Deadlift upper back rounding

[nkupianist]

When factoring rates, do bear in mind that you might only see a coach once a month. From my experience, a first session with one can really clean up a lot at once, especially if you dedicated much of the session to your worst lifts. You might go weeks to a month or two on your own after that and see them for a tune up. If your schedule permits, also don't be afraid to drive a couple hours to see someone if their rates work better for you. My city doesn't have any overly close - I have 2 coaches that are equidistant at about 90 miles away, and I've visited both now. Ultimately your choice, and I suppose you have nothing to lose by visiting, but I wouldn't expect the powerlifting gym to be a great place for a novice learning the lifts just because they have some heavy lifters. Just look at the technique of some of the people on Instagram who belong to powerlifting gyms to see what I mean. But hey, all your choice - best of luck with whatever you decide.

[timelinex]

People just think your not trying to straighten your back hard enough because your being a pussy. Maybe thats the case, but I personally know that it could also just be because you have terrible flexibility and/or shorter arms.

If you are truly trying as hard as you can to straighten you back and you are having difficulty with flexibility, do RDL's. Make sure to straighten your entire back at the top and only go as far down as you can until going any further will make you bend your lower or upper back. 6 months ago this was literally only till my knees! Do this multiple times a week adding weight to it like any other exercise and eventually you will be stretched out. I can now get into the deadlift position and straighten my back, but JUST BARELY. So it will not be a short road, but it is one that you need to take if you will ever be flexible enough. I haven't heard or seen anyone post a better way yet. I know Rip mentioned ART (active release therapy), but I have not done it so I cannot speak to its effectiveness.

I saw an SSC coach recently and he agreed that my best bet at the current time is still doing a set or two of RDL's as warmup to my deadlifting. Otherwise I can't get into the position without rounding my back.

[nkupianist]

Interesting @timelinex, because I've considered trying this exact approach in lieu of one of my two sets of 135 that I do for deadlift warmups. Just curious - how long did it take to get you towhere you could set up in the proper position? Was it the full 6 months you referenced above, or less time? I usually find that even one set of "air RDLs" gets me from knees to a couple inches below, but curious about your experience.

[timelinex]

Interesting @timelinex, because I've considered trying this exact approach in lieu of one of my two sets of 135 that I do for deadlift warmups. Just curious - how long did it take to get you towhere you could set up in the proper position? Was it the full 6 months you referenced above, or less time? I usually find that even one set of "air RDLs" gets me from knees to a couple inches below, but curious about your experience.

I can't tell you for sure. The most progress came in the first month or two if I remember correctly. At a certain point, progress leveled off because I cut back on doing it except for a light warmup for deadlifts (135lb). In the last 2 weeks I have decided that was a mistake and started doing it as a much heavier warmup (185lb) and will be driving that weight up slowly.

I know deadlifting with curvature isn't considered good, and I'm not saying it is (or have the proper credentials to be able to even make that official assessment). But I do think we are all predisposed to different amounts of tolerance to it. It probably has to do with how much natural kyphosis and lordosis we all have in our spines. I definitely have more upper back kyphosis and a more neutral lower back (instead of lordosis) than the average guy. It could be genetic or it could be my shit posture I had for years before starting SS combined with years of office work.

Regardless, I do know that before I learned the proper deadlift form I would pull my back every 2 or 3 times I deadlifted. I would also randomly pull my back just from life. I'm talking about sharp pain anytime I would do any bending.

When I learned the proper form 6 months or so ago (from SS) and just took out as much slack as I possibly could (honestly trying as hard as I could to flatten my back before pulling), I have literally not had 1 pulled back since. Anecdotal evidence? For sure. But I'm happy with the results, versus just waiting till I get flexible enough to get strong. It's been pretty amazing. I have pulled my back multiple times a year for 13+ years. This year so far I haven't done it once even though I'm lifting heavier weights than ever and not doing the 'picture perfect back form' on deadlifts. I have no reason to believe that a flat back isn't still even safer for me, so I will continue to strive to get this. But I won't let it prevent me from lifting if it's not even hurting me.

[nkupianist]

You're exactly where I am. Every low point I've had lifting has been focusing on technique with no focus on strength or vice versa; when worked on together, one strengthens the other. Like you, I've done more pulls than I'd like from less than optimal position, but my back feels better now than when I was slaving away at 135 on all my lifts with a sole focus on form.
Thanks for the info. I may give the RDL warm up a shot.

[timistim]

Update:

I did some hunting around in the FAQ's and I found a post that talked about pointing your toes out some when you setup. I always kept my toes pointed straight forward, this minor adjustment made an improvement in my deadlift form. I am also now setting the bar completely down between sets and it is a hell of a lot harder that way. Felt it way more in my back when I did that. I am probably going to need to back the weight off some with the new setup and dead stop method. Hope this helps someone else out there.