Form Check: Deadlift 277.5lbs

[Kyle Williams]

Deadlift at 277.5lbs. I've had a steady increase in weight and haven't hit a plateau yet, but the weight is becoming very heavy. I'm saving up for lifting shoes and straps. Apologies for the black pants.

[Hayden-William Courtland]

You are setting up with your body rocked forward about your ankles making your balance not on midfoot - get back on midfoot (off your toes). You are also squeezing (flattening) your back without pulling all the slack out of the bar. It looks like you are wearing a 4" belt. I would get a 3" belt. You are likely going to run into problems setting your back with a 4".

[Kyle Williams]

Yes it is a 4" belt. Is it ideal to use a 3" on all other lifts? I have a prior back injury. Ruptured S1 and bulged L5.

[Hayden-William Courtland]

It depends on your torso length. If you can comfortably wear the 4" for the other lifts, then that is fine (I use a 4" for the other lifts as I am 6'3"). It's just that for the DL, pretty universally, it is difficult to set your back with 4" of leather covering the region you are trying to manipulate.

[Jason Donaldson]

It depends on your torso length. If you can comfortably wear the 4" for the other lifts, then that is fine (I use a 4" for the other lifts as I am 6'3"). It's just that for the DL, pretty universally, it is difficult to set your back with 4" of leather covering the region you are trying to manipulate.

Am I thinking correctly that the main reason for this has to do with the fact that you're setting up with so much hip flexion at the bottom of the DL? The squat takes you to (and past) that degree of crowding between the thighs and the torso, but it does so in motion, vs. the DL setup having to wedge into it statically, such that there's no momentum to force everything into position (and rebound off of it, for that matter, especially if one has a belly also contesting for space). The narrower belt therefore intrudes less into the contested region, making DL setup easier to do without compromise.

Or am I just thinking this because I'm carrying extra prosperity in my midsection?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Am I thinking correctly that the main reason for this has to do with the fact that you're setting up with so much hip flexion at the bottom of the DL? The squat takes you to (and past) that degree of crowding between the thighs and the torso, but it does so in motion, vs. the DL setup having to wedge into it statically, such that there's no momentum to force everything into position (and rebound off of it, for that matter, especially if one has a belly also contesting for space). The narrower belt therefore intrudes less into the contested region, making DL setup easier to do without compromise.

That's right. The squat carries the position, already tightened, into the bottom eccentrically, whereas the pull has to set the position from loose to tight without the help of the eccentric descent.