Deadlift Form Check

[DavidG]

This is my first time wearing a weight belt doing deadlifts, and also first time wearing lifting shoes to deadlift. This weight is a bit of a deload, also.
I have a terrible problem falling back to RDL form because of my long arms. The horrible face you will see here is not so much the weight as my concentrated effort to push hips down. I also can't seem to figure out how to get my knees out of the way. video

Thank you for your help!
-David

[Ryan Arnold]

You are dropping your hips right away as you grip the bar. I'll post the steps as a reminder below. Follow them exactly. You probably don't need the belt in the DL yet. Put it on when you've mastered the squeeze, when the weight is a bit heavier, and wear it lower. The way to get your knees out of the way is to keep your hips higher:

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.

[DavidG]

Thank you for the great advice, Coach Arnold. I have tried to internalize those 5 setup steps. Here is what it looked like today: video. I am still having some trouble getting my knees out of the way.

Thanks again,
-David

[Mike Troxell]

You are dropping your hips at step 4, this causes the knees to move forward of the elbows. Notice the position of your knees in relation to your elbow after step 4, that is where they should remain. Remember, lift the chest to place the back in extension, then knees out to the elbows. Not so far out that you bend the elbows. Do not drop your hips! The bar should feel heavy in the hands and you want to "show off your chest" to your front.

Set-up:
Screen Shot 2020-07-22 at 5.24.21 PM.jpg

Start of the pull:
Screen Shot 2020-07-22 at 5.24.07 PM.jpg

[Ryan Arnold]

Thank you for the great advice, Coach Arnold. I have tried to internalize those 5 setup steps. Here is what it looked like today: video. I am still having some trouble getting my knees out of the way.

Thanks again,
-David

Yes much better. Breathe only at the bottom. Also adjust your gaze a bit. Look at a spot 10-12 feet in front of you(approximate if there is a wall there). Nice work