Deadlift form check

[Pekka Korolainen]

Back at it after some low-back trouble. Any tips?

YouTube

[Ryan Arnold]

Pretty good. You could probably focus a little more on the Squeeze at the bottom. Chest up. Arch low back

[Pekka Korolainen]

Pretty good. You could probably focus a little more on the Squeeze at the bottom. Chest up. Arch low back

Thanks Ryan! Took the shoes off for the deadlift.

More focus in the beginning to pull my shoulders back and trying to arch my back:

60kg x 5 from the rear quarter: YouTube
65kg x 5 (work set) from the front quarter: YouTube

[Ryan Arnold]

Better squeeze, so keep that up. But forget about your shoulders. You are dropping your hips. Follow these steps:

The Deadlift: Perfect Every Time:

1. Take your stance, feet a little closer than you think it needs to be and with your toes out more than you like. Your shins should be about one inch from the bar, no more. This places the bar over the mid-foot – the whole foot, not the mid-instep.

2. Take your grip on the bar, leaving your hips up. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

3. Drop your knees forward and out until your shins touch the bar. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

4. Hard part: squeeze your chest up as hard as you can. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR. This establishes a "wave" of extension that goes all the way down to the lumbar, and sets the back angle from the top down. DO NOT LOWER YOUR HIPS – LIFT THE CHEST TO SET THE BACK ANGLE.

5. Squeeze the bar off the floor and drag it up your legs in contact with your skin/sweats until it locks out at the top. If you have done the above sequence precisely as described, the bar will come off the ground in a perfectly vertical path. All the slack will have come out of the arms and hamstrings in step 4, the bar will not jerk off the ground, and your back will be in good extension. You will perceive that your hips are too high, but if you have completed step 4 correctly, the scapulas, bar, and mid-foot will be in vertical alignment and the pull will be perfect. The pull will seem "shorter" this way.

[Pekka Korolainen]

Thanks Ryan! TD:PET instructions very good!

65kg rear quarter: YouTube
70kg (work set) front: YouTube

A bunch of twiddling with the foot position, wanted to get it right. Dunno if the belt helped but didn't seem to hinder either, I kept it as tight as the last set of the squats (as tight as possible).

[Ryan Arnold]

It looks like your heels are touching. Most people will feel most comfortable with a narrow stance but not so narrow that your feet actually touch. So I would widen a bit - maybe 6-8 inches distance between the heels. Much better hip position. I would not add the belt in on the DL quite yet. But it is a good sign that it felt ok. Generally you want to make sure your technique holds up through heavier weights before adding in the belt with the DL

[Pekka Korolainen]

Thanks Ryan. About 5-6 inches between the heels (maybe 2 inches in the previous vid), should I widen a bit still? Was going for 75kg (165lb) but 5x65 and 3x70 felt so heavy I decided to tone it down. In the last rep I felt my obliques working like never before, this was two days ago and I have quite bad DOMS in my back thighs since yesterday, this adjustment to the hip height really did wonders!

As the movement feels so different now than what I was used to doing, just wanted to do a check before I slap on more weight:

YouTube

[Ryan Arnold]

If that stance feels good you can stick with it. Yes these look good. You have my permission to add weight. Keep focusing on squeezing the chest up at the bottom(without dropping the hips). Remember the bottom position is SUPPOSED to be uncomfortable. Squeeze hard.

[Pekka Korolainen]

Thanks Ryan, I'll work on these and check back later.

All the best!

[Pekka Korolainen]

Couple of weeks later:

YouTube

Felt dizzy after the first rep, that's why I took my time. Head position ok? More squeeze still?