Deadlift - Poor form, need help

[mdavis6890]

Hey guys, thanks for all the help. I've been lurking for a while, and have gotten MUCH stronger in the short time I've been doing SS.

I've had back control issues all around. I've gotten a lot better in the last couple of weeks on my squat, but i'm still having serious issues with the deadlift.

Would you take a look at these and let me know how I could be doing better? Start with the glaring stuff - it's too aweful - I'm sure - for fine-tuning at this point.

135 x 3:


185 x 3


Thanks,
Michael

[Brodie Butland]

There are two obvious problems that you need to fix to even have a chance at a passable deadlift:

(1) You're setting up too far away from the bar. Should be about 1 inch when you're standing straight up.

(2) You don't make any effort whatsoever to set your lower back. It's in full flexion even before you begin the pull.

The former is easy to fix--just start the bar over your midfoot. The latter will require looking at the back position control video in the Resources section, because I'm not sure you actually know how to extend your lower back from these videos.

[mdavis6890]

Is this any better? I think I know which muscles to use. I can flex my lower back easily when standing upright, but I seem to have a lot of trouble when over (or under) the bar.




Sidenote: I just got a GripTight iPhone holder and have it hung from the ceiling for these videos. Is it a good angle?

Thanks again!

[Ales]

It’s not bad angle, your setup can be seen.
You have to set up your lower back better from the beginning. If you have watched the lower back position control and you say that you’re able to arch your lower back standing, you can try a separate exercise to reach this position under the bar. It is simply to try to arch your lower back standing up, and then go down as if you were going to catch the bar on the floor trying to maintain the back tightness too see how far you can go down in this position, and getting it in an incremental way though repetition.
Once you know to control your back muscles, you have to reproduce it with the bar in the deadlift. Specially during setup, you have to arch your lower back for the rest of the lift, and it is accomplished also by getting your chest up hard (I’d suggest with a moderate weight to do this without raising the bar not willing just before the time to pull) and taking a big breath, very very important (Valsalva maneuver).

[Squeakyguy]

Deadlift with the 45s from the floor, that's the only way you'll get the setup right. I angle my knees out 30 degrees to afford my torso room to set my lower back tight. Repost a video at 135. I also find it's hard to get tight against light weights, so do 155 or 185 if those aren't too heavy. You need to get SQUOZE (squeezing your back super tight from top to bottom). I try to "drop my dick down" (tilt the pelvis) to get that last bit of lower back tightness.

Once you start the pull, push your heels through the floor, lifting the bar up with your legs while keeping your back angle constant relative to the floor until the bar passes your knees. Only once the bar passes your knees do you open your hips and bring your torso up. Drag the bar up your legs.