Deadlift form check please? (Tight hamstring / thoracic flexion edition)

[losvedir]

Hi everyone,

My friend and I began Starting Strength two weeks ago, first time working with barbells.

Can you critique our Deadlift form?

First: me, Gabe, bodyweight 185 lbs (84 kg), height 6' 0" (183 cm), lifting 155 lbs (70 kg).



Second: friend, Jason, bodyweight 155 lbs (70 kg), height 5' 11" (181 cm), lifting 155 lbs (70 kg).

He is extremely inflexible in his hamstrings. Legs straight, he can reach about halfway down his shins. Consequently, he has trouble bending over for the deadlift while keeping his back straight.

He can't seem to get his back perfectly flat. I think his lumbar spine is neutral, though his thoracic spine is in flexion (since keeping it neutral as well, he can't reach the bar). Starting Strength mentioned that advanced powerlifters sometimes do this so the bar doesn't travel as far, so does that mean lumbar-neutral / thoracic-flexion is not bad for the spine?

Can y'all take a look and let us know what you think? Should he hold off on deadlifts until he can limber up his hamstrings? Does it look okay like this?



Thanks!

[MattJ.D.]

you both are really lanky fuck...but first off, both of you need to stop letting go of the bar between reps and speed it up, now to the individual

your back seems pretty flat, as the weight gets heavier just think of pulling the chest up and driving the heels into the ground, if you can do that you should continue to be fine. The reason I say is because right now it seems like you are pulling with your back

now your friend seriously needs to pull his chest up before he pulls, I don't think his thoracic rounding is a cause of tight hamstrings, more of a cause of not knowing how to extend it. Rips back control video may be good, although thats more lumbar

and advanced powerlifters can pull how they damn well like, they have the supporting musculature to support it, and your friend should keep on deadlifting. How else is he supposed to correct the movement without practicing it? I mean how do you get Carnegei Hall?..practice,practice,practice

[MikeC1]

First you. Except for your setup, your deadlift is fine. Setting up: Don't get too hung up on keeping the bar exactly over the middle of your foot. Bend your knees more so that your hips start lower and your back is less horizontal. If you can do this without moving your knees forward, that is great. If your knees move forward a little, that is still okay (if the bar gets pushed out to over your toes, then you've moved your knees too far forward). Your thighs currently make about a 45 degree angle with the ground; try to get it closer to about 30 degrees. Unrelated suggestion, angle your head down a little more, so that your cervical spine is held in a more neutral position.

Your friend needs to do the same thing, he needs to get his butt lower in the setup position, and he needs to actively and consciously extend his lumbar AND thoracic spine. He's not too inflexible to get into a good position, he just doesn't yet know how to get into a good position. Have him first get his back set properly (before gripping the bar; bend the knees and hips, lean forward, and set the back in extension), and then tell him to bend his knees to lower himself down to where he can reach the bar. At this point the balance won't be perfect, but he needs to get this fixed first before working on adjusting the balance. Next, during his actual pull, notice how his legs have almost completely straightened by the time the bar is around his knees. He needs to work on keeping his knee angle a little more constant during the first half and focus more on opening the hip; if he does this correctly, he will feel it in his quads. The end goal of course is to get these to happen in coordination.