Deadlifts are defeating me ...

buffalogal42
buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
edited November 16 in Fitness and Exercise
I WANT to do them. I WANT to lift heavy. But I can't get the form and all the mechanics. I work with a trainer ... a few months back we worked on them for a while but my back was bothering me so we stopped (and I struggled mightily with form - it just wasn't clicking). We worked on other strength stuff ... He decided today to try again but with sumo deadlifts to be somewhat easier on my back. Apparently my hips are rising too fast and I can't keep the mechanics straight. We are going to keep working on it but I am super frustrated.

Anyone have tips, videos, things that will help make it "click?"

Replies

  • rollerjog
    rollerjog Posts: 154 Member
    for my self im not a power lifter so i dont do deads off the floor, i like to do, stiff legged dead lifts , romaian deadlifts and rack pulls, it all depends what your goals are, for me i just want to toned and very fit
  • positivepowers
    positivepowers Posts: 902 Member
    Perhaps a back brace like one construction workers and warehouse workers use would help?
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 347 Member
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    i would get another trainer to show yoiu how if this one cant. Hips rising is lack of muscle engagement prior to the lift. Take a few seconds before you lift to set up for the lift. Every muscle in your body must be tight and engaged. Do what ever it takes to get your hams, glutes, lats core rock solid tight before you start pulling
    .

    Every word of this.
  • JB035
    JB035 Posts: 336 Member
    There so many things that can go wrong with DL.

    Do you have a video of you doing a DL?
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    buffalogal42 wrote: »
    Anyone have tips, videos, things that will help make it "click?"

    i tend to still go back to the deadlift chapter in mark rippetoe's book starting strength. there are other resources out there that i like, but when i feel like i'm losing my focus again, that's usually the square-one principles that i find myself going back to.
  • distinctlybeautiful
    distinctlybeautiful Posts: 1,041 Member
    I don't follow the Strong Lifts program, but this is where I learned proper deadlift form: https://stronglifts.com/deadlift/ I also took video of myself to check and adjust my form.
  • Mycophilia
    Mycophilia Posts: 1,225 Member
    distinctlybeautiful wrote: »
    I don't follow the Strong Lifts program, but this is where I learned proper deadlift form: https://stronglifts.com/deadlift/ I also took video of myself to check and adjust my form.

    And if that article is too short for you OP, there's also this wall of text: http://www.strongerbyscience.com/how-to-deadlift/
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Ed Coen.

    https://youtu.be/lDt8HwxVST0

    There's also some great ones by a Canadian powerlifter with great big plug earrings in his ears but for the life of me I can't think of the name.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
    No matter who hard I worked on my form, I couldn't stop from getting debilitating lower back injuries (as in can't walk for up to a week) at least once a year from doing deadlifts. Eventually I said it's just not worth it and haven't sweated it since. You can still kick *kitten* in the gym without doing deads.
  • buffalogal42
    buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
    SonyaCele wrote: »
    i would get another trainer to show yoiu how if this one cant. Hips rising is lack of muscle engagement prior to the lift. Take a few seconds before you lift to set up for the lift. Every muscle in your body must be tight and engaged. Do what ever it takes to get your hams, glutes, lats core rock solid tight before you start pulling
    .

    My trainer is great and knows his stuff. I just can't seem to translate what he is telling and showing me to actually doing it right. It seems there is so much to think about. I will check out some of these other suggestions, articles, etc.
  • buffalogal42
    buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
    JB035 wrote: »
    There so many things that can go wrong with DL.

    Do you have a video of you doing a DL?

    I don't. I'll try to get one next week when we try again. I will be studying up in the meantime.
  • shor0814
    shor0814 Posts: 559 Member
    A video would help a lot. When my hips were shooting up it was because I was dropping my hips during the setup at the last minute. You might focus on that or lift your hips a bit and lock them in place before you lift.

    There are a few videos, I think even one by Alan Thrall, that cover this. I think it is called A deadlift is not a squat.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
    Have you tried conventional, or just sumo? I find conventional "clicks" a lot better for me than sumo.

    (Now that I'm a little more advanced and understand both stances better, I've realized sumo may be better for me because of an old back injury... but that's really another can of worms..)
    Anywho, it took me a long time to get the hang of pulling sumo, and I still don't feel I've totally mastered it yet.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member
    cityruss wrote: »
    There's also some great ones by a Canadian powerlifter with great big plug earrings in his ears but for the life of me I can't think of the name.

    Bryce Krawczyk
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    There are lots of things that have to happen in order to DL properly, and depending on what any 1 person struggles with (not to mention 100 other factors), their cues may be very different than the cues I use or you use or anyone else uses. This is what is so hard about getting tips in a format like MFP.

    You mention your hips rising too fast. That could be a setup issue, an issue with muscle tension/engagement, or just bad technique... or a combination of.

    At the very least, post a vid so we can see what you're doing, then describe what you are feeling and where you are struggling. At that point, the more knowledgable folks around here (of which there are several) can probably offer you some pointers.

    kwtilbury wrote: »
    No matter who hard I worked on my form, I couldn't stop from getting debilitating lower back injuries (as in can't walk for up to a week) at least once a year from doing deadlifts. Eventually I said it's just not worth it and haven't sweated it since. You can still kick *kitten* in the gym without doing deads.
    Agreed. Don't be afraid to nix a lift just because MFP says you "have" to do it.
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    LolBroScience wrote: »
    cityruss wrote: »
    There's also some great ones by a Canadian powerlifter with great big plug earrings in his ears but for the life of me I can't think of the name.

    Bryce Krawczyk

    That's the one.

    https://youtu.be/JyZK6-QzX1A
  • buffalogal42
    buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    I personally teach form with wooden sticks before moving to barbells. There are a couple videos i'll link below, but i recommend getting the movement down FIRST with daily practice. It does feel awkward at first, especially for men but teaching this way usually works for me.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEy_czb3RKA

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

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1IGeJEXpF4

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0bY-gp8uR8

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rRfS49JG6c

    Extremely helpful videos. Thanks!
  • buffalogal42
    buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
    TresaAswegan wrote: »
    Have you tried conventional, or just sumo? I find conventional "clicks" a lot better for me than sumo.

    (Now that I'm a little more advanced and understand both stances better, I've realized sumo may be better for me because of an old back injury... but that's really another can of worms..)
    Anywho, it took me a long time to get the hang of pulling sumo, and I still don't feel I've totally mastered it yet.

    I had been working on conventional a few months back but my back was an issue. Took a few months off deadlift and worked on a lot of other strength stuff and back exercises. My trainer tried sumo as a way to ease me back in.
  • Shawshankcan
    Shawshankcan Posts: 900 Member
    edited March 2017
    cityruss wrote: »
    There's also some great ones by a Canadian powerlifter with great big plug earrings in his ears but for the life of me I can't think of the name.

    Edit: Was answered already.
  • buffalogal42
    buffalogal42 Posts: 374 Member
    Well, I think the sites, videos, etc. you all posted helped quite a bit. I find watching people helpful. Back to deadlift tonight and I did much better. We went back to conventional as sumo wasn't working for me ... We worked up to 155lbs and I did reps at that weight with much better form. I don't know if that is "good" or not but it was good for me and I will keep at it!
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    LolBroScience wrote: »
    cityruss wrote: »
    There's also some great ones by a Canadian powerlifter with great big plug earrings in his ears but for the life of me I can't think of the name.

    Bryce Krawczyk

    I'm impressed. You actually spelt his name right. And yes, he knows a thing or two about pulling both sumo and conventional.
  • Ocrgrrrl
    Ocrgrrrl Posts: 189 Member
    The broomstick set up really helped it click for me that deadlifts are a hinge and not a squat movement. I also love Mark Ripptoe's Art of Manliness how to deadlift video. For some reason, he just explains everything in a way that I can understand so easily!
  • phill_143
    phill_143 Posts: 64 Member
    I had the same issue - I love 5x5 (and think I have pretty good form on squats now!), but ended up skipping the deadlift every time, because I just couldn't get the form consistently correct and I was really nervous about injuring my back trying to push ahead with incorrect form.

    I also worked with a PT specifically on this and I think he's finally helped me get the form under control.
    Something we did that I think helped was kettlebell work - we spent half a session doing swings with a very heavy kettle bell repeatedly - he filmed me and played it back in slow-mo, pointing out the bits of form I had right/wrong each time.
    Then went back to the deadlifting and the correct form felt more intuitive.
    Not sure if that's a standard learning technique? But I found this very helpful.
  • giantrobot_powerlifting
    giantrobot_powerlifting Posts: 2,598 Member
    buffalogal42 wrote: »
    Just have to update this ... a month or so later and I LOVE deadlifts! Lol - got the form (mostly) down and I am increasing the weight. It's fun and it makes me feel powerful to lift heavy stuff and set it back down. ;-)

    Nice to read that your patience is showing some results. These lifts take time to develop. Some cues work and others don't.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories