Deadlift Advice....

[SisterSteel]

I want to discuss conventional deadlifting a bit. Hopefully, this will help some people who are having problems with their pulls….

First, when you are in the start position to deadlift your shoulders should be behind the bar NOT out in front of it. If your shoulders are out in front, that will cause your hips to be high and therefore take your initial leg drive out of the lift. You’ll also notice that if your shoulders are out in front, the bar gets out in front of you and you either have to compensate or you lose the lift.

Second, I see people getting stuck at the top of the lift. You don't extend your back to finish the pull. You get your hips through (shoot your hips). This will make it easier to lock the weight out at the top of the lift and it will also help save your lower back.

Third, there is no reason to hyper extend your back when you finish your pull. It isn't a contest to see who can throw their upper back the farthest behind the bar. That's a recipe for an injury.

When you walk up to the bar, you start with your hips down, back arched, shoulders behind the bar. After that, pull the slack out of the bar (if you're using a DL bar) and lift.

I hope this sheds some light and helps….

[Fit Guru]

Good info.ive never power lifted but I have friends with world records.

[NTL]

Good post sister. Deadlifts are one of my favorite lifts.

[chrisotpherm]

Great post Sister. I can't mess with deadlifts any longer due to this annoying bulging disk in my back. I probably won't ever step on the stage either because I can't really do a lot of lower back exercises as it almost cripples me the next day.

[SisterSteel]

Great post Sister. I can't mess with deadlifts any longer due to this annoying bulging disk in my back. I probably won't ever step on the stage either because I can't really do a lot of lower back exercises as it almost cripples me the next day.

chrisotpherm, you may want to try reverse hypers. It will work your lower back without stressing it. A lot of people who have injured backs use reverse hypers as part of they rehab.

[chrisotpherm]

chrisotpherm, you may want to try reverse hypers. It will work your lower back without stressing it. A lot of people who have injured backs use reverse hypers as part of they rehab.
Just checked them out. I like them and looks very low impact in essence. I can't even do back extensions without hobbling out of the gym.

[red crayon]

Sister Steel This may sound like a dumb question but here goes. When you lock out, what is that? How do I know when Im locked out? What is the position Im trying for? I am asking about the position that a judge would look at and say Im locked out. I know what the top of the lift is I have been there many times but I dont have a clue if I was ever really locked out.

[kazman68]

chrisotpherm, you may want to try reverse hypers. It will work your lower back without stressing it. A lot of people who have injured backs use reverse hypers as part of they rehab.

Good advice (as always) I have used reverse hypers to train people with bad backs. very good exercise for them.

[Sinister613]

I'll definitely be thinking about your advice when I deadlift on Thursday. Thanks!

[SisterSteel]

Sister Steel This may sound like a dumb question but here goes. When you lock out, what is that? How do I know when Im locked out? What is the position Im trying for? I am asking about the position that a judge would look at and say Im locked out. I know what the top of the lift is I have been there many times but I dont have a clue if I was ever really locked out.

"Locked out" is the finished position of the lift (deadlift). It's when your knees are locked and straight. When you are completely upright with the bar in your hands and your knees straightened.

The judges will look to make sure your knees are straightened completely. They'll also check to make sure you didn't hitch the bar as it went up and they'll make sure you didn't use a double knee bend to pull the weight up.

[any1uno]

Shooting your hips through if done correctly can also "bump" the bar enough to slide past that sticking point without hitching. As Ms Steel shared..it's not a matter of how far back you can bend!

Nice advice Ms Steel.

[suprfast]

Love me some dead lifts.

[red crayon]

Thanks for thr info on the lock out position, Sister Steel! I usually try and do my lifts, what ever they are, with good form. Thats impossible when you dont know what good form is or whats expected during a contest. I can see I am going to have to work on this, Thanks.

[TheRage93]

I agree with numbers 2 and 3. Watch the big boys deadlift like konstantin Konstantinovs and benedikt magnusson. Shoulders over the bar a tad is not bad. It's natural.

[red crayon]

Woo Hoo Last night I finally got back to 405 for reps. Yes it was only 2 reps but it was 2 good reps with no bounceing at the bottom. Well I did cheat a little it was romanian dead lifts but thats a good number considering I had a 9 month lay off, because of work, and have been working on this for about 5 weeks now. At the same time my squat is back up to 365 for 4 reps. I going for 500 plus on both of these. Us old guys get excited over these light weights all the time, lol.

[SisterSteel]

Woo Hoo Last night I finally got back to 405 for reps. Yes it was only 2 reps but it was 2 good reps with no bounceing at the bottom. Well I did cheat a little it was romanian dead lifts but thats a good number considering I had a 9 month lay off, because of work, and have been working on this for about 5 weeks now. At the same time my squat is back up to 365 for 4 reps. I going for 500 plus on both of these. Us old guys get excited over these light weights all the time, lol.

405lbs is great. Something you can do to switch it up and make it bit more difficult is to try RDL's with a snatch grip (a very wide grip). The snatch grip will increase the ROM and also bring your lats into play.

And a 500lbs pull and back squat are very respectable numbers at any age. ;)