Help on Deadlift

Looking for some help. I am having issues with deadlift form. I have pretty long legs, and when I’m doing dead lifts, the bar is constantly scraping my shins. If I try to compensate, I feel like I’m leaning too far forward, and I can feel it in my lower back later. I have been doing sumo deadlifts lately to avoid the issue, but I’m wondering if anyone has any pointers on regular deadlifts.

If the bar is NOT scraping your shins your doing them wrong!! you have a couple options if you don’t like the bloody shins

  1. the easiest and best solution is baby powder, just make sure you don’t mix it with your chalk! slather that stuff on your shins and thighs and the bar will grease up without yanking all your hair and leaving a bloody path
  2. Shin guards, a little girly but they work, just go to any hardcore PL supply store and you’ll find 'em

As the bar comes away from your body it gets heavier and as you’ve noticed you’ll start to lose form and control, keep it close and tight

Good luck

Sorry but beat up shins are a way of life when dead lifting.

Hey bro whats up ive never ever done dead lifts on a straight bar i have always done them on the diamond bar you get in the middle of it and it has handles on each side plus two bars sting out on 2 sides works WONDERS and you wont hurt your shins

If you do not want the banged up shins get some neoprene shin sleves. This should lessen the damage your shins take!

The bar doesn’t have to scrape your shins. That’s a misconception many people have.

A few pointers: Don’t sit too low, keep your shoulders behind the bar, push your butt out, arch your lower back and look up.

For clarification, read Dave Tate’s article on top 10 common DL mistakes.

Check your PM.

On a side note,

When you guys deadlift, do your toes lift off the ground. Lately, when I pull, all the force pulling backwards lifts my toes off the ground and puts me on my heels for a second before lockout. Is this good/bad? Any feedback?

Is there any reason you can’t put the pad on the bar that people use when they squat? I did that the other day and my shins didn’t get scraped up and the bar moved very smoothly over my shins because the pad actually rolled along my legs.

[quote]mwebbjones wrote:
Is there any reason you can’t put the pad on the bar that people use when they squat? I did that the other day and my shins didn’t get scraped up and the bar moved very smoothly over my shins because the pad actually rolled along my legs.[/quote]

You know, if I saw you doing this in the gym, I would probably wonder what the hell you are doing. But it kinda makes sense.

However, I think you should know what it feels like to have the bar scrape your shins and be able to tolerate it. People will argue whether or not it should touch your shins; but even if you try not to touch them, as you get heavy you may lose form and scrape a little. I think you need to be prepared for this and not be shocking by the bar ripping some skin off.

Me, personally, I liked when my shins got ripped up. I liked walking around the gym with blood running down my legs. Just make sure you wipe off the bar when you are done. Nobody wants to use a bar with your blood on it.

I agree with malonted, but also, if you use the squat pad, you will likely lower the ammount you can deadlift, as the bad is soft, thick, and produces friction, so the pad may make you fold the bar further from your body than you should, then if you bring it into your body, it will not just slide up your body, but it will slowly cushon the impact.

How’s your hamstring flexibility?

Man, I used to have problems with deadlifts and this huge guy at the gym told me, 'damnit son, you’re as big as a house, JUST PICK THE DAMN WEIGHT UP." And that’s what I did and I did 150lbs more than I had ever done right then and there. Relax before you start your pull, don’t tense all up and waste your energy flexing. Also, I noticed that a 15-20 second static stretch of my hip flexors helped wonders. I would also recommend stretching your antagonists (quads) before each set as well. Hope that helps, good luck and go heavy!
-T-M@tt

The bar doesn’t have to scrape your shins. That’s a misconception many people have.

A few pointers: Don’t sit too low, keep your shoulders behind the bar, push your butt out, arch your lower back and look up.

Chints Do you believe everything your read? Go to a Powerlifting meet of any caliber and tell me how many lifters keep the bar off their shins.

It’s possible to do but for 2 reasons I would highly discourage it.

  1. As the bar travesl away from your legs it gains weight, especially on the downward motion where you will more likely lose control and thus lose form which opens you up for injury. If you want to just lift some weight off the floor it’s one thing, if you want to DL you need to maximize the effort, most people can lift alot more than they do.
  2. If your worried about shin damage, rolling a inside smooth knurled bar is a lot easier on your shins than having the bar bounce off it while your trying to maintain an inch away.

The whole point is if you want to DL then DL, if you want to pick some weight up than get off the platform and be careful not to scratch yourself.

If the bar is NOT scraping your shins your doing them wrong!

This statement is wrong. Read Dave Tate’s article on pulling here on t-mag. It depends on how your are built.

TxAirForce,how wide of a grip do you use? I’m tall with long legs also and when I use a shoulder width grip the bar has problems getting past my shins and causes me to come forward…Could this be more of the problem?

When I use a wider grip(like a snatch grip but not quite as wide)the bar gets past my shins easier while still keeping my shoulders/heels in position. The bar still grazes my shins but doesn’t take all the meat off my legs. Keeping your chest out and shoulders back is also key to keep the bar in tight. Stay motivated.

[quote]TravisCS84 wrote:
On a side note,

When you guys deadlift, do your toes lift off the ground. Lately, when I pull, all the force pulling backwards lifts my toes off the ground and puts me on my heels for a second before lockout. Is this good/bad? Any feedback?[/quote]

Travis,

This is OK as long as you are not losing your balance. I went to a seminar put on by Mike Robertson and Mike Hartle and they advocate this. As matter of fact, they try to raise their toes slightly when doing the deadlift. This puts more stress on the prime movers, the hamstrings and glutes and puts the bar in a more biomechanical advantage. Mike, please correct me if I am wrong in my statement.

Hey thanks for the replie.

Yeah, I don’t lose my balance, I just pull with my post chain and it brings everything up including my toes.