Six foot one and a half having trouble deadlifting

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Hello everybody need some help my daughter is 6 foot 1 and a half and weighs about a hundred and fifteen pounds she seems to be having a lot of trouble with her form on deadlift I'm not sure if it is because of her height or lack of Mobility and strength any advice would be appreciated thank you

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  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    can you elaborate on what part of her form is lacking? A video would help ...
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    If she's tall, would pulling sumo instead of conventional work? Less distance for the bar to travel.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Sumo?
  • ashorey87
    ashorey87 Posts: 173 Member
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    If she's tall, would pulling sumo instead of conventional work? Less distance for the bar to travel.

    This
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    edited January 2017
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Sumo?
    7505cd2932e1d81f48aa9228eac90331.png

    ... so yeah, without the tee shirt ( ...or widened stance with grip between your legs).
  • mikeshealth2016
    mikeshealth2016 Posts: 17 Member
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    I'm not sure if a Sumo deadlift would be better for her or not we have been doing conventional as far as her form goes she just looks really awkward her knees seem to extend quite a ways past her feet and I just don't know what to do to help her it's driving me crazy I feel like I should be able to help her and I can't
  • sammyliftsandeats
    sammyliftsandeats Posts: 2,421 Member
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    I guess you can ask her to get into sumo stance and try to have her touch the bar. I know that in conventional, if your legs are long, the reach towards the bar is awkward and that can cause problems in the back.

    Conventional is great if you've got shorter limbs, but sumo may be better for those with longer limbs. It is definitely a legitimate way to deadlift and wholly acceptable in powerlifting comps (not that that's the issue or anything).
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,139 Member
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    I'm not sure if a Sumo deadlift would be better for her or not we have been doing conventional as far as her form goes she just looks really awkward her knees seem to extend quite a ways past her feet and I just don't know what to do to help her it's driving me crazy I feel like I should be able to help her and I can't

    could be her set up ...a video would help ..

    I would suggest having her focus on pushing her hips and but back when grabbing the bar and make sure that the bar is touching her shins...

    A mental Que that I use is to think that I am almost RDL'ing, when setting up ..

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    How much weight is on the bar? 6'1" and 115 lbs is extremely underweight. Strength could be a huge part of this problem.
  • taco_inspector
    taco_inspector Posts: 7,223 Member
    edited January 2017
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    @mikeshealth2016 , If she is able to keep her back neutral (not rounded), and the bar moving in a straight vertical path directly above mid-foot until she locks-out with a hip thrust at the top... she's prolly doing OK.

    Long legs (6'1" lady) may have her knees beyond her toes at the bottom of the rep (also, if she's not yet pulling with full-plates, you may wanna lift the bar up to plate-height with cribbing boards or plates laid flat, so she's not having to bend too far down to pick up <135lbs ).

    Have you looked at her form with an empty bar going at it like a Romanian? (start at the top lock-out, then lower to the starting position, remembering to stop the bar a full-plate's radius from the floor) This could help locate any place where she may be rounding, allowing the bar to travel anywhere but along a mid-foot vertical, or just encountering weakness or mobility limitations...

    As mentioned above, a video could help (long legs sometimes look awkward without having any real issues). This video form thread in the Eat Train Progress group can be helpful in many ways as well: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/911984/form-critique-thread-post-your-videos-here
  • BrianKMcFalls
    BrianKMcFalls Posts: 190 Member
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    I'm 6'4", so I understand the struggle. It feels awkward upon setup, but I still pull traditional because I think it activates the posterior chain more, and that's the whole reason I am DLing in the first place.

    If you can pick up a copy of Starting Strength, the cues he gives have been about the best I've seen.

    How much is she pulling?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    http://strengtheory.com/how-to-deadlift/

    I would generally start with form. Also, how much weight is she pulling? If it's not 45lbs on each side, than it might be a bit low, so bumper plans or plates could be uses to elevate the bar high enough.
  • JstTheWayIam
    JstTheWayIam Posts: 6,357 Member
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    Athlean x is awesome!
    https://youtu.be/WFUOtnI1jwk
  • musclegood_fatbad
    musclegood_fatbad Posts: 9,809 Member
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    As a tall athlete, i agree with others that have said that if she doesn't have full plates on (or bumper plates) the bar may be too low sitting for her. If she does, i find it helpful to deadlift without shoes to help me get into the proper set up. As for getting her knees way out over her toes, it could be mobility or form. make sure that the bar is over midfoot for her and that she drives through the midfoot and heels and isn't trying to lift it from her toes. Sumo deadlift takes some of the mobility need out of the deadlift and might be a good option.
  • bigbuffbarry
    bigbuffbarry Posts: 38 Member
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    Most likely form and strength issue. Height doesnt play a large roll. Check out 6'9 hafthor bjornson deadlifts. Conventional puller
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    To deadlift you need to be able to hip hinge. Nice Dan John video on the topic:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34saz57cxjs
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,520 Member
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    With clients who have a little leverage issues due to height with dead lifts, I put 2 steps or a few risers to raise the barbell up a few inches.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCgCSz5xhYY


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png
  • DaleLatham1
    DaleLatham1 Posts: 8 Member
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    Some helpful suggestions above.. My initial thought would be to support the bar slightly raised from the ground therefore reducing the ROM for the lift. Once the form is solid (and she is confident) you can look at gradually reducing the distance of the bar from the floor increasing the ROM each time. Once she is DLing from the floor drop the weight of the working sets slightly and work as usual from there. Good luck!
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    edited January 2017
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    6'1.5" and 115? No sure how many changes you can safely deadlift at BMI 15
  • dolliesdaughter
    dolliesdaughter Posts: 544 Member
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    Have her try with lighter weights first. Her form my suffer because she is really weak.