I was always weak at deadlift
My weak point is the start of the pull. What can I do to improve this? Or what I'm doing wrong
Also as much as I tried my lower back get into an arch
Follow to try on my list is, although the low weight, a belt and if that wont work ill forsake the deadlift and move to sumo deadlift
First and second rep looked good, last one looked like shit. I didn't really notice a weakness at the start. Your form just broke down on the third rep. Be careful going to failure when doing reps, you open yourself up for injury
Deficit deadlifts and sumo deadlifts will help with the start of the pull.
Rack pulls, block pulls, lat, and trap work will help with the mid to top end of the deadlift. Include lots of ab work.
Join date: Feb 2010
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 1473
I don't see anything wrong with any of the lifts, to be honest. I've seen waaaaay worse form breakdown than that, especially on max attempts. There has been plenty of discussion on these boards about back arch, and plenty of people here who would argue that a flat or slightly rounded back is fine. Look up konstantin konstantinov. He has plenty of deadlift videos on youtube, pulling enormous weights with a rounded back. The video doesn't indicate to me that you need to switch to sumo style, but you can certainly play around with that to see if you like it more. I pull both ways, and my numbers are essentially the same with both styles.
It's hard to tell from the video, but do you initiate the pull with your legs? It helped me to think that quads lift the weight off the ground and everything else follows after that. This really took a lot of pressure off my lower back.
From the looks of it I pull about as much as you do, so take this for what it's worth.
Join date: Nov 2007
Location: Iowa, USA
Posts: 720
Deficit deads and front squats have helped my strength off the floor. Also using bands and chains have helped my speed off the floor. Box jumps will help explosiveness off the floor.
Join date: Jan 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2772
superjuho wrote:
It's hard to tell from the video, but do you initiate the pull with your legs? It helped me to think that quads lift the weight off the ground and everything else follows after that. This really took a lot of pressure off my lower back.
From the looks of it I pull about as much as you do, so take this for what it's worth.
Personally my biggest problem is not enough initial leg drive. I try and remember to "drive my feet through the floor"
The difference between a make and miss @ 90-95% 1RM for me is the initial leg drive.
I hit 383 last night; you can see it in m Indigo log if you're interested.
Edit: I also think the stronger the squat the better, which is my biggest weakness right now.
superjuho wrote:
It's hard to tell from the video, but do you initiate the pull with your legs? It helped me to think that quads lift the weight off the ground and everything else follows after that. This really took a lot of pressure off my lower back.
From the looks of it I pull about as much as you do, so take this for what it's worth.
Personally my biggest problem is not enough initial leg drive. I try and remember to "drive my feet through the floor"
The difference between a make and miss @ 90-95% 1RM for me is the initial leg drive.
I hit 383 last night; you can see it in m Indigo log if you're interested.
Edit: I also think the stronger the squat the better, which is my biggest weakness right now.
I'm in the same boat completely. I watched that video you posted and the following one last night and hit a PR at 345
Join date: Jan 2008
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2772
browndisaster wrote:
usmccds423 wrote:
superjuho wrote:
It's hard to tell from the video, but do you initiate the pull with your legs? It helped me to think that quads lift the weight off the ground and everything else follows after that. This really took a lot of pressure off my lower back.
From the looks of it I pull about as much as you do, so take this for what it's worth.
Personally my biggest problem is not enough initial leg drive. I try and remember to "drive my feet through the floor"
The difference between a make and miss @ 90-95% 1RM for me is the initial leg drive.
I hit 383 last night; you can see it in m Indigo log if you're interested.
Edit: I also think the stronger the squat the better, which is my biggest weakness right now.
I'm in the same boat completely. I watched that video you posted and the following one last night and hit a PR at 345
Join date: Mar 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 297
Try getting really tight and pulling the slack out of the bar (without changing your start position). You look like you're already doing this to a degree, but really focusing on it has helped me with speed for heavier pulls. That and making sure your abs are strong and pushed out hard right from the start. The more stable your midsection, the faster you can pull.
I like good mornings from pins. I find it to be good way to practice ramping up the level of tension. I don't know if this builds starting strength or not, but I find it useful.
Join date: Oct 2009
Location: Mississippi, USA
Posts: 327
Great thread, as this is my weak point as well. Good responses so far, and here's my $.02. The best pull I ever got in a meet was after being very consistent with SLDL's from a 3" defecit. I did about three sets with as much weight as I could do for 5-8 reps, once a week on an accaessory day (different day than actual deadlift).
Advice from another source that has helped me was to bent barbell rows, but in a specific way. He suggests setting each rep on the floor and pulling from there every time, and he really emphasizes speed (even to the point that a little "momentum" in OK)with a good squeeze at the top. I hit my best raw pull after doing these for several weeks, but it didn't seem to carry over to my suit for some dang reason.
Improving the deadlift is TOUGH!! I have missed many of my "accessory days" since starting a second business last March, and my dead has actually gone down after all that hard work. I shall return though!
RampantBadger wrote:
snatch grip deadlifts for assistance work
Yes....and deficit deadlift.
How much of a deficit do people use? I've see 2" is that the norm?
Thanks,
Chris
I run a lot of deficit waves in which I'll use heights of 4", 2.5", and 1.5". 2" is a pretty moderate deficit, and for that reason, it's more common then severe heights like 4-5". High deficits are employed, but it's an exercise in which treating it as a max-effort movement can increase the risk of injury, so a lot of people will use it in a lower intensity range (say, below 90% of a hypothetical 1RM). If I do train high deficits for single repetitions, I'll usually use bands in order to decrease the weight I'm breaking off the floor:
speed deads are great but they are not for weak start
i never tried deficit, i will try it.
sumo is my last option and i dont want to move to it until i'm sure theres nothing i can do in the normal deadlift department.
the weight is relatively light to my weight (117.5kg at 69kg bw) i tried couple of times later 120kg, i did 3 rep and week after that 2 rep. so as i mentioned before it was always a struggle, and i'm not a novice so this weight for me is lame and should be much higher by now. i'm not so sure now that its the lower back arch thing, it is possible that i'm not build for it or whatever..
