zackpassman]

I deloaded to 335 and dropped the belt. I feel like these are better, but I have been wrong before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_2MnbhKl3w

[zackpassman]

Today's session @ 345

http://youtu.be/EcBtr4gxdhs

[Milo's Ghost]

Wearing a white shirt against a white wall is very good for making it difficult to see your back angle. They literally show up as the exact same color in the vid. So that was fun.

But really the issue is that YOU MOVE THE GD BAR BEFORE YOU PULL. Just. Stop. Doing. That.

Watch your second rep. You get all set up and then you drop your hips and the bar moves forward. This is absolutely 100% the thing we tell people to stop doing in nearly every form check. If I didn't like you I'd think you were trolling me. But I do, so I don't.

Once you get the bar over your midfoot - which should happen while you're still standing erect - IT DOES NOT MOVE. Not forward. Not backward. Not a little bit. Not a smidge or a tad or a bit or any of the words I've used on this forum. NONE.

Next time you deadlift, practice this: get the bar over your midfoot, bend down and grab it, then drop your knees to the bar without moving it. Then start over and do it again. And again. Learn how it feels - where your hips are, your knee and hip angles, etc. - until it's ingrained in your reptilian hind brain that you will not drop your hips any farther from that position.

Once it's woven its way into the dark recesses of your soul, then you can finish the setup by squeezing your chest up as hard as you can, and then you push your feet through the floor and the bar goes straight up. That should be the first time it's budged since you were standing with it over your midfoot, and it should then go STRAIGHT UP, and not forward or backward even half an inch.

Good luck. Get this down and you'll be pulling 405 in no time.