starting strength gym
Results 1 to 6 of 6

Thread: Deadlift Form Check

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Posts
    17

    Default Deadlift Form Check

    • starting strength seminar april 2024
    • starting strength seminar jume 2024
    • starting strength seminar august 2024
    I've come a long way on my deadlift. I thought my form was fantastic, but someone came up to me in the gym and recorded me, and my back looked like a banana. Since then, I've always struggled to brace hard enough, but I've really been fighting for the chest up position and squeezing my abs. I've had some hip pain (below my waistband - right above my asscrack), but I feel that pain more pronounced in my squat, and I only get a residual feeling from it in the deadlift (so I don't think this lift is causing that pain - though I could be wrong). I've been trying to work on not exhaling at the top (got into that habit at lower weights and now it is making the trip down a lot harder.

    285x5

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    1,541

    Default

    Hey Josh
    Yeah, you don't look like you're getting your lumbar spine set at all here. Can you get it flat without the belt at lower weight? Try a hole looser and see if that helps.
    When you lift the chest, drop your junk between your legs and "present" your butt to the wall behind you. Think of it as a slow, deliberate squeeze into extension rather than a "snap".

    Once you get the back flat, you need to quit pulling around your knees off the ground. See how the bar breaks off the ground and your knees stay put? Your quads are being lazy bitches and aren't helping you with your deadlift. The break off the ground is knee extension. Set the back, and drive the floor away with your feet. It's subtle, but should be addressed.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Posts
    17

    Default

    Thanks, Pete. I will try this on my next training session on Monday. Should I post the new video on this thread or start a new one?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    1,541

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2020
    Posts
    17

    Default

    Hey Pete,

    I trained today, and I recorded my warmup sets, as I wanted to see my back without my belt, and I tried to focus on your cues, but my quads are still not getting involved at all. I can feel that my back is doing all of the work pulling it off the ground, and I think I disguised that previously by trying to make the movement more explosive off the floor. I've watched some Starting Strength content (or prior affiliates - like Baraki and Thrall at Barbell Medicine) on this issue, but I can't seem to get my legs to work in the deadlift. I figure it has to be something mental, but I can't quite pinpoint what. Unfortunately, I live in North Carolina, so there are no SS or SS-affiliated gyms nearby.

    225x1 warmup


    265x1 warmup


    I know the forum doesn't like 1 rep, but I didn't want to do my work set seeing that my poor form could injure me, so I hope that these can provide a clue as to my problem.

    Thanks again.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Posts
    1,541

    Default

    starting strength coach development program
    Yeah, please post sets of 5. The weight is pretty light for you and I don't think you're in great danger of injuring yourself.
    These looked better than the first set you posted.

    Think about staying out over the bar for the first few inches of the pull off the ground while you drive the floor away with the feet.
    Or, pull the knees back as you keep the bar on your legs.
    Or, think about preserving the back angle the first few inches off the ground and don't be in such a rush to get behind the bar.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •