Reply With QuoteFirst thing I noticed is the bar may be a bit too far forward. Basing this on the angle of your shin and also how far you shins were from it when you first set up. Try getting about an inch closer and see where it goes from there.
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Deadlift Check
Hey guys would you be willing to check out my deadlift. I'm having trouble opening up my knees first. I think I'm shooting my but up a little and thats causing me to round my back. Let me know. How do I work on getting my knees to open up first?
Thanks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xdr4Xa_VzY
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First thing I noticed is the bar may be a bit too far forward. Basing this on the angle of your shin and also how far you shins were from it when you first set up. Try getting about an inch closer and see where it goes from there.
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I'm wondering if there are any cues I could use, my camera died today so I couldn't film my attempts but it seems more ingrained than anything else.
Would the prelift pull help my, tensing and then beginning the squeeze.
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Yah, a mediocre back position turns into catbacking in short order. The lack of tension on the hamstrings from a failure to actually extend your spine (and by extension, anteriorly tilt your pelvis) is also what is probably shooting your hips.Originally Posted by David Hagerty
A few ideas:
* Point the toes out with your setup, and maybe try SLIGHTLY widening your stance. This will tend to naturally open up the hips a bit, which should help.
* Ditch heeled shoes. In my experience, heeled shoes, when using the Rippetoe set up, exacerbate spinal extension issues. Pull in socks or the least heeled shoes you can find.
* Besides just squeezing the chest up, literally pull yourself into position. Use the weight of the bar to help set you into a tighter position than you could achieve by yourself.
* Try like hell to hold that position throughout the lift. You should feel tension in your hamstrings before you initiate your pulls. If it just feels like your legs are slack in back, you will probably do some combination of roundbacking/hip hiking.
✓ Member
I don't think you are having a problem with opening your knees first, nor with leading with the hips. You deadlift looks pretty good, aside from the lumbar softness that gets slightly more pronounced with each rep.
If anything, you should try to extend that lumbar spine more actively prior to the pull. It should be uncomfortable to get into and maintain that position. Try turning your toes out slightly. Take in a bigger breath of air - a really big one using your diaphragm to push your belly out. Then tighten down around that. Doing that, you will be locked down in an extended position. Really focus on making the entire trunk as solid as possible. It will probably feel like your head is going to explode. Try it with a belt to see if that helps. Your abs should be seriously fatigued after a set of 5 heavy deads.
This, more than anything else, is where I think you want to devote your attention. Your form is pretty solid otherwise. Some rounding will inevitably happen at higher weights and the degree of rounding you exhibit is pretty small, so don't get too caught up about it. If your back is not hurting you, you can probably tolerate it. However, it's not a bad idea to focus on lumbar extension as it may save you some day. Approach the lift with intensity and aggression and work to keep the back rigid.
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Looks like I was writing as blowdpanis was posting. A little repetition never hurt anyone.
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Part of my problem is that maybe I'm not really feeling what I should be through my hamstrings. I've done this shit so many times with improper form that It seems less like I'm using my legs at all and its all in a F'd up jerk motion with my back compensating for that. I guess It'll take some work to fix that. Thats what I get I suppose.
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Like someone else said, try pulling yourself into position before you initiate the lift and keeping everything tight. I see a bit of slack in your arms as you start the pull but if you were already pulling on the bar a bit and forcing your hips into position while keeping your back tight you would not have that problem and probably less rounding. Try reading how Ed Coan set up and that will give you a good idea. He has a good explanation of it.
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