[OCCFan023]

Well I have really gotten into Stiff Legged deadlifts and dont them on one of my leg w/o days (2 types of leg w/o but only once a week) and in one of my back workouts (same this as leg)

However since I recently started doing them I began with a relativly low weight but have worked up to higher and more difficult weights. I do them on a platform that allows me to lower my hands to just above the top of my feet even with the height of the 45s on it.

In the beggining there was no real problem with this but as the weight has increased I have encountered something that had me semi worried. Recently as I have increased my weight on the last few reps when Im really working my hams and back when Im trying to lockout my abs are under alot of pressure and it almost feels like I could be in danger of a hernia. Now I have never experienced a hernia and cant pinpoint the feeling but my last SLDL it was really feeling as if when I add more weight my abs could be in possible danger of one.

Now I dont know if this is just me working my abs to a point that I never have or if it is dangerouse. I just wanted to ask what you guys thought I should do to prevent any injury. Am I just working my stomach hard or would be wearing a belt help in anyway (would a belt even help my stomach?

[Jayhawkk]

Hard to really give advice without seeing you in action but not keeping your abs in tights and building too much pressure by straining too much can cause this effect. It also can be from your core not being conditioned enough to withstand the weight just yet.

Also, once you get to a certain weight. Wearing a belt is a definate help in keeping your insides in place. I would first suggest trying a belt to see if this alleviates the problem.

[OCCFan023]

yea I think I will try again and if the same feeling returns I will make sure to try a belt to be safe. I am almost positive that I am performing the motion correctly and making sure not to jerk at the bottom and just nice smooth motion. However when you say keeping abs in tight do you mean keeping them back on the upwards motion? I was reading through a demonstration of the movement and it said to keep abs straight, I think this may be one area of the problem. Im not 100% positive but I think I may be extending my abs forward at the top of the lockout and creating added pressure on my abs. Instead of locking out and bending backwards I will try to keep my abs straight the entire time and see if it helps at all.

thanks for the help Jay

[Jayhawkk]

Sure thing man! I know over at MMI they have some excellent vids of DL's and such.

What I meant by abs in tight is that some people push out too much allowing too much pressure on the underside of the stomach. Hard to explain for me since i'm half retarded but i'm trying

[OCCFan023]

naw man I know what your saying and I think its the one area of form that I may be screwing up on, and is the most likely reason for the pain. Ill correct it next time and if the pain persists Ill do the belt.

[wildman536]

jost an opinion but i usually get a better ham workout when i do SLDL at the end of my Ham workout (after Leg Curls etc.) when they need the stretching the most. i look at SLDL as an overall heavy stretch instead of a Disk popping Powerliftin excersise, go light and slow.

[OCCFan023]

yea SLDL is basiclly the last exercise on leg day

[wildman536]

Originally Posted by OCCFan023

yea SLDL is basiclly the last exercise on leg day

i wouldnt go ballz out heavy on SLDL, just make sure you are using a moderate amount of weight and doing your reps correctly.-- (Im sure you are )

[BLANE]

you could try doing them with dumbells, this can allow you to change things up and might take some strain/stress off of your body.

[wildman536]

yeah the DB's may help, I have a buldging disk in my lower back so that FORCES me to go light but before i got the problem i was going heavy. Now i feel the Reps better and am alot more sore the way i do them now as opposed to doing them heavy.

[Nitrox]

These are one of my favorite exercises and I also used to do them on a platform. I found that once I got up to some decent weight things got unstable. I read some Westside articles and those guys did them more Romanian style - just a shorter range of motion (just below knee level). Going that route with the heavier weight helped a lot.