why are my DLs so low??

FluffyDogsRule

hack squats 95
bench and rows 65
ohp 55
dl 100

why am i so weak on DL?? i feel like i'm kinda where some other girls are on the other lifts, but i'm WAAAAAAAY WAAAAY behind on DL. at 100 yesterday i felt it too much in my back, so i know i need to deload and work on form before i hurt myself. so that's my first stop...fixing my form. but other than that...what gives????

xidia

Patience. It looks like your upper body weights are higher than mine, for instance, and I've been doing this 3 months. So maybe you have natural extra strength (or built up from past activities) there, and less in your legs. Other than that, it's about patience. Fix your form, add weights each time or every other time and the numbers will come.

tameko2

Can you have someone take a video? If not - at least go watch a BUNCH of deadlifting videos. Lots and lots. Not just instructional videos but watch some reputable lifters deadlift -- watch Nia Shanks and Medhi especially, Medhi has great form and its very visible, and Nia is a good instructor.

I can't watch these videos at work but this article looks good so I'd check this out too.
http://blog.rapidfitness.com/bid/95214/Four-Common-Deadlift-Mistakes

Otherwise - just patience and practice. Experiment with some things like putting your feet slightly further apart or closer together, changing how you set your arms and shoulders and back, etc.

Its my weakest lift, by far, relative to my other ones.

FluffyDogsRule

thanks, girls! i will definitely try watching a bunch of videos. i feel okay going up, but getting the weight back down sucks lately!

videos and patience...videos and patience...

xidia

The weight can go down faster than it comes up as long as you're not just dropping it out of control. Just make sure you've got mats, bumper plates or both, not cast iron weights on a hard floor!

FluffyDogsRule

well, there's my problem...i'm doing this in my kitchen, so i can't drop it AT ALL, unless i want to crash a nice hole in my floor. must be totally controlled the entire way back down. should i assume then that my gains will be smaller??

i can't wait to move to a house with a basement!!!!

tameko2

well, there's my problem...i'm doing this in my kitchen, so i can't drop it AT ALL, unless i want to crash a nice hole in my floor. must be totally controlled the entire way back down. should i assume then that my gains will be smaller??

i can't wait to move to a house with a basement!!!!

actually putting it down instead of dropping it is good for strength gains, but it does mean you get tired more quickly. I wouldn't expect it to be causing you issues, at this point - it should be helping more than it hurts. But when going back down, be careful to go down in the same way you came up - using your legs, not just your lower back. That could be causing the back pain.

Leadfoot_Lewis

Do you have the bar w/plates loaded elevated at the correct height (8.9")? If not, that will hurt your back.

How's your grip? That's usually the first to go before strength.

Other than these it could be form but hard to tell without a video.

FluffyDogsRule

thanks so much for all of the advice!! i probably don't have it elevated quite enough, i'll try that. and i absolutely will spend time watching videos.

one last question...what do you think about me trying sumo deadlifts, with my hands inside my feet and feet further apart?? says it works legs more than lower back.

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

I agree with making sure that your bar is elevated a bit....proper height is really when you start using 45lb plates (appr) so you can probably stack it up a bit and that will make it better.

I also agree with Nia Shanks and Mehdi videos. Also check out the thread I started in regards to the hip hinge. That made a huge difference in how I felt in my low back.

Also don't stress about what weight you are at! Everyone is different and the only person you are competing with is you! Focus on form and you will get there :happy:

tameko2

thanks so much for all of the advice!! i probably don't have it elevated quite enough, i'll try that. and i absolutely will spend time watching videos.

one last question...what do you think about me trying sumo deadlifts, with my hands inside my feet and feet further apart?? says it works legs more than lower back.

I JUST switched to them so I'll let you know how I feel about them, but everyone says that they are not something you switch to until you're very confident in your conventional deadlift form. If you don't have that down yet, you shouldn't try to switch. So I'd keep working on the conventional style.

You should have one plate underneath for each plate size you go down.

So for deadlifting with 10lb plates, you need to stack 3 under it. For deadlifting with 25s, stack 2. For 35s, 1.

Otherwise just keep practicing and ideally get some videos of yourself taken. You'll get it down.

FluffyDogsRule

wow, so i watched the hip hinge videos and practiced that a crap load of times without any weight...i am so excited to do my DLs tomorrow! not having the bar elevated enough was causing my back to HAVE to round at the start and end, which i'm sure is why i was feeling it so much in my back. so tomorrow, elevated bar and biting my shirt. lol. i guess i should go down in weight at least for a while until i feel that my form is good??

long story short...i'm so glad i listened to my body and sought help instead of just continuing to plug away...i could so easily have ended up with a back injury.

thanks ladies!

Will_Thrust_For_Candy

Yay! You will have to let us know how it goes tomorrow :happy:

BikerGirlElaine

i guess i should go down in weight at least for a while until i feel that my form is good??

I'm so glad you found out what was going on!

I would deload a little bit just to make it easier to feel the correct form. It's hard to concentrate on keeping my lower back in the right position when the weight is heavy.

FluffyDogsRule

i deloaded a little and stacked underneath. wow! what a difference. i could feel it SO much more in my legs. in fact they still feel like jello and it's 7 hours later. haha.

thank you!