Dead Lift Form Question

jackcity10

New member
I cant dial in my dead lift form. I have a couple small questions that I havent seen adressed anywhere else.
One question is how long of a break should I take in between reps, and the other is when do I stop lifting; when my back begins to round, when it begins to round bad, or when I cant get the weight off the floor.

ill explain the first one a little. deadlifting doesnt make any sense to me - i dont know why. if i pound out reps without resting like Brett does in the second link the reps just come effortlessly and it seems like im not even gaining anything from it. eventually my back starts to round and I call it a set. If I do them like PullinBig does in the first link, I cant do nearly as much weight, and my legs give out sooner then my back. which way is correct?
http://ironaddicts.com/Video/545deads.avi
http://ironaddicts.com/Video/brett365dead.avi

I also have a hard time deciding when to end a set. After say 5 good reps, on the 6th my upper back starts to round severly(my shoulders crunch towards my chest) and i feel my lower slightly rounding. the 7th is the same with my lower back rounding a little bit more, the 8th and my lower back is very rounded. thats ussually when I call it a set. Am I waiting too long? theres no line like in bench where you just cant put up the weight any more. instead it starts to take a toll on my form, thats where I get confused. :sleep: sorry for the long post.
 
jackcity10 said:
I cant dial in my dead lift form. I have a couple small questions that I havent seen adressed anywhere else.
One question is how long of a break should I take in between reps, and the other is when do I stop lifting; when my back begins to round, when it begins to round bad, or when I cant get the weight off the floor.

ill explain the first one a little. deadlifting doesnt make any sense to me - i dont know why. if i pound out reps without resting like Brett does in the second link the reps just come effortlessly and it seems like im not even gaining anything from it. eventually my back starts to round and I call it a set. If I do them like PullinBig does in the first link, I cant do nearly as much weight, and my legs give out sooner then my back. which way is correct?
http://ironaddicts.com/Video/545deads.avi
http://ironaddicts.com/Video/brett365dead.avi

I also have a hard time deciding when to end a set. After say 5 good reps, on the 6th my upper back starts to round severly(my shoulders crunch towards my chest) and i feel my lower slightly rounding. the 7th is the same with my lower back rounding a little bit more, the 8th and my lower back is very rounded. thats ussually when I call it a set. Am I waiting too long? theres no line like in bench where you just cant put up the weight any more. instead it starts to take a toll on my form, thats where I get confused. :sleep: sorry for the long post.
form is always #1...NEVER round your back...as far as rest between deads go about 2 seconds give or take...a bit more prob...sometimes i don't rest enough, but i DO NOT round my back...i'll post a link in a bit and u can c what i mean. Not saying my form is perfect but its alright.
 
OK so I should do them more like PB does in the first link. The rest thing is what really throws me off because it doesnt happen with ANY other lift, DL I just get in a zone where the reps get really fast and really easy. Hard to explain.
 
you should stop when you break form. that is the sign of muscle fatigue. you can always switch from one style of dl to another if you feel like you need to hit a certian area more soundly (ie-romanian to sumo, etc). i recently went to a confrence where they showed x ray film of dl's. it was the first time that an injury had been caught on film the moment it happened. the injury happened in the lower vertabre, and was caused by flexation at the vertabre followed by an over compansation by the upper back. not actually caused by poor form. and believe it or not the doctor giving the lecture stated that the rounding of the back is not bad as long as it is stable (locked) , when there is movement , as in a loss of form while lifting, that is when you are going to have injury. so as long as yu keep good form, you should continue your lift. start breaking form, stop.
 
I would have to say that Pullinbig's form is superior to the other video. Form is very important when it comes to deadlifts. People injure themselves when they get sloppy, form should always take precedence over lifting more weight.
 
Pullinbigs form sucks. Your hips, shoulders, legs, and back should all lock out at the same time while keeping the back straight and your head up. Always look where your taking the wt too ie....up. He does lift some big wt Ill give him that. But if you watch he rounds out and his knees lock out before his hips and at this point he is using all lower back. Its disaster waiting for opportunity. The second guy has better form overall. Better to use less wt and get the form down then the other way round. Also work on your Core. Ask any trainer worth his her salt and they will tell you what that is. Without good core you will not lift properly, all strength comes from here. I know cause I jus went through this muscle mass fire phase with my trainer and it did wonders for me. I was also trained to deadlift by Kalone Kalone Jr. an all south pacific power lifting champ. My deads have hit as high as 725 in my prime for singles.
 
Big Dog said:
Pullinbigs form sucks. Your hips, shoulders, legs, and back should all lock out at the same time while keeping the back straight and your head up. Always look where your taking the wt too ie....up. He does lift some big wt Ill give him that. But if you watch he rounds out and his knees lock out before his hips and at this point he is using all lower back. Its disaster waiting for opportunity. The second guy has better form overall. Better to use less wt and get the form down then the other way round. Also work on your Core. Ask any trainer worth his her salt and they will tell you what that is. Without good core you will not lift properly, all strength comes from here. I know cause I jus went through this muscle mass fire phase with my trainer and it did wonders for me. I was also trained to deadlift by Kalone Kalone Jr. an all south pacific power lifting champ. My deads have hit as high as 725 in my prime for singles.

thanks for the kind words. i agree my form was not what it should be in that clip. i have changed things around completely now. that clip is several years old. however to say it sucked is not true. the second rep is ugly as i lost my balance. everything is close to lockingout at the same time., i just needed to be further behind the bar. the other guy is one of my training pards.

perhaps you can post one of your clips and show us proper form dog. im guessing by your statement you not in your prime anymore? =0l
 
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Im 40 yoa 6'1" 255lbs. 48" chest 38 waist. Neck is 18 Arms are 17 cold, calves are 17 cold. Keep in mind before I started cutting up I weighed 365lbs. Just finished a cutting up phase and am now putting my strength back together. In mid phase at 290 I was pressing 260lbs behind the neck for 8-10 reps on a last set of 5 total, clean reps no belt on a free standing bench as my seat. I dont have workout partners so I use a smith machine to spot me. Until I regained strength in my CORE I only leg pressed and did not squat. Leg press was 4 sets of 25 at 5-45lb plates per side. Curling straight bar last set of 8 with 110lbs no cheating like these youngsters to show off. Tricep press downs with a V-bar was the stack plus a 45lb hanging off one side and a 25 off the other for my last set of 15 reps (5th set). Got threatened to be thrown out by the owner for that one. Everything I do I try to do with strict form.

I even have a trainer now that pounds that form shit into my head every day. My critique was of the overall video and the difference between the two. My critique would be a little tighter than most because of my trainers education and persistence. I tend to see things others don't. I dont believe in pulling huge wts in sacrafice of form, it causes impingements and imblances in the muscles.

I do insane shit for cardio and other movments that freaks the shit out of guys half my age. Like power Plyo's and planks. I use 15lb heavy balls to do abs and work on my core muscles. By the way I look like Im about 25. Because of my background Im also one of the more lethal (with my hands) MoFo's you'll ever meet. Im a bodyguard and ex SWAT guy and prior military. I have moshed guys half my age, recently, in the name of self defense and over the past year and a half. (Colorado is full of testosterone laiden dudes who don't know when to back off)
I am glad to hear you have worked on your technique and form. I am impressed with the amount of wt you use and rep with in the movement. My response was also to the fact that he naturally picked the one guy who did the most wt assuming his was correct technique when the other was less wt with better technique. My apologies for offending. I don't get into pissing contests in here or in the gym. I just shut up and train. I have had my share of critiques and people laugh at me. Even now I get some chuckles until they see my change in almost overnight then they stop and what to know what Im doing. Keep pulling big but lets keep working to do it right.
 
thanks for the bio. =0)

well you several years younger than me. but im in my prime. =0)

no pissing on my part.

btw im a personal trainer, its what i do for a living as well as still compete in powerlifting. in powerlifting its about who lifts the most weight as you know. occasioannly form is compremised. i did leg press yesterday, 1160 for a set of 20. that was after squatting. im more intereseted in what guys can squat, pull and bench as opposed to tricept push downs and curls. for cardio i pull trucks and heavy sled work. insane enough for ya?

i think behind the neck press is a dangerous movement.

and 545x5 on deads is far from heavy. that clip is several years old. the litle guy pulling pulls well over 600 for singles. he was doing grip work in that clip. if youll notce he was dbl ovberhand with no straps. i was 315 in that clip im about 295 now at 6'.
 
I agree with you behind the neck is a dangerous movement but I am old school on some of my lifts and it took my personal trainer to change my form on that to the front. We talked about impingements and imbalances of doing it the other way. I realize you and I are probably using terms most dont hear in these forums such as impingements and core. I considered my prime when I was in my 20's and had no form or technique and pulled big all the time. I hurt myself bad one time in college doing deads. Pulled 725 for five singles with my coach yelling for more. Pulled a muscle and spent a week in bed. That changed my mind about how I lifted and my focus.

I subscribe to the Animal mentality of lifting. I don't talk much, if at all. I don't get into any competition with anyone. My whole focus changed for me when I adopted this mentality. Its just me, the wt. and my will to conquer it balls out. I will eat every 2 1/2 hours even if I have to pull off the road or just walk away from what I am doing, or leave people where they stand if they don't listen to needing to eat. No one and nothing will keep me from the gym or my training eating or sleeping. Not a wife, not family, not girlfriends, nor outings, nor nights on the town. The training, eating, and sleeping always come first.

I used to do alot of pwer lifting movements for College Football when I played. I admire guys who can keep that up as a form of lifting. I use them now as strength and mass builders. I am about to be certified in Sports Nutrition. My trainer spent a year in class with NPTI to get certified. I just recently did and Olympic power lifting demo for her class with her as the instructor. She is quite the power house and built like a rock.

Keep on Keeping on, Pullin Big. From one Animal Bro to Another, Lift well and Get Swole.
 
Thanks, Bad choice of words on my part. I always make that mistake. My trainer corrects me all the time too, then just shakes her head and laughs. =)
 
A single rep defines a deadlift, not a set. If you want to reset then do so, if you dont, then dont. Deadlifts from the floor also hit the legs yes.
 
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