Deadlift Followup

[lolnickybobby]

Hello all,
39 years old
5'9" (5'10" on a good day)
185, currently trying to make it to 200lbs on 3500 calories per day and 200g of protein.

Did my best to integrate the advice provided during last form check, so here is 270.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYrkRLbDa3I

Thank you,
Nic

[Jason Donaldson]

For your setup, I'd say try to squeeze yourself into place slowly on step five, instead of the aggressive jerk you're doing on most of your reps. Doing that runs the risk of jerking yourself or the bar out of position - it won't matter much...until it does. Build the tension slowly and surely until the bar breaks off the deck.

Zohar's recent article presents another good way to envision it: Improve the Deadlift’s Low Back Position off the Floor: A Conceptual Approach | Zohar Yermiyahu

[lolnickybobby]

For your setup, I'd say try to squeeze yourself into place slowly on step five, instead of the aggressive jerk you're doing on most of your reps. Doing that runs the risk of jerking yourself or the bar out of position - it won't matter much...until it does. Build the tension slowly and surely until the bar breaks off the deck.

Zohar's recent article presents another good way to envision it: Improve the Deadlift’s Low Back Position off the Floor: A Conceptual Approach | Zohar Yermiyahu

Thank you very much coach.
Working on it slowly but surely though I still seem to do it a bit based on my previous try.
It's almost as though I feel the need to 'wiggle' in to position before the pull on some reps lol.
Here is 280, should you be so inclined.
Thank you,
Nic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpVo_DDN0fc

[Hayden-William Courtland]

Your bending your elbows and pulling your body down and up into the bar during setup is not ideal. It can lead to inconsistencies in the setup. Get your setup with straight arms and then move on to the back flattening step. You need to work on flattening your back a bit better. Think of waving the squeeze slowly down your back while keeping your hips frozen in position. You can drill this motion a bit by lying on the floor on your belly and pulling your chest up off the ground. Also, in the lockout, stand up all the way so your hips are fully open.

[Jason Donaldson]

Thank you very much coach.
Working on it slowly but surely though I still seem to do it a bit based on my previous try.
It's almost as though I feel the need to 'wiggle' in to position before the pull on some reps lol.
Here is 280, should you be so inclined.
Thank you,
Nic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpVo_DDN0fc

One clarification - I am not an SSC. I'm just an inherently pedantic and nosy lifter, trying to help where I can.

Your bending your elbows and pulling your body down and up into the bar during setup is not ideal. It can lead to inconsistencies in the setup. Get your setup with straight arms and then move on to the back flattening step. You need to work on flattening your back a bit better. Think of waving the squeeze slowly down your back while keeping your hips frozen in position. You can drill this motion a bit by lying on the floor on your belly and pulling your chest up off the ground. Also, in the lockout, stand up all the way so your hips are fully open.

Mr. Courtland, however, IS an SSC, so - what he said.

From the psychology/mindset, angle, I'll say this:

The urge to wiggle around is somewhat understandable, but needs to be overcome. It may help to think of it this way - have you ever seen a professional athlete with a "ritual"? Like a baseball player who goes through the same set of quirks every single time he gets set on the plate at bat? As a lifter, it behooves you to come up with something similar, not as a form of superstition, but as a sort of preparatory process to ensure good performance. Doing the same thing every single time you set up will help you to become consistent and effective with both body and mind.

The SS five-step deadlift setup is an excellent, concise example of such a ritual, in that it provides all the necessary steps (and ONLY the necessary steps) for setting up to execute the lift correctly. Anything you add (like the jerking setup, the wiggling around, the rolling the bar on the deck some people do, and so on) will detract from, and in many cases counteract the necessary steps. As you make your setup consistent, you ensure that your body gets in the right place before each rep, and by repetition it also helps get your mind in place - "Ah, yes - we're deadlifting, just like countless times before."

I have personally found that such rituals help to squeeze out extraneous thoughts and the "bargaining" of my inner wuss that wants to stop after a deficient number of reps. There's just less time for that crap when I have my setup steps already under way....

There seems to be more room for individualization on the other lifts, but darned if the textbook deadlift setup isn't just about perfect for most everyone. Try approaching your setup from this point of view, and get everything else trimmed out, and I'll bet you'll see significant improvement as you do.

[Martin Shenfield]

One clarification - I am not an SSC. I'm just an inherently pedantic and nosy lifter, trying to help where I can.

You're also too humble. You've been right in many scenarios on the forum more times than I care to count.

[Jason Donaldson]

You're also too humble. You've been right in many scenarios on the forum more times than I care to count.

God bless you, sir - you're very kind, and I appreciate you. Thank you for your encouragement, and a very merry Christmas to you, your mum, and all your family. (And if this message doesn't clear moderation in time, then a happy Boxing Day to you all, as well - y'all do that limey holiday down there, too, right?)

[lolnickybobby]

Always appreciate the discussion here guys, thank you very much.

The good news is I managed to pull 300x5 and then 305x5, which are PRs for me (albeit not so impressive for a man my size but I'm happy to have broken 300). The bad news is I am back where I usually am after a few weeks on the NLP - with a pretty wrecked back.

To be fair I am almost 40 and have a messed up back to begin with (last MRI showed herniation at L4-L5 -which I got surgery on in 2016, bulging at L5-S1, stenosis, "degenerative changes" kinda everywhere, etc.). I'm well aware of what we think of MRI results around here, and I'm well aware that you guys train people who are way older and way more compromised than I am, so I'm staying hopeful, but I do have to find a way to work with this and keep progressing. Not sure how much I need another MRI and doctor telling me I shouldn't be lifting anything heavy.

There are no SSCs where I am from (Quebec, Canada), but I am travelling to Orlando at the end of the month, and it looks like I'll be able to get a 1 on 1 with someone at SS Orlando so we can look at my Squat and Deadlifts and hopefully see if I'm doing anything to irritate my back as I continue to work on increasing my compressive load tolerance.

If interested, here is my 300x5. I'm no SSC, but I have a feeling I'm not focussing on pushing the floor enough given I don't see my legs straightening as the first movement. Gonna see about that tomorrow...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRIRT6I1YBI

Thanks everyone, and lets hope 2025 moves us in the right direction.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Can't see your low-back set from this angle, but they don't look too bad otherwise. But my god, man, what is that obnoxious noise the background of these two videos? Do you listen to train wrecks too?

[Daltonar]

[QUOTE=Jason Donaldson;1907828]"Build the tension slowly and surely until the bar breaks off the deck. "

Echo. I've told several trainees to 'slip the clutch, don't dump it". Assuming they know how to drive a stick of course.