faster second deadlift rep

[dangimal]

Hello,
I've been following a program that prescribes a lot of doubles for the squat and deadlift. One thing I've been noticing with my deadlift is that my first rep is usually noticably slower than my second rep and my second rep usually has tighter and better form. This makes me wonder if my 1RM would suffer since my initial lift feels sometimes harder than the second. My main question is are there any tools or suggestions to get that first rep to move at the same speed and tightness as the second?

Thank you for your time
Dan G

[Mark Rippetoe]

Are you bouncing/touch and go-ing the second rep?

[Ello]

Are you bouncing/touch and go-ing the second rep?

DejaVu? Didn't a thread like this just pop up around a week ago?

[Will Morris]

I notice this in people I'm coaching when they reset for their second rep, they tend to bend their knees a little bit further and create more of an explosive push off the ground. One thing you will notice when people do that is they tend to round at the back really bad when they do this. I've been able to correct it in guys when they set the weight down, I cue them to roll their shoulders back and then remind them to open their knee angle followed by hip angle.

[Troy-SBCF]

Assuming you are doing individual reps:

Have someone watch you and note your hip position. You may be starting with your hips too low and correcting it on the second rep.

[JPC]

When I do multiple reps on deadlift, I pause at the bottom long enough to focus on setting my back, and take a deep breath, and still the second rep is easier than the first, its the stretch reflex of the eccentric that you don't get on the first rep, and the stretch reflex can last a few seconds. If you want to counteract this, then do 2 singles instead of a true double, and let go of the bar and stand up for a few breaths before the second single.

[Paperclip]

When I do multiple reps on deadlift, I pause at the bottom long enough to focus on setting my back, and take a deep breath, and still the second rep is easier than the first, its the stretch reflex of the eccentric that you don't get on the first rep, and the stretch reflex can last a few seconds.

Is there actually any (noticable) stretch reflex on deadlifts? Especially when you put the weight down on the floor.

[Tenbagger]

the stretch reflex can last a few seconds

No. I don't think so.

[rpbrown]

That doesn't make sense, a reflex lasting more than a second. The reflex is basically a return to equilibrium position of a spring (the muscle/connective tissue) by a restoring force (the reflex). Acceleration is the greatest immediately after the system is stretched to its maximum position and it doesn't slowly return to normal over a span of several seconds. Unless the physics of simple springs is wrong.

[JPC]

Anytime you perform a loaded eccentric immediately before a concentric, the concentric is stronger than if you started with the concentric, and it is not just from bouncing it. Try it with the bench press. Do a regular bench press with a 2 second pause on the chest, and then try a bottom position start off pins with the same weight. The first will be easier. You didn't bounce it off anything. I don't know how long the stretch reflex lasts but Lou Simmons wrote(in a PL USA article years ago) that it lasted longer than a legal pause in the bench press. I imagine he has read the research somewhere, or maybe he pulled it out his ass and I'm a fool for repeating it. Regardless, something about the loaded eccentric allows for a stronger concentric, even with a slight pause.