Deadlift Technique

Daisy80

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Absonthebrain

Most trainers like to have girls do straight legged deadlifts.. I don't know why... Ask her to show you the technique for both.

I love this site:

http://www.stumptuous.com/dork-diva-deadlift-and-stiff-legged-deadlift

Not all trainers are equal. There are some at my gym that I doubt could lift an empty bar let alone teach proper form.

That's a great link that displays great for technique and form! :glasses:

da_bears10089

I had my husband come with me to check out my form with deadlifts. Originally i was just using a regular bar, but this time i had tried it with a trap bar. i don't know what everyone's opinion on using that instead is, but i like it. i feel like i can concentrate on my back and general form better when i don't have to worry about rolling over my knee caps.

kramalicious

I thought I had a good trainer but now that I have my new one I realized the other guy was just not listening to what I wanted to do and was just giving me what he thought I should be doing. I wanted to do lots of weight lifting and he avoided it and always wanted me to do machines if any weights. Now that I have a trainer in sync with my goals it makes all the difference. And I am now getting the results I was after. Some trainers are just not a good fit with you. My old trainer did not have the focus the experienced one has.

It may be a bit awkward to change to a new trainer, it was a bit for me, but it is the best move I made! Cannot wait to get to the gym now, and feel different after the workout. This new guy knows his stuff... Remember in most cases it is YOUR money that is paying for the trainer, so you deserve to have the best experience you can. I am lifting heavier than i thought I could and it is all in the trainer.
My new guy says, " you have to know that your trainer has your back", meaning he is spotting you, watching how you are working rather than just number of reps, and listening to what you want to do and what your goals are.

Bite the bullet and either have a heart to heart with your trainer and tell them what you want and what you are dissatisfied with, or change.

You'll be glad you did.

HelloDan

Your trainer, may or may not be good, why not speak too them, and see what they're thinking.

Maybe the trainer is working on a progression towards deadlifts?

I see tons of people do horrible deadlifts, with fully rounded backs, hinging from the lumbar spine and thinking they're the man (it's predominantly guys) because they've loaded the bar to the max!

maybe the plan is to use the partial movement to get used to hinging from the hips, and keep a tight back, before moving to the floor with a conventional deadlift?

Not saying this is the case, but better to find out, rather than just dump the trainer straight off, because a load of internet people said so.

Shanel0916

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Azdak

Your trainer is discouraging you? :huh: Time for a new trainer. In my experience, when a trainer discourages you from doing something (assuming it's a legit exercise), it's because they have limited knowledge on it (or none whatsoever).

The trainer--who is the watch actually watching the exercise--may also know that a particular exercise is beyond the individual's capabilities at that particular time.

Some people have so little coordination and so little body awareness, they can't do a machine biceps curl correctly.

I know this sounds like heresy to the self-proclaimed lifting experts, but not everyone can just walk into a gym and start doing heavy compound lifts on day 1 (and a lot of people who THINK they can shouldn't be doing them either).

Loftearmen

Depending on your build, you may not want to have a lot of knee movement in your regular deadlifts. I.E. look at my avatar. The thing is, you can "lift with your legs" without lifting with your knees. You just have to learn to contract your glutes and hamstrings and thrust your hips forward. If you feel it in your back there are a few things that are wrong with your deadlift: A) you don't know how to fire with your glutes you are focusing on pulling the bar up. You should focus on pulling the bar back C) You don't thrust your hips forward D) You change your spinal position throughout the lift. Keep your back in a static position and lift yourself upright with your glutes and hamstrings E) Your low back may just be really weak, try doing some weighted hyperextensions with dumbbells 2 or 3 days a week for a month or so and see how that effects your deadlift F) Your build may require better foot drive off of the floor and thus a more acute knee angle. If you are lifting the wrong way for your body something will always feel wrong. There is no 1 way to deadlift. Based on anthropometry, everyone has to use different knee, hip, low back and shoulder angles to get the perfect pull. Just keep researching and learning about lifting and eventually it will click. Also, fire your personal trainer.

Loftearmen

Your trainer, may or may not be good, why not speak too them, and see what they're thinking.

Maybe the trainer is working on a progression towards deadlifts?

I see tons of people do horrible deadlifts, with fully rounded backs, hinging from the lumbar spine and thinking they're the man (it's predominantly guys) because they've loaded the bar to the max!

maybe the plan is to use the partial movement to get used to hinging from the hips, and keep a tight back, before moving to the floor with a conventional deadlift?

Not saying this is the case, but better to find out, rather than just dump the trainer straight off, because a load of internet people said so.

This is a possibility, but it seems like they would want to start off doing rack pulls and lowering the safety bars one notch every training day if the client didn't pick up the form right off the bat. Or just pick al ighter weight and hammer the proper lifting cues into the clients head for the whole training session (Chin up, Chest out, stomp, drive the hips, etc.). Even if that's their intention I think there are much better ways of doing it.

ArroganceInStep

SLDLs are a very useful exercise, one that many people would benefit from doing.

Regular deadlifts are of course great, you should be doing them as well.

I think a good program has both, not one or the other.

sherisse69

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cmeiron

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HelloDan

This is a possibility, but it seems like they would want to start off doing rack pulls and lowering the safety bars one notch every training day if the client didn't pick up the form right off the bat. Or just pick al ighter weight and hammer the proper lifting cues into the clients head for the whole training session (Chin up, Chest out, stomp, drive the hips, etc.). Even if that's their intention I think there are much better ways of doing it.

I wasn't saying it was the best way of doing it, just that we have no idea what the trainer has in mind for a plan.

We could post here guessing until the cows come home, but surely it's easier just to find out directly from the trainer. With this information in hand, it becomes a lot easier to make a decision about what to do next.

sheleen302

Also, if you are not using the big plates, the bar is not high enough, and you will need to put some plates under the ends of the bar to have it at the correct level so you don't feel it in your back vs. your glutes and hamstrings.

AlsDonkBoxSquat

First, fire your trainer
Second, purchase Starting Strength (it's a book, and serves as a good reference for the big compound lifts)
Third, watch many videos of deadlifts that demonstrate setup and form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8jgCFXYTU
http://stronglifts.com/how-to-deadlift-with-proper-technique/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp8Sx9dX9LM

that, but New Rules of Lifting is good too and they have you do various types of deadlifts. I like having deadlifting options and can feel the difference depending on the variation I have in my routine for the day.

cynthiaj777

If you trainer discouraged you from lifting heavy, she probably isn't very knowledgeable on the subject

AGREED!

cynthiaj777

Instead of asking about MY form....I ask trainers to do it then I check out their form.

When I started doing deadlifts, I was quite certain I knew how....a trainer walked by me as I pulled out the barbell, and I said "Do a deadlift." And he did it.