Huge deadlift problems.

[Blah3]

Hi Rip

Im sorry for this post but i am having huge deadlift problems. I am 6'7" The problem i have is that I cannot get my back into lumbar extention i have read pages 37-38 over and over in BBT and i know exactly how it feels but when setting up for deadlift it just wont happen. Could you please take a look at my vids and tell me what i should be doing please? I am desperate and It is the only thing in my training that is wrong and i feel it is one of the most important to learn.

Last week (Form seems to be better halfway through the pull?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yampxJMafi8

Yesterday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_WJB67LEDc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr4uaOHcU3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3U43IZPfU

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yes, you're going to have to get your back in extension. You may not be able to learn from the book, and I can't teach you from here, but it can be done. Might be time for a barbell cert.

[Blah3]

I am truly screwed! I live in Australia and i think there is no way you are coming over here to do any barbell certs... It is a dream of mine to be able to go to one of them but one i think will never come true. Is there any other tricks up your sleeve that you might have to help with this?

I found a deadlift vid of me a while back which looks like i was in correct form but cant for the life of me get back into it. Could it maybe be hamstring tightness? But if i could preform a proper squat could my hamstrings still be tight?
Deadlift form from a while back
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1nll7cvOKQ

[elVarouza]

Looks like you have the fun problem of a short torso / long legs. A couple things that helped me have been pointing my toes out slightly and allowing my knees to track over my toes in the starting position (to help get the femurs out of the way), widening my stance a tiny bit, and thinking of trying to shove my lumbar spine through my stomach. While thinking of shoving the lumbar through the stomach probably isn't the best way of learning back extension, it works for me. Give it a shot if you're out of ideas.

[sasquatch989]

I'm 6' 3" and I tend to have the same issue, just not as bad as you. I don't think it is a hamstring flexibility issue, but you could look into that one.

I've found remedy through doing a clean-type deadlift. I just squat deep to the bar, set my lumbar curve, then lift my hips until the tension in my hips, hams, and back are maxed out. At this point my shoulders are just above the bar and my hips are set about a 6 inches higher than my squat depth. On my snatches, my hips sit at just 2 inches above my squat depth.

The result is a steeper back angle and more of a push off from the quads, but more importantly, I am able to keep my lumbar curve the whole way through. Much respect to Rip and his high hip deadlifting, but at my height I find that clean-deads just work better for me.

[Mark Rippetoe]

And the price sasquatch pays for this steeper back angle is a non-vertical bar path off the floor, since the bar will have to get back over the mid-foot at some point during the pull. Lots of people do it this way, most people in fact. That doesn't make it efficient. The more horizontal back angle produced by your longer legs and shorter back is mitigated by the shortness of the segment, which keeps the moment arm short. If you have no hamstring flexibility problems you can set up with your mid-foot under the bar, and then squeeze your chest up untill your back comes into extension. Granted, this is easier with the knees forward and the hamstrings slack, but the bar is shoved forward and will start off the ground in a position forward of the mid-foot. The difference between the two styles is the vertical bar path off the floor and the positive effects it has on the rest of the pull.

[Blah3]

Thanks guys for all of your help! I think i just needed someone to look at it and coach me through it... I managed to find a weightlifting coach who just opened a gym a day after i wrote this thread in my area and in just 2 sessions of practicing and stretching it looks like its almost there! I also joined the gym and getting into weightlifting so i can have a watchful eye on whats going on.

I want to thankyou Rip for opening my eyes to the wonderful world of strength your books and your help has been nothing but perfect for me!

Yet again thankyou!