Deadlifting Beginner

reeves61612

I want to incorporate deadlifting and I was wondering the safest amount of weight is to start. I'm 41 and 180 lbs. Pretty strong but I want to be smart about this and not cause injury. Not really sure on reps or progression either. Too much confusing info on the websites. Thanks!! :happy:

jimmie65

Start with the empty bar (45#) and get your form down. Add 5 or 10 lbs each time you lift.
There are a lot of videos on deadlift form on YouTube. Check a few of them out.

murphy612

You might also want to start with Sumo Deadlifts. They are a bit easier when you are learning proper form. Also, if you're not using the "big wheel" weights, make sure you have the bar raised up off the floor to start.

Matt_Wild

See this - http://youtu.be/GW3QD1VoHUM

A bit rough and ready but you get the picture

ndj1979

Start with the empty bar (45#) and get your form down. Add 5 or 10 lbs each time you lift.
There are a lot of videos on deadlift form on YouTube. Check a few of them out.

this...

I would also say that once you start adding weight..when you get comfortable in 6-8 rep range it is time to bump the weight up...i usually try and add 10lbs to my DL every two weeks..am up to 315# now....

714rah714

Wear a weight lifting belt, protect your back at all cost

Altruista75

StrongLifts 5x5 has you start out with 95 lbs and doing 1 set of 5. You progress up 10 pounds the next time (which is every other workout) if you complete the set successfully.

ArroganceInStep

Wear a weight lifting belt, protect your back at all cost

...not necessary.

Lift properly with good form.

sunsnstatheart

Stand in front of the bar with your feet about shoulder width apart and with your feet pointing slightly outward.

Squat down as if you are about to jump, and allow your shins to touch the bar.

Grip the bar firmly with your hands just outside of your legs. Many of us use a mixed grip - one palm facing inward and one outward.

Allow your back to arch slightly, your shoulders pinched, chest up and butt down.

Focus on the wall or mirror directly in front of you, and ease yourself into the lift using your legs.

Once the bar is above your knees, push with your hips and glutes as if you are pushing through the bar and come to a fully erect position with your shoulders back.

Warm up with the bar. As for weight, I'd suggest starting with a weight that you can comfortably lift but enough to provide some resistance. Then as the poster above said, add weight every time.

CarlKRobbo

Wear a weight lifting belt, protect your back at all cost

...not necessary.

Lift properly with good form.

This x1000!!!

Form is Key on the deadlift, a Belt and bad form will hurt just as much as bad form with no belt. I use my belt on top lifts only (180KG+) but my form is always the same as my warmups.

Youtube - Look for Westside BB, Eric Creasey, Dave Tate, T-Nation, EliteFTS

BHetrick

I'm just about in the same boat. I'm 42 and 178. I've been weight training off and on over years.

Only difference is I've had 4 lower back surgeries. Lately I've wanted to attempt incorporating deadlifts. I watched a ton of YT vids because proper form is a MUST for me.

This vid is a few years old, but the guy goes in to great detail explaining form.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nRRlk6264I

3laine75

I want to incorporate deadlifting and I was wondering the safest amount of weight is to start. I'm 41 and 180 lbs. Pretty strong but I want to be smart about this and not cause injury. Not really sure on reps or progression either. Too much confusing info on the websites. Thanks!! :happy:

i started at 30k - thats the 20k bar + 5k plates

Docmahi

yeah I definitely wouldn't learn with a belt - it may lead to you developing a bad habit.

I personally like the starting strength rippetoe youtube video - its like 5 min and teaches the technique better IMO the like 8 part eliteFTS video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

but yeah like others have said - start light and work your way up, just use the bar and add 10s and work your way up

Bakkasan

Wear a weight lifting belt, protect your back at all cost

Never used one and I am about to break #500. Never have had a sore back. Form is key.

GuybrushThreepw00d

I started with 60kg, 20kg bar and a 20kg plate on each side.
Otherwise you'll have to prop the weights so the bar has a higher starting position.

melmckay99

I weigh 120 lbs and can deadlift 120 lbs (sorry had to mention that since its a recent personal best! ). I find I feel a deadlift mostly in my core, which I'm told by my trainer is a good thing. The core (your abs) are amazing at protecting your back, so if your doing it properly there is no need for a belt!. If you have a strong core you should be able to do deadlifts no problem and progress pretty rapidly I would think. Goodluck!

rduhlir

I started using the bar only and don't use a belt. Just focus on form, I found that if my back starts to hurt then I have the bar too far in front of me. I glide it up my legs (now realize why all the guys wear pants when weight lifting, to hide the nasty bruises they get from doing that) and make sure when I go down the bar is at least over my toes.

NROLW has all those exercises in detail, and is a really good read. I suggest buying the book or checking it out from the library if they have it.

Iron_Duchess

*Bump*

Great thread OP, full of great information.

danimalkeys

I agree- no belt unless you are lifting near max weight.

If you are just starting with the bar, sit it on something to get it high enough (to simulate having 45lb plates on the bar)

Don't worry about sumo deads when starting. They make it easier because you don't have to lift the bar as far. Great for competitive lifting, but a conventional stance works you harder. Lifting is supposed to be hard. When I was competing I used a sumo stance but all of my training up to a few weeks out from the meet was done with a conventional stance.

Form is key, so practice, video yourself if you can, compare to videos of good form, adjust as needed.

newfette81

bump

76tech

Wear a weight lifting belt, protect your back at all cost

No.

They can do more harm than good.

Not using the belt will work your core also.

Let the power lifters and Olympic lifters use belts - they know what they're doing. For the rest of us, we are much better off without them.

DavPul

Start with the empty bar (45#) and get your form down. Add 5 or 10 lbs each time you lift.
There are a lot of videos on deadlift form on YouTube. Check a few of them out.

This.

/thread

LeenaRuns

Wear a weight lifting belt, protect your back at all cost

...not necessary.

Lift properly with good form.

Exactly...belts provide a false sense of security. Never wear a belt--practice good form!!!

da_bears10089

i would suggest starting with just the bar and stacking some plates on the sides so that it starts at the proper height. Make sure you get your form down before you start adding weight. I just did my deadlifts on Monday and i got 185# as my personal best if we are throwing those out there...

pullem

This helped me significantly with my form when starting out as I struggled with upper back rounding. If you lift at a gym, get one of the instructors to demonstrate and watch you when first starting out.

The Deadlift: Perfect Every Time

1. Take your stance, feet a little closer than you think it needs to be and with your toes out more than you like. Your shins should be about one inch from the bar, no more. This places the bar over the mid-foot – the whole foot, not the mid-instep.

2. Take your grip on the bar, leaving your hips up. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

3. Drop your knees forward and out until your shins touch the bar. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

4. Hard part: squeeze your chest up as hard as you can. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR. This establishes a "wave" of extension that goes all the way down to the lumbar, and sets the back angle from the top down. DO NOT LOWER YOUR HIPS – LIFT THE CHEST TO SET THE BACK ANGLE.

5. Squeeze the bar off the floor and drag it up your legs in contact with your skin/sweats until it locks out at the top. If you have done the above sequence precisely as described, the bar will come off the ground in a perfectly vertical path. All the slack will have come out of the arms and hamstrings in step 4, the bar will not jerk off the ground, and your back will be in good extension. You will perceive that your hips are too high, but if you have completed step 4 correctly, the scapulas, bar, and mid-foot will be in vertical alignment and the pull will be perfect. The pull will seem "shorter" this way.

DostThouEven

I started with 135lbs after having already lifted ~3 months

ClareKaczmarek

Bump... quite interested in starting myself!

ArroganceInStep

This helped me significantly with my form when starting out as I struggled with upper back rounding. If you lift at a gym, get one of the instructors to demonstrate and watch you when first starting out.

The Deadlift: Perfect Every Time

1. Take your stance, feet a little closer than you think it needs to be and with your toes out more than you like. Your shins should be about one inch from the bar, no more. This places the bar over the mid-foot – the whole foot, not the mid-instep.

2. Take your grip on the bar, leaving your hips up. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

3. Drop your knees forward and out until your shins touch the bar. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR.

4. Hard part: squeeze your chest up as hard as you can. DO NOT MOVE THE BAR. This establishes a "wave" of extension that goes all the way down to the lumbar, and sets the back angle from the top down. DO NOT LOWER YOUR HIPS – LIFT THE CHEST TO SET THE BACK ANGLE.

5. Squeeze the bar off the floor and drag it up your legs in contact with your skin/sweats until it locks out at the top. If you have done the above sequence precisely as described, the bar will come off the ground in a perfectly vertical path. All the slack will have come out of the arms and hamstrings in step 4, the bar will not jerk off the ground, and your back will be in good extension. You will perceive that your hips are too high, but if you have completed step 4 correctly, the scapulas, bar, and mid-foot will be in vertical alignment and the pull will be perfect. The pull will seem "shorter" this way.

Be careful on this. Because of my body mechanics and flexibility I actually have to have the bar closer to my toes than mid foot. It's important when you're in the whole before starting the lift that your shins don't knock the bar forward (quad dominant stocky folks like myself tend to need the bar a bit further out). Make sure the bar rises straight, that your arms are parallel so you aren't lifting the bar further than you have to (this will govern foot spacing too for conventional pulls), and that you have solid hip hinge explosiveness.

carrieous

Women: How many pounds are you deadlifting? I just started deads this month and cant find the right poundage for me.

I started at 30 lbs and i have been bumping it up 10 pounds each week- currently at 60 lbs but i think its still way too light. However i also know if i try to lift too heavy my form may slip and i could hurt my back.

So what are ya'll lifting?? Im not a beginning at weight lifting- just a beginner with deads

ndj1979

i am not a women but if you can easily do 8 reps then the weight is too light and you should bump up. If you can do 8 @ 60# easy then bump up to 70 if you can still do 8 then go to 80...stop adding weight when you are strugling to get to four...in my opinion...

Anthonydaman

I am the same age as you, and I don't deadlift because of possible back injuries. Just my opinion so I am sure someone will jump up and disagree, but i would stay away from them unless you plan on becoming a powerlifter...