Deadlift modifications
luckyjuls
Posts: 505 Member
I was petrified of the squat/deadlift portion of Phase One.
I finally bucked up and asked a trainer how to properly complete the squats and deadlifts. He told me that at my gym, there are no "bumper weights" to place on the bar for deadlifts and I would be better served modifying the exercise until I built up my strength and perfected my form.
He recommended doing it like this, with one heavy 50 pound dumbbell placed atop two 25-pound plates (and he said I could remove the plates once I got the form down) :
Do you think I should take his advice or buy some bumper weights?
Do you ladies complete the deadlifts with 5-pounders on the ends and do you find that since it is closer to the floor, it is harder? Or did you all start with quite heavy weights on the end and never had to consider this.
I'm pretty confused now.
I finally bucked up and asked a trainer how to properly complete the squats and deadlifts. He told me that at my gym, there are no "bumper weights" to place on the bar for deadlifts and I would be better served modifying the exercise until I built up my strength and perfected my form.
He recommended doing it like this, with one heavy 50 pound dumbbell placed atop two 25-pound plates (and he said I could remove the plates once I got the form down) :
Do you think I should take his advice or buy some bumper weights?
Do you ladies complete the deadlifts with 5-pounders on the ends and do you find that since it is closer to the floor, it is harder? Or did you all start with quite heavy weights on the end and never had to consider this.
I'm pretty confused now.
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Replies
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My gym doesn't have barbells, so I've just been doing dumbbell deadlifts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3QwaXNJfw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8YJ_tfLPJQ
They've been working fine so far! We'll see as I progress to heavier weights.1 -
I do them the same way as shown in Jami's links0
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My gym doesn't have barbells, so I've just been doing dumbbell deadlifts:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ3QwaXNJfwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8YJ_tfLPJQ
They've been working fine so far! We'll see as I progress to heavier weights.
Too funny. I was looking for a video to show what he recommended and these are the first two videos that came up in my search. I will try both ways today. Thank you for responding!0 -
I do them the same way as shown in Jami's links
Thank you for responding. Do you think you will work up to a weighted bar?
There are obviously a ton of ways to do everything, but the deadlift with a bar in particular makes me worried about my lower back (I've had problems with my lower back in the past as it is). I just don't want to cheat myself out of the full benefits of the program.0 -
I have smaller plates on the bar, I just use other plates on the floor to raise it up to the correct hight. My gym also has smaller bars that I raised up with step risers so that it was in the right place before I got up to higher weights.
For squats I found that goblets really helped with my form. Its still not perfect but its much better than when I started.0 -
I have smaller plates on the bar, I just use other plates on the floor to raise it up to the correct hight. My gym also has smaller bars that I raised up with step risers so that it was in the right place before I got up to higher weights.
For squats I found that goblets really helped with my form. Its still not perfect but its much better than when I started.
Oh, that makes a lot of sense! Thank you. How many plates (and what size) do you use to get it to the right height?0 -
I have smaller plates on the bar, I just use other plates on the floor to raise it up to the correct hight. My gym also has smaller bars that I raised up with step risers so that it was in the right place before I got up to higher weights.
For squats I found that goblets really helped with my form. Its still not perfect but its much better than when I started.
I was going to suggest this. I don't know how big your gyms DBs are (my gym only goes to 60lbs), but you will probably outgrow them by the end of the program. I started DLs with only the bar, and worked up to 160+ lbs. So don't sell yourself short. Really focus on your form and you won't hurt your back (read a lot and watch videos). You could also do Romanian DLs with the bar. They are like a regular DL only not as exaggerated.0 -
I have smaller plates on the bar, I just use other plates on the floor to raise it up to the correct hight. My gym also has smaller bars that I raised up with step risers so that it was in the right place before I got up to higher weights.
For squats I found that goblets really helped with my form. Its still not perfect but its much better than when I started.
Oh, that makes a lot of sense! Thank you. How many plates (and what size) do you use to get it to the right height?
It depends on the size of the plates you have on. You want the bar to be about mid shin height. (depending on how tall you are)0
