Deadlift Form

[Marcus]

I'm curious to see how everyone does deadlifts.

I use an overhand thumbless grip, feet about shoulder width apart & grip the bar just outside my foot placement.

I don't reset at the bottom of each rep, I just drop till the weight touches the ground then up again.

I breath in at the top of each rep, & expel when I explode up.

I used to do a alternate reverse grip, but it used to worry my biceps, especially when the weight is getting up there.

[jono]

double overhand grip, with straps. feet shoulder width. hands just outside

[Marcus]

Do you reset after each rep or just go for your life?

[waldo]

One hand over, one under. Reset at the beginning of each rep. I used to use straps until one of the powerlifters at Gillies Ave told me to 'stop being a nancy, quit doing curls, and put one hand over, one hand under.'

The guy in question I've seen do rack deads with 400kg, so I listened.

[jono]

Do you reset after each rep or just go for your life?

i let the weight come to a dead stop. hence deadlift :grin:

[Growth]

Double overhand, thumbs, straps, reset each time.

[Pseudonym]

Right now, I'm hardly doing deadlifts at all. :cry:

I had my form checked recently, and realised the reason deadlifts have been giving me a sore back is because I'm leaning too far over. Thus when I lift up, the exercise becomes more like good-mornings.

I have to keep the weight to the front or else I fall over backwards. The trouble is, I have to lean over to do it because my Achilles tendon is too tight (I think) - and then all the pressure is on my back. If my Achilles was more flexible, I'd be able to maintain a straigher posture. I drew a lovely little pic so you could all see what I meant. :grin:

Anyway, I'm doing lots of stretching in the hope that I can get back into deadlifting soon.

[jono]

Right now, I'm hardly doing deadlifts at all. :cry:

I had my form checked recently, and realised the reason deadlifts have been giving me a sore back is because I'm leaning too far over. Thus when I lift up, the exercise becomes more like good-mornings.

I have to keep the weight to the front or else I fall over backwards. The trouble is, I have to lean over to do it because my Achilles tendon is too tight (I think) - and then all the pressure is on my back. If my Achilles was more flexible, I'd be able to maintain a straigher posture. I drew a lovely little pic so you could all see what I meant. :grin:

Anyway, I'm doing lots of stretching in the hope that I can get back into deadlifting soon.

i dont see a reason to stop DL, just practise form with light wt.

[Ash]

I'm not doing deadlifts any more. :doh:

My physio reckons that for me, with my history of back problems and my disc injury, any kind of deadlifts are a bad idea and will probably lead to further damage. So I am taking his advice and giving them up. I still think they are a great exercise and I'll miss them.

As for how I used to do them....initially with one arm in an underhand grip, the other overhand. I could definitely move more weight like that but I didn't like the strain I was feeling in the biceps of the arm that had the underhand grip.

So I switched to double overhand, which was way more comfortable.

[Pseudonym]

I do (sort of) but it's such a pathetically small weight, because my back takes the entire strain, that it's really not working any other muscles at all. :x

Anyway, that's probably not answering this question... When I AM able to do them properly, I'll be doing them with an alternate grip. And if my long-awaited lifting straps ever arrive, periodically I'll use them too.

[jono]

I do (sort of) but it's such a pathetically small weight, because my back takes the entire strain, that it's really not working any other muscles at all. :x

Anyway, that's probably not answering this question... When I AM able to do them properly, I'll be doing them with an alternate grip. And if my long-awaited lifting straps ever arrive, periodically I'll use them too.

you back should NOT take the whole strain even with light weight. your prolly not getting low enough.. think of it as a leg ex.

[grinder]

I use double overhand grip and use straps when the weights get too hard to hold. I think the key to not overloading the lower back is to make the bar follow the legs i.e the bar travels up the shins, onto the quads and back down again. This forces you to use the legs for the first part of the movement and keeps your arse pointing down and not out. Be prepared for some shin damage!! For a good variance try sumo DL's - hands grip close together inside the legs and ue a wider stance than normal. By the way, I do not reset my grip and only just pause at the floor. I do BB style reps i.e. 6 - whatever, no 1RM's..

[Growth]

And if my long-awaited lifting straps ever arrive, periodically I'll use them too.

Havent you been waiting on these for a few months now?

[Pseudonym]

Ash, do you see the same physio as I do?! Mine hates deadlifts too. When I told him I was having trouble with them, he recommended giving them up. "I can't understand why people insist on doing deadlifts," he said. "There are other exercises that work the muscles just as well."

When he realised how reluctant I was to do that, he suggested a good course of Achilles-stretching before I went near them again. The trouble is, Jono, to do deadlifts with really good form requires good flexibility. Look at the left image above as an example of good form. OK, it's exaggerated - noone does deadlifts with their back that straight, but you can see how the straighter the back is, the less pressure there is on it?

Now look at the middle image. This is trying to keep a straight back with poor flexibility. As the red dotted centre of gravity illustrates, I fall over backwards when I try this.

The image on the right shows how I'm forced to compensate by leaning over. This keeps the weight forward over my feet, so I keep my balance (always a bonus), but it puts enormous pressure on the lower back. Until my flexibility improves, I'm afraid deadlifts will be a no-go...

**returns to stretching with a vengeance**

Growth - yes. Yes, I have been waiting for these sodding straps for three months to the day. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to write yet another letter to bb.com! :evil:

[Growth]

My chiro didnt mind me doing any back work as long as it wasnt that day of the day after the session.

[Varven]

DEADLIFT should NOT be a primary back excercise !!

If you think of it that way, your going to focus on back muscles and strain them. Thats what I was doing.

Lets start with Pseudonym's diagram.... NO way on earth would I EVER dare to start a deadlift with my quads being parallel to the floor.

I load the bar, roll it up so its touching my chins, Use a alternate grip and drop my ass down. Almost as though you were squatting in the bush to take a dump. Thus the first part of the excercise exclusively uses quads and glutes. As Jono said, think of it as a leg ex.

Keep driving, and then automatically back will continue with the drive.

2nd point, your knees should never lock out before your back or vice versa. Practice co ordinating them so that at the top of the motion they simultaneously lock out and you sorta roll your shoulders back and puff your chest out for a fraction of a second and then you lower it back to starting position, stop for half a sec if need be and repeat. It doesnt matter if you spend a second or 2 between reps, but make sure you reset it or strain will be too much on your lower back as you dont have enough time to drop legs into right form.

Its called a deadlift because DEAD = bar has to be dead on the ground to start off with.

And Jono was right, watch yourselves on the rack dead since you dont use your lower back early in the lift its easy to end up rounding your back. Do it ocassionally sideways in front of a mirror or get some1 to watch you.

Happy Deadlifting,

V.V.

edit: one other point to remember, think of the Bar moving in the same plane of motion up and down, it shouldnt not deviate.

[jono]

DEADLIFT should NOT be a primary back excercise !!

If you think of it that way, your going to focus on back muscles and strain them. Thats what I was doing.

Lets start with Pseudonym's diagram.... NO way on earth would I EVER dare to start a deadlift with my quads being parallel to the floor.

I load the bar, roll it up so its touching my chins, Use a alternate grip and drop my ass down. Almost as though you were squatting in the bush to take a dump. Thus the first part of the excercise exclusively uses quads and glutes. As Jono said, think of it as a leg ex.

Keep driving, and then automatically back will continue with the drive.

2nd point, your knees should never lock out before your back or vice versa. Practice co ordinating them so that at the top of the motion they simultaneously lock out and you sorta roll your shoulders back and puff your chest out for a fraction of a second and then you lower it back to starting position, stop for half a sec if need be and repeat. It doesnt matter if you spend a second or 2 between reps, but make sure you reset it or strain will be too much on your lower back as you dont have enough time to drop legs into right form.

Its called a deadlift because DEAD = bar has to be dead on the ground to start off with.

And Jono was right, watch yourselves on the rack dead since you dont use your lower back early in the lift its easy to end up rounding your back. Do it ocassionally sideways in front of a mirror or get some1 to watch you.

Happy Deadlifting,

V.V.

great post

[Marcus]

I don't reset every rep. I find the greatest strain on my back occurs on the first rep getting it off the floor. Even with the heavy lifts, I don't reset. I just go until I feel my shoulders rolling forward, then I know it's all over.

I think the most important aspects of the deadlift is the breathing & also keeping the bar as close to your body as possible.

[Growth]

Perhaps, if your not reseting each rep, you may find rack deads to be a better exercise.

[Marcus]

I've hardly done rack deads. I will move on to them once I max out my deadlift.