Deadlift question

jo_marnes

So today I got a PR with my deadlift :-)

The heavier I go, the more difficult I find it (obviously). However, my issue is with putting it down, rather than picking it up. Is this weird? My issue is once I get the bar to knee level. At this point, my back wants to round and rush the bar to the floor. My question is - does this matter? Should I work on slowly lowering? Or is the point of the lift already achieved and a little drop at the end ok?

I'm 5'5" female, I weigh 54kg, today's DL at 90kg.

SideSteel

Your hands should remain in contact with the barbell on the way down but I don't think you should be slowly lowering the barbell.

The only possible exception to this would be if you're training the deadlift for hypertrophy only and in this case you'd probably be better off doing RDL's anyway.

I'd suggest posting a video. You can also go to my wall and scroll down a few posts and watch the video I posted to get an idea of lowering speed of the deadlift (I wouldn't use my video for any other form related ideas for the deadlift though as my form is quite atypical).

timg760

Which wall? I'd like to see that video as well. Thx...

SideSteel

Here it is. Either turn sound off or watch with sound on when nobody else is around. I troll Sara pretty hard here with some juvenile humor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vif-4hlnRIk&feature=youtu.be

TR0berts

I don't mean to derail, but this is a deadlift thread...

I can't do the grab-n-go worth a damn. I notice you pull Sumo. I pull conventional. Is that a big difference, in your opinion? Or have I just not tried it enough to get comfortable?

jo_marnes

Errrr...... is it me or is that a squat video?

SideSteel

TR0berts wrote: »

I don't mean to derail, but this is a deadlift thread...

I can't do the grab-n-go worth a damn. I notice you pull Sumo. I pull conventional. Is that a big difference, in your opinion? Or have I just not tried it enough to get comfortable?

So first of all I don't recommend this method to many people. I'm not yet convinced that it's entirely safe and I'm admittedly taking a risk with it largely because deadlifts have been a gigantic source of frustration for me and this method has seemingly improved my deadlift substantially. I'm stronger than I've ever been at the deadlift (significantly) and it's still going up.

In theory, two of the main benefits of this method are

- Potentially faster speed off the floor as it's a bit more explosive.
- Less time spent on the bar which can be mentally advantageous for some people.


You also get a stretch reflex but that's not unique to this method.


So consider that my following comment is just my opinion and I could be wrong on this. I'm just thinking through this with what I know about deadlift mechanics and my limited experience with this grab and go method.

Conventional deadlifts are typically easier off of the floor than sumo deadlifts but tougher at lockout. Sumo deadlifts are typically tougher off of the floor but easier at lockout.

Conventional deadlifts typically involve greater spine angle (by this I mean you're bent over at the waist more) which tends to put a bit more stress on the lumbar.

So just thinking about this, I would make a guess that the grab and go is going to be less effective for a conventional deadlift and also potentially riskier.

I could be wrong on that assessment, but there's my reasoning anyway.

gweneddk

I have commonly seen people say that the eccentric (lowering) part of the DL is more dangerous for the low back than the concentric phase. When I am using bumper plates and can get away with it, I like to just drop the bar. It's kinda annoying to fellow gym-goers and not allowed in powerlifting though.

Essentially what I do to lower is to push my hips back as though I am doing an RDL, keeping the bar tight and my back straight as possible. Then once the bar has cleared my kneecaps, I bend my knees to get the bar the last few inches to the floor. There is a little bit of rounding that occurs but not much.

timg760

oops edited after i realized the DLs come later in the vid, thx!!

SideSteel

gweneddk wrote: »

I have commonly seen people say that the eccentric (lowering) part of the DL is more dangerous for the low back than the concentric phase. When I am using bumper plates and can get away with it, I like to just drop the bar. It's kinda annoying to fellow gym-goers and not allowed in powerlifting though.

Essentially what I do to lower is to push my hips back as though I am doing an RDL, keeping the bar tight and my back straight as possible. Then once the bar has cleared my kneecaps, I bend my knees to get the bar the last few inches to the floor. There is a little bit of rounding that occurs but not much.

I currently agree with this.

SideSteel

jo_marnes wrote: »

Errrr...... is it me or is that a squat video?

It's a compilation PR video. I squat and deadlift then Sara squats.

timg760

Thanks for posting, it was very helpful.

jo_marnes

My mistake..... whoa, you definitely lower the bar a lot quicker than me. But the plates in this video kinda prevented me from seeing what happens at your knees. I lower the bar down my upper leg by pushing hips backwards - then bend knees once past to get the bar to the floor (as a previous post mentioned). However, I almost feel that at the point I reach my knees, the bar catches my knees - and the tops of my knees are often bruised. This prevents a fluid motion on lowering. I cant post a video unfortunately. Maybe will have to get my PT to check my form

TR0berts

That makes sense. Thanks.

DopeItUp

jo_marnes wrote: »

My mistake..... whoa, you definitely lower the bar a lot quicker than me. But the plates in this video kinda prevented me from seeing what happens at your knees. I lower the bar down my upper leg by pushing hips backwards - then bend knees once past to get the bar to the floor (as a previous post mentioned). However, I almost feel that at the point I reach my knees, the bar catches my knees - and the tops of my knees are often bruised. This prevents a fluid motion on lowering. I cant post a video unfortunately. Maybe will have to get my PT to check my form

Personal experience here only, I used to have the same problem. But then I realized that no one ever lowers the bar carefully or smoothly when doing relatively heavy weights. You basically blow your energy lifting it and so then trying to lower it smoothly is a recipe for disaster. I only use about 25% energy to sort of "guide" the bar down as it falls. I'm basically just following it as it falls to the ground. I intentionally drop it slightly in front of me to avoid hitting my knees (I have scars from scraping my legs so many times), then I roll it back to my shins and do the next rep.

Here is my own DL video for illustration. This is pretty close to maximal weight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iDe-XEjjdc

If you want a smooth, fluid eccentric and concentric, do something like RDLs or SLDLs with much lighter weight and higher reps (like 10), like SS mentioned in post #2.

gweneddk

jo_marnes wrote: »

My mistake..... whoa, you definitely lower the bar a lot quicker than me. But the plates in this video kinda prevented me from seeing what happens at your knees. I lower the bar down my upper leg by pushing hips backwards - then bend knees once past to get the bar to the floor (as a previous post mentioned). However, I almost feel that at the point I reach my knees, the bar catches my knees - and the tops of my knees are often bruised. This prevents a fluid motion on lowering. I cant post a video unfortunately. Maybe will have to get my PT to check my form

I used to always get bruises at the top of my knee when I would DL for reps also (though hardly ever on max weight sets, where I really was just doing a controlled drop of the bar as previous posters have said). Practicing 4 second eccentric RDLs helped a lot because I really focused on not crashing the bar into my knees on the way down. So I guess my suggestion is to work on that hip hinge pattern.

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