Deadlift: Upper Back and General Balance

[jordan_mc]

Hello, I have some concerns about my deadlift form... Something is not right. I hope you can help.

Context
Height = 6"2 (I raise the barbell on a 25KG plate for extra height)
Lifting Experience = Beginner (I've only studied Rips technique for the deadlift in the months I've been training)
Goal = Strength


Upper Back concern
When I stick my chest out, my upper back arches upwards. I have attached a picture for reference. I am yet to see a deadlift video where someone's back has an inverted curve. Can you see it? Is this a problem? I have uneducated guesses for why I might have this inverted curve around shoulder level, but I would like an expert assessment.

Balance and feet position
I'm yet to find a foot position which give me solid balance. I often notice myself falling back on my heels in a way that my toes come high off the floor. It is very unstable. I am experimenting with breaking the 1" rule by having the bar roughly 65% up my foot rather than 50% (see image for reference). I'm wondering what I am doing wrong for the 'shins 1" away from the bar' rule to be a problem for my balance. I am also experimenting with a greater angle.

It is not just falling onto my heels which is a problem. I can feel my feet roll to take the weight on the inside part of my foot. The blue scribble in the image shows the inward part of my foot where the weight rolls. Is there something I am doing wrong for this to happen? Or is spreading the weight across the whole of my foot something to be consciously learned?


Thanks in advance!
Jordan

[Maybach]

Your lower back is in hyperextension. Just don't extend it so far. Most people aren't flexible enough to hyperextend their back, so they have to try very hard to do so, which is why the emphasis is on cueing back extension. You have the opposite problem

I don't see anything wrong with your upper back. You might be noticing that it looks different than typical pictures because you're skinny.

The combination of the back overextension and the bizarre decision to elevate the barbell (These look like standard plates. Don't do this. You're only 6'2", not eight feet tall) are possibly to blame for your balance problems. Post a video of your lift so we can see.

[heinz83]

You are looking straight ahead. Look at a spot on the floor about 10 feet in front of you. This will help your upper back straighten out.

Also, what kind of shoes are you wearing, and what does your stance look like? A picture or video from another angle would help.

[Jason Donaldson]

You might also try looking at the floor, not the far wall. That affects your back angle, and isn't doing you any favors. That can mess with your balance over the foot, too.

A lot of the things you want to change will make a lot more sense as the bar gets heavy, by the way.

What kind of shoes are you wearing, and are you pushing your knees out?

Like Maybach said, video should help, and what're you thinking with raising the bar up on plates??

[jordan_mc]

I really appreciate your replies. I've uploaded a video of my lift. Feel free to make comments beyond the 2 points in my original post to further fix my lift.

Why Raise the Bar?
Because I struggle to get my back straight when picking it off the floor. I injured my lower back in my 2nd session of loading weight (not my second session of doing a deadlift, I had practiced form for roughly 4 weeks before loading weight). And I have made no progress in my deadlift 6 weeks after the injury. I feel 100% better now. This time I am being extra cautious before loading weight. By raising the bar I am thinking it will improve my form.

Upper Back Solved?
I will experiment with where I place my eyes and check how this effects my back. It appears my slight overextension isn't a problem and will be fixed with minor tweaks. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Shoes
My shoes are not specialist. They are light weight, cheap shoes which I had no intension of training in when I bought them. Please suggest a good shoe type/brand and I will buy.
When you watch the video, check my feet exclusively. You can see I am constantly juggling weight, and when I drop the bar I am more likely to fall back onto my heels and lift my toes. I can easily believe more weight will help here. But right now I am incredibly unbalanced.


I want to safely start loading weight again. If you can give more pointers on my form (and appropriate shoes) I am happy to load weight and see how my problems look then.

Thanks again.