help on deadlifts

[sreed11]

when i do dead i only feel it in my lower back. any suggestions? when i look in the mirror it looks like my entire back is straight? but i haven't been doing deads for too long (due to former back problems) so there could be so many things wrong with my form.

[Xodus]

when i do dead i only feel it in my lower back. any suggestions? when i look in the mirror it looks like my entire back is straight? but i haven't been doing deads for too long (due to former back problems) so there could be so many things wrong with my form.

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[satyricon]

are your hips low enough? you should be as near as possible to a parallel squat position. your hips and legs should start first, as the weight comes off the floor then fire everything and follow thru with the hips until lockout(no need to lean back like the idiots in the BB mags) just stand up straight and then put the bar back down in the same manner. remember deads are a hip/back movement so you wont feel alot of leg anyway. buy a trap bar to get the best of both squat and dead in one move.

[rippednKY]

u may be doing them similar to a stiff leg deadlift? take ur ass down as u lower the weight..like going into a squat, and keep the bar close to you during the whole movement..

[sreed11]

i do that. sorry i should've made myself more clear. i feel it in my legs and lower back. i was just confused on how it was supposed to hit the upper back at all cause i dont feel it there one bit. just legs and lower back.

[ftchef]

As your form improves, so will tour feeling and development up your back. I used to hate deads because I had a bad lower back, now I love the power. It will come, just follow what these guys have said, make sure your form is corrrect.

[satyricon]

i dont really notice much upper back soreness except in the traps. and you have to lift heavy to feel anything anyway. throw in some trapbar high pulls or snatch grip high pulls as a warmup before deads or on a different day and you will hit the upper back good. learn the assistance work that oly lifter use.they have the best upper backs ive seen.

[sreed11]

ya same. haha the best trap workout i ever got was from deads cause when i would lock i would shrug haha.

i actually dont know what trapbar high pulls or snatch grip high pulls. i'll go look them up. maybe i do but i just dont know what they're called.

[BodyWizard]

Drive thru your heels, keep your head up, make sure you aren't arching your low back/dropping your head/shoulders ONCE THE LIFT ACTUALLY BEGINS.

A lot of people set up for the lift properly, but once they push off, it all goes south. If you continue having trouble, taske your set-up slower: make sure you're solid in your starting position, then slowly begin to recruit all the muscles that will be part of the lift; make sure they're all on-board & ready to go - then exhale, keep you eyes open & fixed on the far wall, and drive down thru your heels as you inhale.

[BodyWizard]

oh, and get your form down solid before you add shrugs.

[satyricon]

trap bars are easy to find. snatch grip high pulls just use a wide grip outside the rings on your bar lower the bar to knee level thrust up with hips and shrug hard to get the bar to chest level. dont use arms its not an upright row. see midwest barbell reference video for demos

[John Smeton]

pull with your heels. like your hells are going though the floor

[Beelzebub]

good morning's helped mine a lot back when i was going heavy.

[datBtrue]

...i was just confused on how it was supposed to hit the upper back at all cause i dont feel it there one bit. just legs and lower back.

You might want to try rack deadlifts, setting the rack just below the knee. Choose a proper weight that allows you to do the movement slower, to hold the top position (with a slight pull back & up of the shoulder blades) and to control the negative part of the movement (making sure you maintain porper form). You should be sore the next day in your upper middle back as well as the traps.

[LilPsychotic]

when i do dead i only feel it in my lower back. any suggestions? when i look in the mirror it looks like my entire back is straight? but i haven't been doing deads for too long (due to former back problems) so there could be so many things wrong with my form.

Well, that isn't nessesarily a bad thing. When do you do deads on back day or leg day? If you do them on back day, then you should only use your back. I do deads twice a week. On leg day, I do straight legged deads off the floor with moderate weight. On back day, I do stiff legged deads with heavy weight in a rack with the bars positioned right below my knees. This way, it sort of isolates the lower back.

[sfearl1]

trap bars are easy to find. snatch grip high pulls just use a wide grip outside the rings on your bar lower the bar to knee level thrust up with hips and shrug hard to get the bar to chest level. dont use arms its not an upright row. see midwest barbell reference video for demos

isn't that a clean? i might have my olympic lifts mixed up then.

anyways, the advice given above about driving with your heels is what i find to work. i imagine my heels just pressing straight through the floor when i pull up. also, i keep the bar close to my shins and thighs when raising and lowering. i hit a new pr yesterday and my hams, and entire back, starting from my lower lats all the way to the top of my traps are sore as hell.