Deadlift form check

[Shion]

Hey guys, had my squat and PC checked out by Rip here: http://startingstrength.com/resource...ad.php?t=24123. I originally thought there was something wrong with my DL setup but he didn't mention it in the thread.

I went today to DL and I'm extremely paranoid about my lumbar rounding on that lift because I have a herniated L5/S1 caused precisely because back then I had no idea how to deadlift, and so I hurt myself pretty badly and stayed out of lifting for a long time.

The friend I lift with says I'm being overly anal about it and that the bit of rounding is 100% fine for the type of effort I'm doing. I'm posting here mostly to get feedback about that and any other things I may be missing. Thanks for the input.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgoBiMep6Hc

[jep6095]

Was this a PR set of singles?

You are not squeezing your chest up enough. You are not keeping your back locked in extension. You have cause to be concerned. Back off the weight and do a set where you can keep your back locked. Go up from there.

And fire the friend who says, "NICE!" after it clearly is not.

jp

[Shion]

It's a set of 5, I simply reset my starting position after every rep to try and keep my back as extended as possible. Paranoid about extension and all.

I will try and squeeze my chest up even harder than I am now and see what happens from there. If I still can't keep my back where it should be I'll back the weight off and start back up from there. I think the fact that my torso is basically parallel to the floor when I DL isn't doing me any favours. Stupid long legs.

[jep6095]

You'll need to keep your hands on the bar in order to call it a set of 5. Letting go of the bar and re-gripping (which is not the same as resetting) has done nothing for your back extension.

Your legs are not unnecessarily long to your torso. You're setting up with the bar behind the middle of your foot, therefore making your shins vertical off the floor. Bar over middle of foot; shins to bar; engage your quads. They enjoy the deadlift.

jp

[usgetata]

Looks like we are having similar problem on DL.(of cause you are on much heavier weight)
I did what jep6095 suggested by giving my shin a little more space in the setup, and it seemed to help a bit.

[Shion]

You'll need to keep your hands on the bar in order to call it a set of 5. Letting go of the bar and re-gripping (which is not the same as resetting) has done nothing for your back extension.

Your legs are not unnecessarily long to your torso. You're setting up with the bar behind the middle of your foot, therefore making your shins vertical off the floor. Bar over middle of foot; shins to bar; engage your quads. They enjoy the deadlift.

jp

I will try setting up with my shins a bit farther from the bar and see what happens. It makes sense, I pretty much never feel my quads do anything when I DL. Thanks for the feedback.

[IlPrincipeBrutto]

Hi,

you are setting up with your shoulders almost lower than your hips, which means most of the work is done by your back.
As suggested by others, give your shins a bit more space; this should enable you to bend the knees more. It will also make it easier to set your back better, which is an aspect of your lift that could be improved.

IPB

[JiP]

You'll need to keep your hands on the bar in order to call it a set of 5. Letting go of the bar and re-gripping (which is not the same as resetting) has done nothing for your back extension.

Your legs are not unnecessarily long to your torso. You're setting up with the bar behind the middle of your foot, therefore making your shins vertical off the floor. Bar over middle of foot; shins to bar; engage your quads. They enjoy the deadlift.

jp

Good advice.

[JB1981]

You'll need to keep your hands on the bar in order to call it a set of 5. Letting go of the bar and re-gripping (which is not the same as resetting) has done nothing for your back extension.

Your legs are not unnecessarily long to your torso. You're setting up with the bar behind the middle of your foot, therefore making your shins vertical off the floor. Bar over middle of foot; shins to bar; engage your quads. They enjoy the deadlift.

jp

Was going to post this exact thing.

[Shion]

Just tried positioning the bar further from my shins today (though that is way further than the one inch Rip advocates, it's probably closer to two inches) and I definitely felt an improvement on strength off the floor. I didn't go very heavy though, just wanted to try the new position. I'll get a video up after next week with a working weight.