Deadlift Form Check - Road to 150kg

[lspr_93]

Video: https://youtu.be/g_jsa_mvQnU?feature=shared

Height: 168cm/5'6".
Weight: 113kg/249lbs.

Sleeping: ~7-9 hours per night.
Eating: ~3500 kcals per day. ~240g of protein per day.
Resting: ~6 minutes after the last warmup.

Weight on the bar: 146kg/322lbs.

At the end of 2024 I attempted 5x150kg but failed. So I reseted the weight a bit and moved the deadlift to Wednesdays on an intermediate program. I was alternating it with power cleans.

I am going to match my previous PR (5x148kg) next week and could use some comments on my form.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Deadlift Grip Adjustments | Nick Delgadillo

How to Use Straps | Nick Delgadillo

[lspr_93]

Deadlift Grip Adjustments | Nick Delgadillo

How to Use Straps | Nick Delgadillo

I am using the hook grip. I got used to it and feel no pain nor does the bar feel like it is going to slip any time soon. But I have no issues with using straps if you think it would help.

I forgot to mention how I failed the 5x150kg. I failed twice: in the first attempt, the bar didn't even move despite me trying to pull for more than six seconds; the second attempt (next deadlift workout) I managed to get the bar off the floor but it didn't move past my knees.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Just for the hell of it, try the straps.

[Barry Halls]

Why are you spending so much time holding onto the bar, but not moving it? Speed this up, you’re just losing tension and abdominal pressure with each second you spend bent over.

[Jason Donaldson]

When you initiate each rep, you're dropping your hips and rocking your weight back, straightening your torso at the start to pull the bar off the deck.

Instead, keep your shoulders forward longer, keep the hips high, and straighten your knees to push the ground away. (Or "leg press the floor", as it's sometimes cued.)

We call the deadlift a "pull", but you have to push down with your legs.

[Cole Gorton]

When you initiate each rep, you're dropping your hips and rocking your weight back, straightening your torso at the start to pull the bar off the deck.

i noticed the same thing and its casuing the bar to roll forward ever so slightly before it leaves the ground, forcing you to correct it back over mid foot as you are pulling it up. thats an additional moment arm that is making the lift less efficient. i tend to do the same thing when its heavy i drop the hips right before initiating the pull almost as a subconcsious attempt to create extra momemtem or something. like jason said, think of it as pushing the bar away from the floor with your quads.

[deborahlebl]

It appears to me that you're trying to pull the bar off the floor rather than push the floor away with your legs. I know because I wasted time doing that for years before I figured it out.

Something that really helped me develop the ability to push the floor away was doing deficit deadlifts. Stand on a plate or a sturdy platform 1-2" off the floor for a set of 5. Train it as a medium-weight accessory once a week for a while.

Better yet, hire an SSC for in person or online coaching.

[lspr_93]

I managed to get the 5x150kg PR two weeks ago using straps. It was easier to setup.

Why are you spending so much time holding onto the bar, but not moving it? Speed this up, you’re just losing tension and abdominal pressure with each second you spend bent over.

Yeah, I know that taking less time between sets make it go easier, I'm working on it. If you meant the setup before moving the bar up, it does take time as I have a bit of an OCD kinda thing going on where I must correctly grip my thumb.

When you initiate each rep, you're dropping your hips and rocking your weight back, straightening your torso at the start to pull the bar off the deck.

Instead, keep your shoulders forward longer, keep the hips high, and straighten your knees to push the ground away. (Or "leg press the floor", as it's sometimes cued.)

We call the deadlift a "pull", but you have to push down with your legs.

I didn't notice I was dropping the hips, I had that problem and fixed it, but... form creep I guess. I have a bit of a hard time grabbing the bar while keeping my shoulders forward.

About leg pressing the floor, I know the cue, I'll focus on that next time.

i noticed the same thing and its casuing the bar to roll forward ever so slightly before it leaves the ground, forcing you to correct it back over mid foot as you are pulling it up. thats an additional moment arm that is making the lift less efficient. i tend to do the same thing when its heavy i drop the hips right before initiating the pull almost as a subconcsious attempt to create extra momemtem or something. like jason said, think of it as pushing the bar away from the floor with your quads.

It does happen on my first reps and get better on the next reps. I heard that I need to use my lats to drag the bar closer. I never felt the bar scratching my legs as I move it up.

It appears to me that you're trying to pull the bar off the floor rather than push the floor away with your legs. I know because I wasted time doing that for years before I figured it out.

Something that really helped me develop the ability to push the floor away was doing deficit deadlifts. Stand on a plate or a sturdy platform 1-2" off the floor for a set of 5. Train it as a medium-weight accessory once a week for a while.

Better yet, hire an SSC for in person or online coaching.

I have been online coached by SSC Jared Nessland. He helped me fix the worst mistakes on my lifts but since then my form has deteriorated a bit. In person coaching is not available where I live, only general personal trainer stuff you mentioned in your recent article.

I may try a few sets of deficit deadlifts on my light pull day and see how it goes.

I'm currently short on money. I joined the Baker Barbell Club and it has been helpful.

[Jason Donaldson]

I didn't notice I was dropping the hips, I had that problem and fixed it, but... form creep I guess. I have a bit of a hard time grabbing the bar while keeping my shoulders forward.

About leg pressing the floor, I know the cue, I'll focus on that next time.

I hear you - I've had that problem, too. What kind of clicked for me was sort of rotating the whole system forward in a circular motion around the bar, if that makes sense.

The image I have, to exaggerate a bit, is like you're looking at your setup from the left side with a clock face superimposed. Your shoulders are at 12 and your hips at 4, but you push with your legs to rotate counterclockwise and take the hips to 2 and the shoulders to 10, if that makes sense. (This is during setup, not during execution of the lift.) Your hands on the bar provide a sort of tether to rotate you around the bar, basically.

It's not so much literally what happens, as it is a sort of mental self-cue.

I may be describing this poorly... Kind of like a swimmer's block start without letting go with the hands, maybe?