New to Deadlifts

[why]

Originally Posted by bawlin

And all the proper deadlifting form information is easily accessible on your fingertips, but I forgot I'm talking to a bunch of powerlifters...
No, you're arguing 'form' so you need to actually define it for an argument. You won't because it might actually pin down whatever argument you have into something definitive instead of trying to weasel out of every statement you make.

 

[TGPlastic]

Mr. Caber posted this to me a while ago. Note the rounded form. Also note the blood shooting out of his nose. (No, I don't think there is a cause-effect relationship.)

 

[bawlin]

Because there's people out there that can do 1,000bw pull-ups in 1 go, let alone 5x a week...

 

[bawlin]

Originally Posted by TGPlastic

Mr. Caber posted this to me a while ago. Note the rounded form. Also note the blood shooting out of his nose. (No, I don't think there is a cause-effect relationship.)

Are you the world's strongest man? Just curious.

 

[drivel]

http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Stren...tellafriend-20

That's a good book, my gym has a copy of it at the front desk. There's a PDF of it floating around on the internet too . . .

 

[Lear]

Out of my 4 x reps. The first one had good form and the second one OK. The third was poor, while the fourth could hardly be called a DL. The bar was pulling my fingers off and had to be dropped.

I'll probably decrease the weight.

One problem from doing all these deadlifts & squats: I spend many days crawling around the streets of London with aching leg muscles. It's never the day after, but the day after that. This must be what it's like to reach a hundred years of age.

The benefits (after the aching passes): It's great for posture. I find myself walking from the hip, if that makes sense. The body also naturally and effortlessly leans back ever so slightly, as opposed to that artificial stance some men adopt. Confidence and fluidity of movement are also improved.

Just my thoughts on the subject

Lear

 

[Kris]

Just a quick point which may have already been stated...

A way to lessen the likelihood of injury (lessen, not eliminate) is to treat the deadlift as a single lift exercise, rather than one that you complete reps within sets. Reps are where unsafe form creeps in. The deadlift is a lift of dead weight from the floor, so you don't gain benefit from continuous loading of muscles. Repping might be helpful at warm-up weight, but if you're in the 5x range, might as well get a fresh start for each of those five lifts.

 

[Epaulet]

Originally Posted by Lear

Out of my 4 x reps. The first one had good form and the second one OK. The third was poor, while the fourth could hardly be called a DL. The bar was pulling my fingers off and had to be dropped.

I'll probably decrease the weight.

One problem from doing all these deadlifts & squats: I spend many days crawling around the streets of London with aching leg muscles. It's never the day after, but the day after that. This must be what it's like to reach a hundred years of age.

The benefits (after the aching passes): It's great for posture. I find myself walking from the hip, if that makes sense. The body also naturally and effortlessly leans back ever so slightly, as opposed to that artificial stance some men adopt. Confidence and fluidity of movement are also improved.

Just my thoughts on the subject

Lear

I think you should lower the weight too. I try to deadlift in the range of 8-12 reps per set. For me, it's not only more effective than throwing around a heavier weight, but it puts less strain on my lower back.

And yeah, the soreness is crazy after a big DL workout. It does get better if you do them regularly. I've found that my posture has improved a lot too.

 

[jaydc7]

Originally Posted by Epaulet

I think you should lower the weight too. I try to deadlift in the range of 8-12 reps per set. For me, it's not only more effective than throwing around a heavier weight, but it puts less strain on my lower back.

It depends on what you're after. Of course if you form is deteriorating then drop the weight, but otherwise there are more strength gains from lifting (X) for 3-5 reps than (X-Y) for 8-12 reps.

Ripptoe explains scaling well in starting strength. Do your whole workout (3x5 or 5x5) with as much weight as you can until you can no longer keep form. You don't want to risk injury, but you do want to lift as much weight as possible.

 

[Aneil4lom]

Started back deadlifting.

1 day will be dedicated to doing a heavier max weight and the other will be about improving form (doing straight-legged, multiple reps etc)

 

[horton]

sorry if this has been addressed before (just getting back to SForum after a loooong break) and i couldn't read through the whole thread

I have been deadlifting for a long time. To improve form, I'd suggest taking videos and showing them to a coach if you have one (there are some decent internet coaches who do this) or at least looking at it yourself. Leverage is key. You want to stay behind the bar, not over it. A little bit of an exaggeration but one way to think of it is if you drop the bar you should fall back on your butt.

Drive through your heals in the first part of the lift, keeping the bar as close to your shins as possible (e.g., dragging them up your shins). WHen it's above your knees, the key is to think of pulling your knees back and driving your hips forward (squeezing glutes). Think of it like a scissor jack, and wedging yourself under the bar. Many beginners make the mistake at this part of the movement of completing the lift by pulling with their lower back. THis is somewhat dangerous and will definitely limit your results. The last part of the lift is about hip thrust, and glutes, not lower back.

while straightleg deads and other lifts can improve your lifts(depending on the sticking point), i don't think straightleg will improve your form. In fact you have to be careful about the opposite as it can "teach" you to get over the bar rather than behind it

other exercises to improve your DL are dimmels (straightleg but lowering to just below the knee) -- good for improving lock out, and deficit deads which (like RDL or straightleg) are great at improving explosiveness off the floor. You can also do straightlegs with dumbbells which adds a deficit component because the dumbbell grip will be closer to the floor. I'd also recommend incorporating speed work

Personally, my "normal" work focuses on 5 rep sets, and every so often 3 reps. Not a fan of higher reps on this (at least not on a regular basis)

There are a lot of other finer points, but highly recommend this into everyone's strength training workouts!