Deadlift Form Check, Technique After 1 Year

Yooo your lower back seems rounded, brace man.

Yeah, trying my best to work on it. Will lower the weight next time I deadlift and see how itā€™ll go. Thanks man!

Might as well make a new thread since it would conflict with the title of this one and probably not get many responses.

I might advise doing some hyperextensions as part of your programming.

hyper

or

band%20gms

band goodmornings

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My main sport is as weight-dependent as it gets (rock climbing). I keep adding weight and I seem to keep getting better at it. Seems like the extra power output off-sets the weight. I went from 145 to 170 and keep getting better. Now obviously if i got to 200 Iā€™d be past a diminishing return, but I still donā€™t even look like I lift so 170 is not very heavy at all. How tall are you?

I doubt adding muscle to your body, especially if you practice explosive movements like jumps, throws, etc. is going to hurt you. Iā€™d be willing to wager it will help you be more explosive and hit the ball harder.

EDIT: and if you really want to get a bigger deadlift without gaining weight, itā€™s possible to still improve for a long time. Itā€™ll just be your technique getting better. You wonā€™t necessarily be stronger.

@bulldog9899 That looks really nice for the lower back, which I will admit is a weakness of mine. We donā€™t have a machine for that in our gym, but Iā€™ll see how I can mimic the movement as close as I can with what we have. Will Good mornings be ok? Although at this point, I might hurt myself more with that if I do it improperlyā€¦ Thanks man!

Edit: I just saw your recent edit with the banded good mornings. Iā€™m going to give that a go. Thanks man!

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Hmmā€¦you have a good point. Maybe it is time to add some weight. Been stuck at 150-155 for so long that I just became comfortable with it. Maybe it is time.

Iā€™m 5ā€™9 btw

Glad you seen the editā€¦ I would diffidently do the the band version first until you got comfortable with the movement pattern .

Alright, thank you so much!

The thing is, dropping weight is really easy. Iā€™m never worried Iā€™ll end up being too heavy because I know if I just stop eating as much Iā€™ll drop weight. That said, my 25-pound weight gain happened over 3 years, and I was FRAIL at the beginning. Like grossly underweight. Iā€™m certainly not advocating a ā€œbulkingā€ mindset. I just train for climbing and lift, and eat enough to fuel my training and get the most out of it. Over time this has caused me to add weight. Iā€™m still not big. Iā€™m 6ā€™0" so 170=nobody even knows I train if I wear a long-sleeved shirt.

Iā€™ll say it again because it came off as an afterthought on my last post, but there have been times where Iā€™ve improved my deadlift quite a bit at the same bodyweight. A lot of that is technique and neural efficiency-related. I donā€™t think you ā€œneedā€ to gain weight to improve your deadlift right now. Iā€™m almost certain you donā€™t. Iā€™m just saying from one skinny guy to the next, I wouldnā€™t necessarily avoid gaining weight. You donā€™t have to prioritize it but if youā€™re training for strength you will eventually gain some weight, which is not a bad thing and you wonā€™t wake up one day and be too heavy and too sluggish to play volleyball.

Hope that clears things up.

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Got it. Time to enjoy eating again without having to calorie count, lol. Just healthier choices I guess. Thanks man, really appreciate it!

For any other beginners like me out there who might have the same problem as I do, I think (and hope) this video will help a lot, specially the part about tightness, which the other members have been pointing out. Excited to try these out.

Hope it helps!

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It may be too soon to upload another video, but what the hell. Decided to make this thread sort of a technique improvement log for my deadlift.

80kg (176 lbs)

Cues I was thinking of before pulling:

  • barbell over midfoot
  • DO NOT MOVE THE BARBELL
  • try my best to engage the lats
  • try my best to stay tight in the abs and upper back (shoulders down, not forward nor shrugged back)
  • prevent posterior pelvic tilt, feeling tension in the hamstrings
  • be patient and pull the slack out of the bar first
  • push the floor away with your legs as you pull

And hereā€™s me cheating. Iā€™ve only learned sumo the past few weeks and this was the third set after 3 sets of conventional. Still 80kg.

Hopefully thereā€™s some improvement. Thereā€™s still some rounding, and If itā€™s still bad, Iā€™ll drop the weight further before putting it back on linear progression. @chris_ottawa, @bulldog9899, @FlatsFarmer

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It looks better for sure, there appears to be some very slight rounding in the lumbar spine but not enough to be concerned about unless your back hurts. Just work on bracing and you should be fine. I find that the McGill curl up is a good bracing drill, start doing those. You could do the McGill to get your abs working before you lift, it would probably help.

Also, you could try slightly extending your lower back. And I mean slightly, not ā€œarch hardā€ or anything like that. There is nothing wrong with slight extension and if you have a tendency to round then you are more likely to just end up at neutral.

Conventional Deadlift is looking better. I agree with chris, keep focused on your bracing as you lift heavier weights. Donā€™t rush.

I think the sumo looks pretty good. I like how you try to stay tight as you lower yourself to the bar. If you donā€™t go overboard trying to master the technique, some work in the Sumo Stance can build up your hips and glutes to improve your conventional deadlift.

@chris_ottawa, glad to hear itā€™s better even if just by a little. Iā€™ll give those a go. watched a couple of videos and my abs felt sore just by watching. Haha. Thanks!

@FlatsFarmer thanks man! Yeah, cailer woolam always advocated training both so thatā€™s why Iā€™m trying to learn it now

Thanks guys. Really appreciate all the help!

So I just realized itā€™s been a year

Last year:

Now:

Stance is a little wider, grip a little wider too as a consequence. I think I can get into a better start position this way
Still trying to get better at bracing, trying my best to use my lats now
I think Iā€™ve learned to pull the slack out of the bar and wedging myself to the bar before I pull

Took quite a while, but hey, no regrets

It usually does. Most peopleā€™s form changes over time as they develop individual differences in strengths and weaknesses.

Looked much better and more fluid.

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