T Nation

Deadlift/Squat Form Check

Beginners
#1

reason i post my deadlift is i will honest i have no idea exactly which muscles i should be activitaing to do the lift

i have watched tonnes of vids from top pros and kinda know what my form should be (not sure if i do right)

i postion my feet half way under the bar
i take hold of the bar and take the slack so that arms are full stretch ready for the pull/lift
i push from legs until it gets to about just below hips then kinda push hips

is that correct?

thanks for any responses good or bad :slight_smile:

dead lift

dead lift 2

second one got off short as i was trimming it didnt realise i over trimmed sorry

thanks again…in 2nd post i would like to repost my squat form as didnt get many response to first thread thanks

#2

Squat check pls

1

2

thanks

#3

Hey man. Just a quick runthrough of the deadlift.

  1. Heels are coming off the ground putting more weight foward.
  2. Head is not neutral causing more curve in lumbar spine.
  3. Good, you’re using your hips
  4. Hips are too low in start of the lift.

Try focusing on starting with your head neutral facing down arch your back properly and try to get more of your body weight going backwards.

Heres an easy cue to try.

Walk up to the bar, put the bar in the center of your foot. Bend over and stick your ass back as far as you can. Once you hit your limit THEN bend knees until they hit the bar. Before you pull, make sure you already have tension on the bar, meaning you wont hear the bar clack when you take it off the ground.

#4

With the squat, its good, you aren’t curving your lower back at the bottom which is something that I see a lot.

Try to squat more up and down maintaining the bar closer to you. The more you sit back the farther the bar is from you and the more you have the tendency to good morning the weight up. Get your hips under the bar more with external hip rotation.

#5

New squat videos look fine to me.

#6

Your squat look fine.

Your deadlift looks weird, but not because of form. Rather, I’m really curious what % of your max you were using. It looks as though it’s completely effortless. You appear to be pulling with your arms moreso than pushing with your legs.

#7

hi thanks for replies

the problem i have is thats max weight i have for now i have to get a proper bar to hold more :smiley: my whole gym is kinda D.I.Y made

but def getting proper bar more plates

the weight on the deadlift is somewhere around 230 i think, i can do 10/12reps i will be blowing heavy but wouldnt be bushed. id say another 50lbs would be my max but as of yet to try so sorry if that makes no sense but from the feeling of lifting it id say 50lbs would be heaps for me ( i might be over shooting number i have no idea i mean 20lbs more i might struggle…)

i think i do push with legs maybe i am not pushing through the heel as much as i think i am? maybe more so through front of foot/toes?

#8

If you can do 230 for 10-12 reps without trouble, then you can easily do 280+ for 5+ reps.

The way your heel rises during your deadlift made me think that you were pulling. Like you said just push through your heels.

And don’t use the belt. It is unnecessary and can weaken your form by giving you stability that you wouldn’t have otherwise.

#9

thanks will focus more on heel drive

the belt i only started using recently as i saw a few bodybuilders recomending them for not only less injury/but some say they slim the waist :smiley: but i will probably ditch it as i actually find it uncomfortable and restrictive

i will focus on the heel push more could i put a small plate under the front of my foot to to encourage this action more? or back of foot? or neither?

thanks again

#10

p.s what exactly does the deadlift do? as in what muscles does it stimulate growth of most?
when doing them i feel it in my thighs and last bit of it maybe back,
i read somewhere squats is legs/core and deadlifts to do on back day?so would it be mainly a back movement?

also when squatting, could i fill a ruck sack/holdall on my back with weights it wont impede the bar just so i can add more weight ? or would this cause am imbalance?

thanks

#11

It would be more weight on your midback. Probably cause a tilt forward. Try pause squats or box squats. Dead lifts work your entire body. Mainly hamstrings glutes quads and core.

#12

[quote]michaelmi5 wrote:
i will focus on the heel push more could i put a small plate under the front of my foot to to encourage this action more? or back of foot? or neither?

thanks again[/quote]

Neither. Just focus on pushing your weight through your heels.

#13

[quote]magick wrote:

[quote]michaelmi5 wrote:
i will focus on the heel push more could i put a small plate under the front of my foot to to encourage this action more? or back of foot? or neither?

thanks again[/quote]

Neither. Just focus on pushing your weight through your heels.[/quote]
Stick your toes out slightly and rotate your knees outward until your knees are in line with your shins. This will help you push more

#14

I think the problem with your deadlift is that weight is too light for you. You know it’s too light so you are thinking about doing a heap of reps.
This is problematic. Even elite level deadlifters lose form after 5 reps yet your trying to do 12.

The weight is so light for you that you are puling with your arms. Do that with a max weight and you’re in trouble.
I understand you don’t have any more plates so it’s an issue at the moment but at some stage you need to increase the intensity and lower the reps right down to 5’s and 3’s and heaps of singles.

The deadlift is a technical lift so practicing singles will help nail the form. The set up is vital for a deadlift. If you don’t set it up right you wont lift correctly. When you first put your hands on the bar push your chest out as far as you can. Arch you lumbar as hard as you can and breathe in a huge amount of air and hold it. Push your abs out into the belt (this is what the belt is for).

Before starting the lift pull the slack out of the bar. This means you lean back hard and set your hips into their correct position. Some like to have hips high whilst some keep it low. There really isn’t a one size fits all here. If your hips fly up before you even get the weight off the ground then you’ll know you’re too low but it’s not a big deal and easy to fix. When you start the pull the bar must come up against your shins. Your arms must be dead straight just like levers. Press your heels hard into the ground and thrust your hips forward to finish. If you have trouble staying back on your heels then curl your toes up at the beginning of the lift. This is a good cue for squats as well.

You have the bar going out forward then back. Again I’d say it’s because the weight is too light.

As for what muscles the deadlift uses you’ll find out once you start going heavy. In warm up sets most people feel it in their quads, hamstrings and glutes. Once it starts getting heavy you’ll feel it in your erector spinae, trapezius and even in your lats when you get close to max lifts.

Edit: I just re read what I wrote and watched your deads again and I may have been a bit too picky as your lift really isn’t too bad. I think it’s easy fixed by just keeping the weight closer to your body and scraping the shins and by not using your arms to pull.

#15

thanks for great input Angus

will look out for plates and bar this week, very expensive where i am and never any second hand ones for sale…

great tips will def try that out and post once i have more weight on bar

thanks again :smiley:

#16

Jesus, Angus that was a qualified answer. I was just about to write that his deadlift was fine hhaha