Thread: Deadlift question

Originally Posted by Kraken

Question on form.

Do you keep your back straight or do you bend?

I always thought you kept it straight until I watched a show on TV and the guy deadlifting was bending.

thanks in advance

bending, no.. some people do bent back deadlifts, though, but I don't know if you want to get into that, it's a completely different thing. You should keep the natural arch in the lower back. It sometimes looks like the lower back is flexing when people lift heavy, but often it's just the upper back that's flexing.

It would depend on what type of a deadlift is being discussed but this looks like the normal one where you can see under common deadlift mistakes - rounding the back.

I always keep my back straight when deadlifting.

I keep my back straight, but when going heavy (near 1rm heavy) my back can tend to hunch without being able to help it. Same with anyone else?

Originally Posted by blackbeard

It would depend on what type of a deadlift is being discussed but this looks like the normal one where you can see under common deadlift mistakes - rounding the back.

thanks. Oh yeah I'm doing them totally wrong. no wonder why I screwed up my back. LOL

I'm keeping my back straight and going too low with my legs.

Keep your back straight, you don't want to get injured; by keeping it straight your muscles act as a shield and lock your lower back, making the deadlift a lot safer.

So the best way to describe what I'm doing is

I bend at the knees without bending at the back to pick up the bar. Back is totally straight, almost like I'm squatting. Then I use my legs to lift the weight and my back never moves.

I got that form from another vid posted on here.

That sounds fine

It can be kinda hard to describe **** on here without seeing it...

But, I am tall as hell and I have noticed different things over the years when trying different forms...when I would try to force my hips way down, my back was more likely to bend. I had this idea in my head from reading most "proper form" articles that the hips have to go way low. Instead, I started doing what was more comfortable. I drop my hips, but not as much, and have no issues keeping my back nice and tight and straight.

Here's my instructional video... might help you with some of the visualization and cues.

YouTube - conventional deadlift

well, you'll need movement at the hip joint too in order to lean forward, just make the forward lean from the hips and not the back.

T-Nation.com | Mastering the Deadlift - Part 1

that's the first of a 3 series article.. it's awesome!

Originally Posted by BigTomW

I keep my back straight, but when going heavy (near 1rm heavy) my back can tend to hunch without being able to help it. Same with anyone else?

Just lift what you can properly, don't compete with the guys in the one rep maxes sticky - some of those (un-named) guys are either cheating on form or using Holywood props.

Tom, is it the upper back or the lower back? When you go heavy, it's very hard to avoid upper back rounding and a lot of people see it as OK, though I'm not an expert on the anatomy of the back yet, so I can't say if they are right or not, but I don't think I've heard of many PLers getting a herniated disc in their upper back, and a lot of them flex the upper back during deadlifts.

Originally Posted by stroutman81

Here's my instructional video... might help you with some of the visualization and cues.

YouTube - conventional deadlift

thanks for that vid.

So now my question is:

Why the hell do I keep hurting my lower back? I stay light now. I mean real light, like 150 lbs. I stopped doing them because I kept screwing up my lower back.

I want to do them again but I'm a bit apprehensive about doing them.

It has to be my form somehow.