Deadlift Form with Low Weight?? Help please.
carom915
Posts: 32 Member
Hi Ladies,
So I did workout B for the first time yesterday and last night my left knee started hurting. I was having a hard time getting my form right with my squats and had to jiggle around a little bit before I could really get going so that could be it... but honestly I think it's my deadlift form. I try and work really hard on getting the right form and I make my fiance watch me... here's the deal:
I'm starting with 50lbs and I decided to use one of the crunch barbells since it has some weight on it and I thought it would be better than an empty olympic barbell. I placed it on top of four 25lb plates (2 on each side) to give it some height. I still felt like I had to bend waaaay down, but I didn't want to have to keep dragging plates over, especially since I had already taken 4 of the 25lbs and I wasn't even lifting them. I'm only 5'1... so I don't have to far down to go, but I still felt like the bar was too low. Soooo what do you guys do when you dont have the weight that Mehdi says needs to be on the bar to get the bar at the right height?
Also, has anyone had any knee issues during this program? Causes/solutions? THANKS!
So I did workout B for the first time yesterday and last night my left knee started hurting. I was having a hard time getting my form right with my squats and had to jiggle around a little bit before I could really get going so that could be it... but honestly I think it's my deadlift form. I try and work really hard on getting the right form and I make my fiance watch me... here's the deal:
I'm starting with 50lbs and I decided to use one of the crunch barbells since it has some weight on it and I thought it would be better than an empty olympic barbell. I placed it on top of four 25lb plates (2 on each side) to give it some height. I still felt like I had to bend waaaay down, but I didn't want to have to keep dragging plates over, especially since I had already taken 4 of the 25lbs and I wasn't even lifting them. I'm only 5'1... so I don't have to far down to go, but I still felt like the bar was too low. Soooo what do you guys do when you dont have the weight that Mehdi says needs to be on the bar to get the bar at the right height?
Also, has anyone had any knee issues during this program? Causes/solutions? THANKS!
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Replies
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I haven't had knee problems from deadlifts... the only time my knee complained was during squats. It could be that something else is *causing* your knee problem, but it chose to manifest itself during the deadlift. Who knows.
The key thing to knee health is to avoid lateral movement--the knee is a hinge, and it should fold and unfold while staying in one plane. Check where the bar is positioned relative to your feet (it should be above the mid-foot, that is, very close to your ankle). If your legs are relatively long in proportion to your torso, you need to have a more horizontal back angle in the starting position, and if they are relatively short, the angle will be more vertical--that is, the torso will be more upright.
Some of this is explained in Rippetoe's videos on youtube, such as these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8jgCFXYTU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA
And I always suggest Rippetoe's Starting Strength book. It's not expensive, and it's all about good form for the main power lifts.
Edit: Forgot to add the most important bit
the reason I was going on about set-up is that I suspect that your knee problem arose when you bent your knees too far, possibly sideways, to pull the bar up from a too-low position. Starting position is important to get right for efficiency at higher weights, which isn't a concern yet for you, but also to allow your legs to move in the right plane. Rippetoe's book explains all of this in great detail. 0 -
Thank you! Only other question... how do I get the bar higher so that I can have a better starting position?0
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Can you post a video? Are you able to deadlift more weight?0
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I like to pull from the safety bars in a rack to get the bar higher for starting. If you don't have that available, set up as many plates as you need underneath. Dragging all those plates around is a pain in the butt, but as my trainer pointed out, it's part of the workout, right?0
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Thank you! Only other question... how do I get the bar higher so that I can have a better starting position?
I have a bunch of plates stacked under mine, but of course I work out in my garage so those plates stay there.
You could try something like a step thing they use for step aerobics. You basically want to get close to mimicking the height of the bar that it would have if it had 45 lb plates on it. So basically a 45, 35, 25, 10 and 5 lb plate if you have 2.5 lb plates on each side (i.e. about double the height you had it). It gets a bit wobbly for me with all those stacked plates, but I've gotten used to it. I just have to make it a point to reset the bar each lift and lower it so that it doesn't roll around. You basically end up with the plates on your bar, on the hole the stacked plates have in the middle, for sturdiness and balance. If that makes any sense. Best way I can explain it.0 -
I use the legs from the step thing to get the plates and bar up high enough for a pendlay row, but put a couple of 10kilo plates stacked on top of each other underneath the plates for the deadlift. I can't remember what my reasons are for the different approach! Maybe I have larger weights on the deadlift? I have the step hanging around because I need it when I bench. My little legs are too short to get enough traction on the ground. I've tried benching with my feet up on the bench, but I can't channel my but/legs/abs strength so well as when my feet are on the ground...
You might have to try a few different options to see what works best for you. 0 -
I've tried benching with my feet up on the bench, but I can't channel my but/legs/abs strength so well as when my feet are on the ground...
Def don't bench with feet up on the bench, you need a good arch in your back and feet firmly planted to lift more weight :happy:0
