Hi guys in a few weeks i Will join a powerlifting club but at the moment i Need some tips because this thing is getting frustrating.
I am 185cm with very Long legs, Short torso and average arms, i notice that when i deadlift conventional my lower back rounds a lot , it doesnt matter if it is 100kg or 180kg my back Just cant get flat, it is uncomfortable to get in the conventional position and the more my hips go low the more my lower back rounds. I tried sumo but i Just cant lift as much as conventional. I dont think i have hip mobility issues because i squat Wide stance and i have no problem hitting depth. When i do romanians bb rows and sldl i am able to keep my back completely flat though
I’m a bit over 6 ft(maybe 181-183 cm) with average length arms, it sounds like we are in a similar boat.
What helped me was backing away from the bar a little bit when pulling conventional. Shins for me don’t touch the bar until I’m down and just about to start the pull.
Also trunk/abdominal and lots of lat work. The stronger your trunk, the easier it will be to hold your torso in a stable position.
Remember that not everyone’s pull will look the same. As long as the lower back is not incredibly rounded and doesn’t change dramatically in flexion angles during the pull you’ll probably be fine.
A video would be helpful if you’d like any further guidance.
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If you happen to have a video, that would be better.
It looks like your upper back is already somewhat rounded before you have started the pull. Not necessarily a problem, but if you start rounded, you’ll pull rounded.
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If you use a very wide grip, you’ll get the upper back tightness to help out upper back rounding. Can you post video / pic doing a rack pull? Can you get into position that way (wide grip with a higher starting point w/ the bar?) If you can do this with pic / video proof then you’re most likely really tight in the hams, low back, glutes, etc. The solution would be some stretching / foam rolling and RDL’s / rack pulls until you gain the ROM. There’s some discussion about this in the American Sniper workout article on tnation.
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Ill take a pic of rack pull tomorrow slightly under knee. But i know i wont be rounded it happens when i reach the bar on the floor.
I have watched a video of Brian Shaw explaining his Wide stance Wide grip conventional and it seems to make sense so ill try also that and take a picture trying out that and sumo too so it might help to understand my problem. Thank you guys
Looks like you probably have some really tight hips/glutes/hamstrings and it can restrict you from getting into a good starting position. Before you start to pull you’ll want to have your head up and upper back tight(not sure if you’re doing that, all I can see is the picture)
I wouldn’t cancel out sumo just yet, if you are considering switching you won’t be able to pull the same in the beginning because it can take weeks/months/years to perfect the form but if you decide to switch you’ll need to give it lots of time and the strength will come.
Your mobility is poor.
I took a pic of the sumo (feet touchin the plates) seems like that with this stance my back doesnt round, but i cant get more down than that . But i would probably pull 50kg less
Is that the beginning of your pull? You are very far in front of the bar, especially for sumo.
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Your conventional deadlift looks like an injury waiting to happen. Unless you are about to set a new world record you should seriously consider switching to sumo. There are some guys out there who can pull big weights with a severely rounded lower back, but they are a small minority and chances are that you aren’t one of them. You can’t pull as much sumo right now because you aren’t used to it and your technique is obviously lacking (judging by the picture) but if you work on it then eventually you will be pulling more than you are now and with much less injury risk. Start with a closer stance and slowly move out further, if you aren’t used to pulling sumo and you don’t squat with an extremely wide stance then chances are that your adductors are neither strong nor flexible enough right now.
Sumo is also a lot more technical so there’s a steeper learning curve.
Form is important in conventional, but it’s relatively much more of a brute strength movement.
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