Deadlift Form Check

[Ben Shugart]

Coaches,

This'll probably be my last form check request, lest I become too burdensome on your free resources. I'm looking into either moving to an SSOC or getting some one-on-one sessions with the good folks at Atlanta Barbell. Either way, thanks, again, for your willingness to provide this service. You guys have been a tremendous help in getting my squat form dialed and in motivating me to improve my strength in ways I never imagined. A bit of my story:

Starting Weight: 163lb
Current Weight: 182lb

Starting Squat: 95lb
Current Squat: 215lb

Starting Press: 65lb
Current Press: 122.5 lb

Starting Bench: 135lb
Current Bench: 185lb

Starting DL: 135lb
Current DL: 265lb

I've worked through this weight since the beginning of 2018 with a couple resets along with way with an injury and a short, illness-induced hiatus from the effort. I have never accomplished anything so satisfying as the increases in strength I've seen over that period. I've always been a recreational endurance athlete: triathlons, half-marathons, mountain biking and I've always suffered back issues. Looking for a fix, I found this program by way of Brett McKay's "The Art of Manliness". It has, literally, changed my life (and my back!). Thank you to Rip and to the community of SSCs.

All that aside, here's what I see in the video below:

• Last rep was a big effing fail because I've been lazy about buying chalk. Almost dropped the weight on the way up, which is why that rep looks so damned janky.
• I can't tell for sure, but I feel like I may have come out in front of midfoot just a tad on reps 3, 4 and 5. Just a hair?
• I feel like my back is as straight and as rigid as a steel i-beam while I'm lifting, but in the video, I think I still see some slight flexion in my thoracic spine. What do you think?

And here's the video:
YouTube

Many Thanks,
Ben Shugart

[Karl Schudt]

Buy some chalk.

As you go through the reps, you are getting the barbell slightly too close to your shins. You can see this on the relationship between knees and elbows. Mark their position in rep 1, where you are set up correctly, and then see how your knees move back through the set. It's maybe 1/2 inch of movement, but it makes a difference and reduces the amount of knee extension you can get off the floor.

I would also like to see you pull more slack out of the barbell. Do step 4, get your chest up hard, and try to bend the barbell. You should feel 99% of the weight of the barbell in your hands and in your feet before you pull. Get your chest up hard, pause slightly, then start the deadlift by pushing your feet into the floor. Don't let your back change shape--just push your feet into the floor. You are jerking a little bit off the floor and losing some of your back extension in the first 2 inches of the pull.

Keep the barbell on your shins! As Rip says, "drag implies contact". Keeping the barbell on your shins will fix the problem of being on your toes.

[Ben Shugart]

Thanks, Karl. A few questions:

As you go through the reps, you are getting the barbell slightly too close to your shins. You can see this on the relationship between knees and elbows. Mark their position in rep 1, where you are set up correctly, and then see how your knees move back through the set. It's maybe 1/2 inch of movement, but it makes a difference and reduces the amount of knee extension you can get off the floor.

I see what you mean in reference to the relationship between my elbows and knees and wondered about that when I first watched my video (I recently learned to watch for this in your response to another member's deadlift form request, so thanks). My question is how to correct it. Should I be focused on controlling the bar path on the way down or should I just make sure to properly repeat steps 3, 4 and 5 of the setup prior to each rep? Do you ever advocate resetting entirely between reps, i.e. release my grip, stand up and repeat steps 1-5?

Thanks,
Ben Shugart

[Karl Schudt]

If the barbell is moving, then you are likely screwing it up somewhere on the way down. I think you dropped it too close to your shins after rep 2. But this is a convenient way to correct it in the middle of the set. Try to put it down in the right spot, and use this One Simple Trick to double check. You usually don't need to completely back off. That's a way to make a set of 5 become five sets of singles.

[Ben Shugart]

Thanks, Karl. I'll make this change in my next DL workout.