Deadlift Form

[NJLifter]

Following up on a previous submission, it is still ugly. So ugly I was hesitant to submit but no cue seems to work in setting my back. This is 365 that felt like it moved well but clearly the feel versus real isn't in my favor. I have tried dropping my stomach between the legs, chest up, pulling slack out, etc. All results in the same. On rep 4 i felt a strange pull on my left tricep so I dropped the bar and it's aching.

September 20, 2023 - YouTube

Any tips are helpful.

Thanks

[Matt James]

Are you familiar with the five step setup? It looks like you're rushing or skipping step 4 completely.

[BareSteel]

Your eye is correct that you need to do a better job of setting the back. Take your time and go through each of the five deadlift setup steps with intention, really focusing on squeezing the chest up hard. Lighten the load so that it is not a limiting factor in you maintaining extension when the bar breaks off the floor. This is a common thing that novice lifers need to work on.

Don’t forget to also stand up at the top and finish each rep. It looked like these reps were just a little shy from a complete lockout.

[Eric Schexnayder]

I don’t see you doing any of those cues. I see you bringing the shins to the bar and then pulling immediately. You need to slow down and take some time to actually set your back, then pull.

Hard to tell from angle but the bar might be a little too forward.

[heinz83]

Way too fast on the set up. Is the bar 1" from your shins before you bend over?

[NJLifter]

Thank you all. I think bar needs to be closer at setup and agree with rushing through the steps.

[Nicholas Laureys]

In addition to all the other critiques:

You are bending your knees first to initiate lowering the bar back to the ground, which makes the bar go around your knees and further destroys any correct mid-foot positioning you may have had on the ascent from off the floor. For the descent you should be sending your butt back first, this keeps the bar descending in a straight line down your legs, but I suspect some mental apprehension about hurting your back has you bending your knees to descend (and bending your knees far too much before breaking the bar off the floor BTW; the Functional Fitness crowd calls these squatlifts if I am not mistaken). Lots of quality vids from SS and other 'influencers' who follow the SS method (such as Alan Thrall) so watch&research all of those throughly, and even have your favorite vid queued up to watch between worksets of your preceding lifts to help ingrain the movement patterns into your head.

For your video logistics we need a 45 degree front angle to give you the best feedback. And download some free video editor app to make your upright video horizontal (the editor apps add empty black borders to both sides) so that YouTube doesn't turn it into a Short.

[NJLifter]

Thank you. One of the cues that is helping me is telling myself to keep the knee caps behind the bar before the pull which on video has the bar coming up in a straigther line. Also modified how I hold the bar in my hands which has helped me leverage the bar to help set the lower back. Working my way up from 185, lol.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Thank you. One of the cues that is helping me is telling myself to keep the knee caps behind the bar before the pull which on video has the bar coming up in a straigther line.

But if you actually keep your patellas behind the bar before the pull, you're not in the correct position to pull. Is this just a cue, or is it something you're really doing?

[NJLifter]

In addition to all the other critiques:

You are bending your knees first to initiate lowering the bar back to the ground, which makes the bar go around your knees and further destroys any correct mid-foot positioning you may have had on the ascent from off the floor. For the descent you should be sending your butt back first, this keeps the bar descending in a straight line down your legs, but I suspect some mental apprehension about hurting your back has you bending your knees to descend (and bending your knees far too much before breaking the bar off the floor BTW; the Functional Fitness crowd calls these squatlifts if I am not mistaken). Lots of quality vids from SS and other 'influencers' who follow the SS method (such as Alan Thrall) so watch&research all of those throughly, and even have your favorite vid queued up to watch between worksets of your preceding lifts to help ingrain the movement patterns into your head.

For your video logistics we need a 45 degree front angle to give you the best feedback. And download some free video editor app to make your upright video horizontal (the editor apps add empty black borders to both sides) so that YouTube doesn't turn it into a Short.

Here is the video at the angle you specified. I agree, there is some knee bend to start the movement. I'll need to work on that. I am trying to work on feeling as though the knee bend is putting my knees being the bar at the start of the pull. In response to Mark's comment on here, I do not think that is actually happening. I do feel like my back positioning is improving little by little as use my grip to pull the slack out and tighten my back. I did a better job of this starting at rep 2. Rep 1 was a bit rushed as it pertains to step 4 of 5 in the process. As a side note, while resetting the weight for technique work i'm also using the hook grip to try and ingraine that so down the road I can apply it on heavier loads.

September 25, 2023 - YouTube