Posted this question onto my log earlier, gonna copy paste into into its own topic to get maximum feedback. Wall of text incoming:
1RM: 445
425x3x1
385 emom (these are the 6-10th reps)
Speed work: 335x8x2 (first and last set not recorded)
I feel like I need an absolute overhaul. If you look at these (about 75% of my 1rm) and the ones where I was hitting heavier singles, it doesn’t matter how heavy the load they look like shit. They feel good but they’re ugly. (Note: this is all just my perception, I could be making a big deal out of nothing.)
Starting position:
I usually start hips pretty high cuz I’m tall and have shortish arms. I tried tinkering around and started getting a lower starting position, but my hips were shooting up before the weights broke off the floor. I saw you advise people to just start higher when that happens so I just went back to starting higher hips. The problem is my “ideal” hip position where the weight starts to break the floor seems like it’s almost an RDL when i look at it. (Again it feels good when I do it this way, but it looks bad when I watch it on video.)
Edit: also, what’s actual issue with starting lower and just lifting when the hips move up to that sweet spot? I’m guessing it’s a power leak? I feel like whenever I really focus mentally on “drive with the legs” is when my hips shoot up
Upper back:
My upper back is round on every rep. It doesn’t feel like an actual mechanical weakness (1. Because my traps and lats still feel packed pretty tight and 2. My back doesnt start to round when I lift, it’s round the whole time) it’s, like, a matter of mobility. When i deliberately pinch my scalpulas together and down my arms aren’t long enough to reach the bar. So I have to either 1. Loosen up my upper back a little (still trying to maintain tightness and force my scalpula together through the movement) or 2. Get in a lower starting position, which leads back to problem 1: my hips shoot up.
Shoes:
I’m still stuck between wearing my weightlifting shoes with a slightly elevated heel, or just wearing flat vans. The last DL session was in vans. This one started in the heeled shoe and then I did a few sets bare foot.
Heeled makes me feel like I start in a better position, and helps me get more leg drive, but sometimes makes me feel like I’m leaning forward a bit.
Flat soled shoes don’t feel bad either. Ive always deadlifted either flat soled or barefoot up until this last year when I got my new squat shoes. I’m only really asking because I’ve seen 99% of people advise against the elevated heel (with Mark Riptoe being the exception. He says they help activate the quads and give more leg drive) As far as strength goes, there’s no real discrepancies between em, and they both feel good so should I even worry about it? Is An elevated heel going to be something that is a bigger issue when I start moving more weight?