Deadlift Questions

Thunderfan66

I have just started to incorporate deadlifts into my weights routine and I have a couple of questions.

1. I have done a bit of goggling and watching of YouTube videos to try and get proper form....should the bar go all the way down and touch the ground before you lift again? This varied in the things I watched.

2. I seem to have a problem in that I feel like I could lift more weight with my legs....in fact, I'm not really feeling much in my legs at all when I lift the bar. However my hands and fingers are struggling with the weight and in fact I have to stop because I can not keep hold of the bar. Is this normal? I'm not sure if it is worth keeping on trying to do these as I feel like my legs are way stronger than my hands. If I can't hold the weight I need for my legs, am I getting any benefit?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

whierd

1. Yes it should. I also reset my form and grip before each rep.

2. Use a mixed grip, it will help. Don't use wrist straps yet. The reason being is because your grip is so weak and the wrist straps will slow the strength development in your forearms.

Incorporate shrugs, which will further work your forearms.

grantdumas7

I have just started to incorporate deadlifts into my weights routine and I have a couple of questions.

1. I have done a bit of goggling and watching of YouTube videos to try and get proper form....should the bar go all the way down and touch the ground before you lift again? This varied in the things I watched.

2. I seem to have a problem in that I feel like I could lift more weight with my legs....in fact, I'm not really feeling much in my legs at all when I lift the bar. However my hands and fingers are struggling with the weight and in fact I have to stop because I can not keep hold of the bar. Is this normal? I'm not sure if it is worth keeping on trying to do these as I feel like my legs are way stronger than my hands. If I can't hold the weight I need for my legs, am I getting any benefit?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

1. Have have the bar touch the ground.
2. Don't think of the deadlift of a leg exercise but as a complete lowerbody as it does hit legs to a degree but it also works hips, lowerback, glutes (posterior chain) as well as traps and forearms.
3. Use an alternate grip. One hand will be overhand and the other will be underhand.
4. This video really helped me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syt7A23YnpA

Frank_Just_Frank

I would recommend a DVD called Starting Strength. Or watch Marc Rippetoe clips on YouTube with details on form.

chesq77

i focus regular deadlifting as a push then pull movement.

to activate my legs most, in the begging movement i push through my heels, your hands should just be holding the bar while your legs are doing all the force. once you get up then it becomes a pull movement with your hands, where you bring your shoulders back and squeeze on the upper body/back area. its kind of complicated to describe but key is to really focus on your muscles until you feel youre getting the best contraction on both upper and lower body parts.

chesq77

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

he describes what i was trying to describe.

Capt_Apollo

I have just started to incorporate deadlifts into my weights routine and I have a couple of questions.

1. I have done a bit of goggling and watching of YouTube videos to try and get proper form....should the bar go all the way down and touch the ground before you lift again? This varied in the things I watched.

yes. let it hit the ground and have it come to a complete stop. lift it from a dead stop. hence the name. take a second to readjust your stance.

2. I seem to have a problem in that I feel like I could lift more weight with my legs....in fact, I'm not really feeling much in my legs at all when I lift the bar. However my hands and fingers are struggling with the weight and in fact I have to stop because I can not keep hold of the bar. Is this normal? I'm not sure if it is worth keeping on trying to do these as I feel like my legs are way stronger than my hands. If I can't hold the weight I need for my legs, am I getting any benefit?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

right now your arms and hands are weaker then you legs. keep lifting. they're get stronger quicker then your legs. but learn how to properly grip the barbell with your fingers, not with the death grip with your palms that you most certainly are using now.

Thunderfan66

Does that mean sort of resting the bar in the curves of your fingers, rather than across the palm? That is what I am doing (resting it in the fingers), I try to hold the bar fairly loosely.

Thanks for all the answers everyone.

chesq77

Does that mean sort of resting the bar in the curves of your fingers, rather than across the palm? That is what I am doing (resting it in the fingers), I try to hold the bar fairly loosely.

Thanks for all the answers everyone.

SaberXIII

Yeah, if you're doing full deadlights (rather than rack-lift stuff) then it should go all the way to the floor, but you shouldn't stop. Keep a decent grip and go straight into the next rep, just with all other exercises (save for when you're taking a mid-set breather, but you should still be holding the weight). If you don't feel that you're hitting our legs during or after the work out then adjust the deadlift form; deadlifts are basically just a combination of squatting and rack-lifting, so if you've got a good squat form it'll be good for your legs too. Personally I feel that I still need to do leg-pressing for the quads (I think) to hit them really well, but that's a separate matter since deadlifting is predominantly a back exercise.

Oh, and as for managing to keep hold of the weight, that's an awkward matter (though as several people suggest an alternate grip was what I was taught, too). If you don't do a lot of free weight stuff your wrists and forearms might just not be used to it yet, but if you do then think about dropping the weight. What many people don't quite get is that how you lift is far more important than what you lift, within reason obviously. You're far better off lifting something slightly lighter properly than something you can just about lift by sacrificing form. My point is that if the grip is messing with form then lower the weight, if not then see how it goes - even on a decent balance I feel my grip wavering about six reps through, so sometimes a little mid set grip shift is unavoidable.

Finally, you say that you feel your legs are stronger than your hands. This is true for everybody, as the amount of muscle and the required power for day-to-day tasks the legs have far exceeds any other body part.

vorgas

I also had problems holding the bar. I was able to see improvements by deloading and squeezing the bejeezers out of that bar on every rep. Really white knuckle territory.

The reason you are having issues is you only have two thumbs on one side of the bar preventing it from rolling away.

The next thing I did was pick up some eco-chalk from the climbing section of an outdoor store. It doesn't leave a residue like normal gym chalk, but made my hands dry enough that the sweat wasn't a factor in the grip. Really increased how much weight I could pull.

SoViLicious

I have great form. But I never feel them on my legs..,abs though.