Okay, I’ll start with the facts.
I am a noob to the site, but I’ve been lifting off and on (mostly off since I powerlifted in college, I’m sad to say) for a couple of decades now.
Recently I’ve become really a big fan of strongman, and my local gym here in Arlington, Texas actually hosts its own and so on, so I’ve decided to get back into it and hopefully even compete in a strongman competition.
I’m 41.
I’m 6’6" and weigh around 390lbs right now. Mostly gut.
Here’s the trouble I’m having.
I was taught that correct form for the deadlift is feet about shoulder width apart, hands placed just outside that, (My index fingers are wrapped around the smooth little strip on the bar right at my shoulder’s width) head up/back, back straight, using legs and back together, not all lower back and stand straight up with it, just like a squat, and back down. Not too fast, and not too heavy.
My problem is that when I get my grip on the bar, after I’ve placed my feet, when I lower my ass to start the rep, my knees hit my forearms. I attribute this to either my big gut or my big legs, but either way, when I widen my arms further out to accommodate my legs, the grip feels too wide.
I was wondering if the whole knees inside/knees outside rule was a hard and fast rule, so I hit youtube to get some examples.
Sure enough, I caught some vids. One of Brian Siders, one of Andy Bolton, one of Bendict Magnusson, and one of Ed Coan.
While Bolton, Coan, and Benny all had their knees inside their arms, Siders had his legs outside his arms. And…like me, siders has a pretty good sized gut.
So which is correct? Should I just widen my hands out or bring my feet in? Or is it okay to go with my knees outside my arms?
Thanks for any help.
Hoss