Originally Posted by
Mr. Gravity
I stirred quite a discussion with my little video.
In fact, I have bought 3 of Rippetoe's Books and although I haven't studied them in detail yet, I have at least gotten a basic impression of it's content.
I doubt anybody on this board started with a perfect deadlift and most people aren't able to judge their own technique without some feedback.
I think the reason why I have adopted the rather odd starting position is not a lack of knowledge but rather the only way I have been able to reach a neutral spine.
When I start with the hips higher and the shoulders over the bar the lumbar spine is always slightly rounded and never in an arch (neutral). I attribute this to my tight hamstrings.
Next time I will attempt to reach neutral spine through proper chest-up butt-out and not by sacrificing my starting position.
I also second the notion to create a Sticky with a basic Form-Checklist, as the Deadlift description in Starting Strenght spans 41 pages, and it's rather easy to get lost in Mark's detailed description.