deadlift starting position help

[awwwwfuq]

today, i hit a pr of 635 for a deficit deadlift, which now puts it on par with the my regular deadlift max (635 also). despite this, i have not done deficits in over 3 months and i rarely practice deficit, if at all. the main difference I notice is how my knees protrude out during a deficit (pic), which could possibly mean I have more leg drive(???). and just to throw it in, deficit deadlifts have always felt faster and less straining on my lower back. i have stumbled upon several sources... more specifically yours, suggesting the use of olympic shoes to deadlift. In all honesty, i do not know my body mechanics well enough to dissect and patch. advices are greatly appreciated... i been struggling with this for over a year... and did everything from switching to overhand hook grip to sumo stance and then back to conventional. the only thing that seemed to help with a 3 inch block under my feet. i took a snap of my starting position before the bar leaves the floor but if you need a video i will upload one too.


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[Mark Rippetoe]

Have you tried pulling in weightlifting shoes?

[awwwwfuq]

I have tried out Romaleos to deadlift and there is a noticeable forward shift that threw me off and caused my hips to shoot up before my shoulders. this occurred during rep works; I have never maxed out or gone for triples in weightlifting shoes. Should I stand by weightlifting shoes for a longer period of time to warrant results?

these are the only videos I currently have for comparison. though they were taken at different time periods and are at different weights, my form remained consistent even until today. the only thing that changed is now I'm using double overhand hook.

conventional http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgoV3oYxPt4
deficit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSYBm5UO_kI

[Mark Rippetoe]

I have tried out Romaleos to deadlift and there is a noticeable forward shift that threw me off and caused my hips to shoot up before my shoulders. this occurred during rep works; I have never maxed out or gone for triples in weightlifting shoes. Should I stand by weightlifting shoes for a longer period of time to warrant results?

Use the shoes long enough to get better at using them. If your hips shot up/back angle went horizontal, that's a form issue to correct, not something to blame on the shoes. But this primarily illustrates the fact that deficit deadlifts aren't much good for the deadlift. If you can do just as much weight, how is this going to move up the standard version of the lift? It hasn't so far, and it probably won't.