Help with Dead Lifts

**Suzanne** · 02-23-2012, 03:00 PM

When I do them I feel like I am doing them right then if look at video seems I am stiff legging it. Not sure why. I blame my t-rex arms lmfao

Here is a video from last year

Also a year ago

Last night

Ay tips, constructive criticism, methods and exercises to deadlift better

I am doing it for bbing but want to do it correct and heavy

**juiceinator3000** · 02-23-2012, 04:01 PM

Drop ass more. Pull shoulder blades together as much as possible. Lift chest up a little higher. Don't go touch and go for a while. Reset your position at the bottom of each rep. Your first rep isn't too bad, it's the second one where you look for that bounce where you're turning it into more of a RDL. Without touch and go drop about 30 to 40 pounds off for a couple weeks, but really focus on making every rep like the first one. But even with that first rep I'd still say drop your ass more and lift your chest up a touch more.

**juiceinator3000** · 02-23-2012, 04:05 PM

Your vid with 245 on 12/17 form is much better though when with touch and go. Ass is lower, chest is up more

**Suzanne** · 02-23-2012, 05:22 PM

Thank you! will work on it next back day! Iwill be sur to have Cahse video them all so i can check form

**cook** · 02-23-2012, 05:54 PM

Suzanne,I had this same problem when I used to powerlift.If just concentrating on keeping your butt down doesn`t work you might try doing just the bottom half of the deadlift up to your knees.Bill Starr had me doing these and I can`t remember the exact science behind it but you squat down and flex your lower back and then pull the bar but just to your knees and while still staying tight squat back down and do sets of five or so.You`re raiseing your butt too early because you`re either weak out of the bottom or maybe just not confident that you`re strong there.Anyway I`m hesitant to try and give advise to somebody as advanced as you but this exercise did work for me.

**Suzanne** · 02-23-2012, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by cook

Suzanne,I had this same problem when I used to powerlift.If just concentrating on keeping your butt down doesn`t work you might try doing just the bottom half of the deadlift up to your knees.Bill Starr had me doing these and I can`t remember the exact science behind it but you squat down and flex your lower back and then pull the bar but just to your knees and while still staying tight squat back down and do sets of five or so.You`re raiseing your butt too early because you`re either weak out of the bottom or maybe just not confident that you`re strong there.Anyway I`m hesitant to try and give advise to somebody as advanced as you but this exercise did work for me.

I am sure you are correct i am weak out of the bottom since I can squat up to say 155 ATG but ten I can't get down if it gets heavier. I can Squat heavy to parallel or just below but not ATG feels like hips are just going to give out and i am going to crash to the ground so it's not like i even get down but then can't get the squat back up.

Doing just the bottom half could help

**LSMUSCL81a** · 02-23-2012, 07:16 PM

goodness you are strong!...also hesitant to critique...i kinda have the same issue out the bottom, but ive always neglected the hip machine...cant remember the name, but when i do add that in...my deads and squats get deeper

**TheABomb** · 02-26-2012, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by Suzanne

I am sure you are correct i am weak out of the bottom since I can squat up to say 155 ATG but ten I can't get down if it gets heavier. I can Squat heavy to parallel or just below but not ATG feels like hips are just going to give out and i am going to crash to the ground so it's not like i even get down but then can't get the squat back up.

Doing just the bottom half could help

Sometimes what feels like atg is really parallel and what feels like parallel is slightly short of it. Videos would help a lot. As would Box squats.

**scottt** · 02-26-2012, 07:16 PM

I do the same thing. I think you are doing pretty damn good. My wife thinks you should maybe try using 35's, the shorter weights helped her get her ass closer to the ground. It helped with her development.

**White Goodman** · 02-26-2012, 07:40 PM

Actually, your form isn't that bad. CHest up a little more. Just a little advice...just do singles for your work sets. That way, you only have to have good form on one rep. You also have less risk of injury. If I could go back in time, I would DEFINITELY only do singles for my top sets. Every rep after 1 concerning strength is a waste, according to many top PL'ers. You are very strong. Good luck.

**TheABomb** · 02-26-2012, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by scottt

I do the same thing. I think you are doing pretty damn good. My wife thinks you should maybe try using 35's, the shorter weights helped her get her ass closer to the ground. It helped with her development.

That's bad advice imo. The whole "you need to get your ass close to the ground" thing is a bodybuilding bro-myth that needs to die. EVERYONE is anatomically different and there is no 1 starting position for everyone. A person with longer limbs is going to naturally start the deadlift w/ higher hips. If he artificially sets the hips too low, they'll rise way too fast during the lift and as result, strength will suffer big time. Ask any real deal strength training guru - Wendler, Dave Tate, Louie, they'll ALL tell you this.*

**Suzanne** · 02-27-2012, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by TheABomb

Sometimes what feels like atg is really parallel and what feels like parallel is slightly short of it. Videos would help a lot. As would Box squats.

Squats start at 2:50 I would say ATG

Squats start at 5:00 I would saw just about to parallel

**TheABomb** · 02-27-2012, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by Suzanne

I am sure you are correct i am weak out of the bottom since I can squat up to say 155 ATG but ten I can't get down if it gets heavier. I can Squat heavy to parallel or just below but not ATG feels like hips are just going to give out and i am going to crash to the ground so it's not like i even get down but then can't get the squat back up.

Doing just the bottom half could help

It's amazing how much more difficult the lift becomes when you add a few inches to the depth. The reason your hips are giving out is because you're doing a PL style squat - which wasn't meant to be done ATG. The real reason people started doing ATG squats was to prevent them from getting stuck at the bottom of a clean in olympic style weightlifting. This was long before bodybuilding was really a well known sport. Later on as the squat became a contested lift, the "low bar powerlifting squat" was developed as the most efficient way to put up a ton of weight if you only have to go to parallel. But for atg, it doesn't work.

Consider trying to squat more like Tom Platz when you do go atg.

http://www.bodybuildinguniverse.com/...atz/platz2.jpg

Notice that his back is pretty straight and his knees come forward. This makes it a lot easier to get to that full depth and keeps the tension on your quads/glutes as opposed to your low back and hips. Unlike the PL squat, you just sit down instead of sitting back. For more entertainment, here's a female friend repping out 10 at 320 using this type of squat:

**Suzanne** · 02-27-2012, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by TheABomb

It's amazing how much more difficult the lift becomes when you add a few inches to the depth. The reason your hips are giving out is because you're doing a PL style squat - which wasn't meant to be done ATG. The real reason people started doing ATG squats was to prevent them from getting stuck at the bottom of a clean in olympic style weightlifting. This was long before bodybuilding was really a well known sport. Later on as the squat became a contested lift, the "low bar powerlifting squat" was developed as the most efficient way to put up a ton of weight if you only have to go to parallel. But for atg, it doesn't work.

Consider trying to squat more like Tom Platz when you do go atg.

http://www.bodybuildinguniverse.com/...atz/platz2.jpg

Notice that his back is pretty straight and his knees come forward. This makes it a lot easier to get to that full depth and keeps the tension on your quads/glutes as opposed to your low back and hips. Unlike the PL squat, you just sit down instead of sitting back. For more entertainment, here's a female friend repping out 10 at 320 using this type of squat:

Thanks I have definitly noticed trying to sit back I felt so much in my lower back and was thinking i feel way more leg work doubling the wt and going to parallel. Will paly with squat next work out I have 5 sets of 10 on Saturday

**pfunk** · 02-27-2012, 03:23 PM

I think it looks good, but the bar may be a bit too far in front of you when you start the upward movement. Power comes from your hips and you want the bar to follow-up as close to your body as possible...which is why many of us 'deadlifters' scrap the shit out of our shins on the way up. Before you begin the upward decent, fill your chest up with air (to ensure your back is flat as well), shoulders should be slightly in front of the bar, the bar touching your shins, start with the balls of your feet (using the quads to take the bend out of the bar) and then exploding your heels throught the floor- pull away from the earth and slam those hips forward as you straighten up!

I'm not a pro - but the deadlift is my best lift so far, continues to grow while I have to fight plateaus with every other lift! And the above is what I have gathered as some of the best advice.

**pfunk** · 02-27-2012, 03:40 PM

...I think your form is good on the first reps. The bar gets further out in front of you on the second and third reps. Like they said above, with deadlifts, it's sometimes better to regroup on the bottom for every rep you do

**Suzanne** · 02-27-2012, 04:02 PM

Ok wil work on that That's why i wear pants on DL/rack pull days i have tore up my quads on rack pulls wearing shorts so i will work on ripping up the shins

**pfunk** · 02-27-2012, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by Suzanne

Ok wil work on that That's why i wear pants on DL/rack pull days i have tore up my quads on rack pulls wearing shorts so i will work on ripping up the shins

yay, either that or some long socks...which would be hard to do with vibrams on. One of the reasons I got the Merrills (http://www.amazon.com/Merrell-True-G...0378255&sr=8-2), the soles are vibrams but the toe compartment is not individualized and is easy to wear socks with them.

**Suzanne** · 03-03-2012, 01:20 AM

I think it went much better this week. I slid the bar right up my shins. I also wore my chucks which give me an extra 1/2-1 inch so bar was a bit lower down my shin. Seemed to go up much easier.

Thanks!

**fudo myo** · 03-06-2012, 06:07 PM

listen to pfunks setup. but on leg days if you throw in old school hack squats with the bar behind you being pulled from the ground it will help reinforce balancing different and on deadlift day youll start to feel like your falling foward if your not pulling up from a deeper start.

**Suzanne** · 03-07-2012, 02:47 AM

Originally Posted by fudo myo

listen to pfunks setup. but on leg days if you throw in old school hack squats with the bar behind you being pulled from the ground it will help reinforce balancing different and on deadlift day youll start to feel like your falling foward if your not pulling up from a deeper start.

Have never done those will ahve to give them a shot! thank you

**pfunk** · 03-08-2012, 05:27 PM

you know what else I do that feels great, especially for my upper back, is the wide-grip (snatch grip) deadlift. You also get lower to the ground doing them, like a deficit pull, so a bit more rom on the movement. I'm doing them today, with 60% of my max, so explosively - but I will be wearing straps which I ususally don't because it's hard to hold onto it with a wide grip.

And I'm going to try somethin a bit new when doing it today. When fully standing with the wide grip, the bar should go accross your hips - just above your privates. So I''m going to ty and explode up, smash the bar with my hips and end it with a high-pull. Almost like a full snatch, but without bringing the bar overhead.

10 sets of 3 at 60% (325#s) with less than a minutes rest between sets. Should be fun!

**Suzanne** · 03-09-2012, 04:16 PM

So I tried the barbell hacksquats, well I either do the right, my arms are too short or some other structure issue, flexibility issue. I look like an idiot lmao

But I do think form on squats much better I kept weight lower and stopped at bottom of each rep

**Suzanne** · 03-09-2012, 05:03 PM

I meant for on DLs better. I guess I shound't talk on the phone and post at the same time

**pfunk** · 03-09-2012, 05:43 PM

I really like barbell hacksquats. I like to think of them as an improved and more natural leg extension exercise.

They work well with me, go up smooth, but I've tried to introduce them to a couple of buddys and they have a hard time with the movement. With one of them, it always crashes down on the back of his heels. The other person was getting it stuck on his hammies on the way up.

This mainly works the front of the quads, and particularly the "tear-drop" muscle that you aim to get to droop past the knee. So you finish this movement by leaning forward (and the weight being behind should help from making you fall forward). So you squeeze tight your legs at the top - like you do at the top of the leg extension when seated.

I do these in the rack a lot, with the bar just behind or a bit above my calfs, so I can emphasize snapping it up and sqeezing my quads. If I were you, I would try different heights in the cage to see where it becomes smoother for you.

Also, the movement on the way down doesn't do shit - so you don't have to focus on bringing the bar down along your legs. Just after you stand straight, try to lower the bar with it further back and see if you can do it without the bar guiding down and touching the back of your legs the whole time.

**Suzanne** · 03-09-2012, 05:48 PM

Originally Posted by pfunk

I really like barbell hacksquats. I like to think of them as an improved and more natural leg extension exercise.

They work well with me, go up smooth, but I've tried to introduce them to a couple of buddys and they have a hard time with the movement. With one of them, it always crashes down on the back of his heels. The other person was getting it stuck on his hammies on the way up.

This mainly works the front of the quads, and particularly the "tear-drop" muscle that you aim to get to droop past the knee. So you finish this movement by leaning forward (and the weight being behind should help from making you fall forward). So you squeeze tight your legs at the top - like you do at the top of the leg extension when seated.

I do these in the rack a lot, with the bar just behind or a bit above my calfs, so I can emphasize snapping it up and sqeezing my quads. If I were you, I would try different heights in the cage to see where it becomes smoother for you.

Also, the movement on the way down doesn't do shit - so you don't have to focus on bringing the bar down along your legs. Just after you stand straight, try to lower the bar with it further back and see if you can do it without the bar guiding down and touching the back of your legs the whole time.

Great Thanks

**georgeman22** · 08-04-2012, 05:34 PM

Yes that is the best way to do that. But when you do that you put your ass a little high keep your ass down and focus on your work out.

**georgeman22** · 08-05-2012, 07:36 AM

If you follow this your workout will great.

**TheRage93** · 01-18-2013, 05:28 PM

First and second video was good form. Third video bad. Drop ass a little more. Bar close to shins. Neutral head position. And keep tight? Keep core tight. And low back tight.