[Closed] Deadlift - proper form

Don't bend your lower back - hinge at your hips! Hold your whole trunk straight and strong throughout.

Quite a few good tutorials on YouTube worth a look. Straight back and drive through your heels

You should be keeping your back straight, like this guy

Bending your back is poor form and will get you injured. The deadlift is pretty similar to a squat except it's more in the hips whereas the squat is more in the knees.

I implore anyone who does dead lifts to research and practice proper form.

I didn't and compressed my L5-S1 disc when I was 18. It significantly degraded my quality of life for the following 12 years and now whilst now very well managed, at the age of 41 I am still living with the consequences, and likely will be for the entirety of my short stay on this little rock.

Thanks

I actually think i do hinge the hips (i do pilates often), but it feels like the Motion of pivoting in my hips puts a lot of force through my lower back.

I have a bot of DOMS in my lower back this morning, i would expect this to be normal though.

More difficult to explain than i thought!

I was taught by a female and was told it's all "tits and ass".
At the bottom; stick your ass out to ensure your spine is neutral/arched. At the top stick your tits out to ensure same.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/BBDeadlift.html

[url=

Rippetoe deadlift video.[/url]

some good tips here:
http://www.ericcressey.com/3-coaching-cues-strength-and-conditioning-programs-deadlift-technique

My deadlift form is impeccable (even if I say so myself!) due to a back injury in my early twenties.

As above, back ramrod straight with chest out and bum out, drive from the hips not from a rounded/bending back..
After a good deadlift session it's my hamstrings and traps that are sore the following day, not my lower back!

You're doing them wrong, sorry.

I got told..

Straight back, ass slightly out to help straight back.

Head level, not looking up too much, stop posing and checking yourself out.

Shins close the floor. Push feet through the floor then push hips forward. Boom!

Reverse hands.

Oh, I love deadlifts. Probably my favourite thing to do in the gym.

I love deadlifts. Best feeling in the gym.

Don't do it with a hood up or with Beats by Dre massive headphones.
Terrible form.

Edit: that Rippetoe video is superb

that Rippetoe video is superb

Your best bet is to ask for some coaching in the gym, if they have a professional staff they should be able to help, but as said above - that video is great, it's given me some pointers!

Commercial gyms won't have a decent deadlift instructor, generally.

Drag the bars up your legs. Long trousers only.

Commercial gyms won't have a decent deadlift instructor, generally.

My works gym has such as sign. I just wait for it to be empty (ie late-ish at night). 😉

Mark Rippetoe deadlift video.

Rippetoe is the man when it comes to the big lifts. SS devotes about 30-40 pages to the squat and deadlift.

Invest in starting strength if doing compound exercises, it will pay off in the long run.

I got banned from a commercial gym for making too much noise dropping the bar when deadlifting. I was taking powerlifting pretty seriously at the time so it was big weights, so they went up slow and went down quick!

I get encouraged at my gym. I can draw a crowd haha

Can't believe I opened this, or wathced the video ... but it was well worth it for the guy's comments on bar-dropping 😆

Being as one of my other interests is weight lifting I've found this an interesting read.

What sort of numbers are people putting up?
I'd consider my dead lift quite small. 170kg at 85kg body weight.

Best I've managed is 205 @ around 90ish

237.5kg at 115kg.

After two years off and an arm break I'm back up to 180kg.

form trumps weight. Keep the weight low and form strict. Bent back ibvariably because of too much weight.

Yeah as wayward rider said I'd not lift heavy unless you need too. And if it's bike based training you want then I wouldn't go too mad.
If you go for max lifts all firm can tend to go out the window and it's easy to ruin your back

form trumps weight

This.

2x BW is a good target to aim for (I'm hoping to get there by end of the year, about 15kg off at the moment).

Couldn't resist...

Yeah I always got told body weight deadlifts is 'normal' 1.5 times , decent and twice body weight is good going . Ie you are now ready to crush heads on the outside

If you want to know numbers then this is a good place to start:

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/DeadliftStandardsKg.html

If you want to know numbers then this is a good place to start:

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/DeadliftStandardsKg.html

Hah, according to that as an untrained lifter I should be using 75kg! I've been working up from 30 to 50 and even that has seen me loose form and need to revise technique.

Hah, according to that as an untrained lifter I should be using 75kg! I've been working up from 30 to 50 and even that has seen me loose form and need to revise technique.

The definition for a novice in the standards is someone who doesn't train, but has been shown how to do the exercise. It's also for a 1 rep max I believe.

It's supposed to be based on aggregated data. So I guess there may be some outliers.

Yes ha forgot to say my numbers are 1 rep max

Deadlifts are great, but a lot of 'globo-gyms' get stroppy about weights being dropped. Until 4 months ago I trained at a decent gym and now strugging to find one locally to my new job that'll be accommodating or has a decent floor. (Dropping is not about throwing weights about unneccessarily; it is about safety - I've seen people focus wholly on getting the weight up and then form goes out the window getting it back down again)

It's well worth spending the money on some proper instruction on the olympic lifts. As outlined above repeatedly you can do yourself some real damage. Form is everything.

This is probably a more pragmatic set of weight standards:

http://danjohn.net/2013/04/strength-standards-sleepless-in-seattle/

For Men:
Push
Expected = Bodyweight bench press
Game-changer = Bodyweight bench press for 15 reps
Pull
Expected = 5 pullups
Game-changer = 15 pullups
[b]Hinge
Expected = Bodyweight to 150% bodyweight deadlift
Game-changer = Double-bodyweight deadlift[/b]
Squat
Expected = Bodyweight squat
Game-changer = Bodyweight squat for 15 reps
Loaded Carry
Expected = Farmer walk with total bodyweight (half per hand)
Game-changer =Bodyweight per hand
Getup
One left and right, done with a half-filled cup of water

And a progressive scale for Hip Hinge:

Hip Hinge Movement

1. Hip Hinge with Proper Form (From stand, floor and loaded)
2. Kettlebell Swing: 24K x 20 (Proper Form)
3. Double Kettlebell Clean: 32K x 10
4. Barbell Clean: Bodyweight
5. Barbell Deadlift: Double Bodyweight
6. Barbell Snatch: Bodyweight
7. Barbell Deadlift 2.5 x Bodyweight

Love deadlifts, counter intuitively they helped clear up my lower back pain. Close second to the squat.

+1 for Rippetoe and the starting strength programme. Jim Wendler's 5 3 1 programe is good too.

bend at the lower back too much, is this correct?

never bend the lower back; almost all the bend is at the hips, and slightly at the knees

230kg @ 100kg, several year back

If i did keep the back dead straight and maintained good form, would one expect some DOMS in the lower back, considering i have just added this into my weekly routine?

I hadn't deadlifted for ages until last week and i could feel the DOMS in the lower back. I usually do squats and lunges though so i wouldn't expect DOMS in my hamstrings and quads as they are used to the stresses

If i did keep the back dead straight and maintained good form, would one expect some DOMS in the lower back, considering i have just added this into my weekly routine?

Yes as you do use your lower back muscles quite a lot to keep your back position stable during the lift.

[img] [/img]

good form, would one expect some DOMS in the lower bac

absolutely, yes

good form, would one expect some DOMS in the lower bac

absolutely, yes

+1

A few minutes on the foam roller sorts me right out

Rusty Shackleford - Member

pussy

Reported 😉

I was on about 3 sets of 12-15 reps by the way, still not heavy, but I'm just learning!

that guy in the picture is jacked.

What unlocked it for me was learning to "lead with the chest".

Still scared to try higher weight lifts though.

Still scared to try higher weight lifts though.

Build up with the trap bar. So much easier than an olympic bar

What's a trap bar? I only have access to a power rack in a home gym, olympic bar and weights.

[img] [/img]

What unlocked it for me was learning to "lead with the chest"

Yep, as soon as I feel my chest not rising and my hips going up, I know my form has gone and abandon that attempt.

Managed 240kg the other week until I ran out of room on the bar. Scared about going heavier though. 240 is probably enough. Form is really important. When I'm getting tired my form goes so I cm back right off and stop.

Been doing 4 minute tabata exercises using 180kg

Beast!

How much do you weigh, and how long did it take to work up to that?

I'm 140kg

240kg was my third time deadlifting.

+1 on possible permanent disc damage due to incorrect form. Even only lifting ~body-weight it's easy enough to ruin a lot of future bike rides/walks etc. Herniated disc puts pressure on my left leg sciatic nerve - sore down my hip/leg and bit pins and needles under my foot

I was told a risk factor can be tight hamstrings which are fairly common amongst cyclists

Lift safe everyone!

Nothing to add to the form tips, apart from maybe keep your feet under the bar. Deadlifts are simple and safe and a great movement for performance, if you see people posting signs to the contrary, laugh in their face.