Deadlifting- Hex bar or olympic

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kfox15
kfox15 Posts: 97 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am brand new to deadlifting but I have experience with weights and I am comfortable with compounds like squats etc. I am in the processing of learning how to do DL's properly and I am having trouble getting the "flow" right. My legs are super long compared to my torso so I hit an awkward section right as I get the bar past my knees, I really start to wobble and lose my tension. A coach at my gym suggested using a hex bar so that my arms are at my sides instead of in front of me. This has helped but I'm wondering if this style is "as good" as doing the lift with a straight bar. Anybody else do DL's with a hex? If you have a preference either way why? Thanks for the tips!

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  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    Sounds like you aren't pulling the bar up in a straight line. Are you running the bar up your shins to your knees, then straightening your body/thighs together? The whole time keeping the bar over mid foot?

    Maybe your legs should be farther apart?
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    I am brand new to deadlifting but I have experience with weights and I am comfortable with compounds like squats etc. I am in the processing of learning how to do DL's properly and I am having trouble getting the "flow" right. My legs are super long compared to my torso so I hit an awkward section right as I get the bar past my knees, I really start to wobble and lose my tension. A coach at my gym suggested using a hex bar so that my arms are at my sides instead of in front of me. This has helped but I'm wondering if this style is "as good" as doing the lift with a straight bar. Anybody else do DL's with a hex? If you have a preference either way why? Thanks for the tips!

    Deadlifting is actually more technical than it appears and may take some time to learn. Try doing it with just the bar for a while to practice technique.

    The hex bar, I'm assuming he means Trap Bar, is fine for deadlifting but the movement pattern actually resembles the back squat more than a deadlift. You can definitely do it, no problem with that lift, but you should try and learn the more conventional deadlift first. Also, since you're so tall you may want to try the Sumo deadlift which takes a wider stance. It's harder to get the weight off the ground but easier to lock-out; it's kinda' the reverse of the conventional DL. Checkout some videos online if you can. Anything by Dave Tate (anybody at EFTS for that matter), Andy Bolton, Mark Rippletoe, Christian Thibideau are all fine trainers.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    I know fundamentally that both workouts are good for you, however when I do a regular dead and watch myself in the mirror I feel like my muscles look more engaged. It might be (and probably is) my own personal bias towards the lift, but for that reason I've never really dabbled too much with the other bar.

    Where are your hips in relation to the bar when you get to the 'wobbly' part on your lift? Approximately what angle are your knees at? When you do the lift, which muscles get sore?
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,522 Member
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    I agree with what has already been posted. Deadlifting takes a while for people to learn, keep working at it. Nothing is necessarily wrong with using a hex bar, but that does make it pretty much a different exercise.
  • kfox15
    kfox15 Posts: 97 Member
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    Where are your hips in relation to the bar when you get to the 'wobbly' part on your lift? Approximately what angle are your knees at? When you do the lift, which muscles get sore?

    So i'm not sure exactly which is probably why i am having a hard time with this! Bascially, once I get the bar to just past my knees i feel like I'm tipping forward and my shoulders start to round forward, I feel like the bar gets in the way of my hips coming foward to lock out. Does that make any sense?
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
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    Where are your hips in relation to the bar when you get to the 'wobbly' part on your lift? Approximately what angle are your knees at? When you do the lift, which muscles get sore?

    So i'm not sure exactly which is probably why i am having a hard time with this! Bascially, once I get the bar to just past my knees i feel like I'm tipping forward and my shoulders start to round forward, I feel like the bar gets in the way of my hips coming foward to lock out. Does that make any sense?

    Here you go,

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr2_mCh2dUI

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8jgCFXYTU&feature=related
  • medennison123
    medennison123 Posts: 191 Member
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    id say barbell over trap bar. But once you get the motion down you will gain a feel for one or the other give it some time. Back straight and if it hurts stop. Straight leg dead lift are good for the glutes **
  • amccrazgrl
    amccrazgrl Posts: 315 Member
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    Maybe you could try on a a barbell which is lighter than the Oly bar. I would do that just to get my form.
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
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    So i'm not sure exactly which is probably why i am having a hard time with this! Bascially, once I get the bar to just past my knees i feel like I'm tipping forward and my shoulders start to round forward, I feel like the bar gets in the way of my hips coming foward to lock out. Does that make any sense?

    Sorry for the delay, I had karate.

    JNick's links are solid, I love Rippetoe and he explains lifts better than I could ever hope to.

    That being said, it sounds like the bar is too far forward. Is it possible you're bending too low and doing kind of a squat to start? Off hand that's the only thing I could think of that would shoot you're knees out too far forward. Also how close are your shins to the bar when you start?

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