[Ringo]

Quick question for someone, and I'm sorry if this has been covered anywhere..

I've been working out for upwards of three years and never done a deadlift. Quite frankly, they are scary to me. I've had a hernia operation before because of weightlifting, and I don't want another. No one I've met does anything but stiff leg deadlifts, and I was wondering if anyone can articulate to me the proper way to do bent-leg deadlifts (not sumo's), because I don't want my back area to fall behind (was that a bad pun?). Thanks.

Rob

[Diesel]

you want to do stiff legged deadlifts or convential style deadlifts?

[Ringo]

Conventional, no stiff legs.

[Diesel]

I posted this some time ago:

Originally Posted by Diesel

keep your back straight, not curved, and squat down to grab the weight. you want to have a narrow stance because if you go with a wide stance (sumo style) the majority of the stress is put on the legs. when i do deadlifts, i grip the bar where the knurl starts. this way, i can minimize the distance that I must go down. remember to keep your back straight. now, when you squat down, you want to stick your but out a little bit. this will hlep you to keep the weight on your heels. the initial pull is with your legs. once the bar gets past your knees, you then thrust your hips forward and stand errect. the hardest part for people is to keep their back straight and people tend to straighten their legs out too early. This is where lower back problems can develop. by what you said, my guess is that you are not getting your hips low enough and therefore straighting your legs out too early. practice deadlifting in a mirror with no weight. look at yourself from the front and from the side to see if your back is straight. another thing that helped me with deadlifts is to think as if you are pushing your feet through the floor. this, to me, is probably the best advice I ever heard. it really helps you to keep proper form. good luck.

the bar should also be in contact with your body throughout the entire motion. my shins are normally bruised the next day. only do deadlifts every other week and I recommend not to go over 5 reps. there are also some signs you can go by if your form is off. obviously your weight should be on their heels. the other one is hard to explain. if you get a sharp pain above your traps then your back is not straight or you are lifting all back and no legs. you will get a pump in your traps, but you will know what im talkin about when you get the sharp pain, b/c it hurts.

EDIT: I would still try to find someone to keep an eye on your form. if you concentrate on keeping a flat back and your hips low then you should be fine.

[Ringo]

I really appreciate the quick response. I actually know the pain you mean in the upper traps. I get it occasionally when I pick up a shrug rack the wrong way. I'll practice with the mirror and have someone watch me the first few times I try. Thanks again.

[MaKaVeLi]

i don't know if you wanna do deadlifts after a hernia! if you do then just go for lower weights and more reps

[Cork]

Very important, keep your shoulders back... the easiest way to do it, DON'T look down at your weight. Always keep your eyes straight ahead.

And Diesel, depending on what weight you have, you can do as many reps as you feel you need. You shouldn't limit yourself to just 5, unless you're training for powerlifting and you want that 1 rep maximum to be as high as possible. Then that's just a whole different story.

[tim290280]

Deadlifts are easy (form is pretty simple) and hard (f$%^ing hard work).

Basically you stand at the loaded bar such that it is middle of your feet (bending at the knees should bring the bar into contact with your shins), feet roughly shoulder width apart. Shoulders back, butt out (i.e. spine flat and shoulders not rounded forward) squat down and grab the bar just outside of your knees. You can use a mixed grip (one hand supinated and one pronated but swap around which with each set) or both hands pronated, the mixed grip you'll need for heavier weights.

Then you want to stand up. Push your feet through the floor, with weight on your heels. You want to do this in a smooth motion such that you don't straighten your legs before your hips (i.e. your legs and hips should lock out as one).

I've had two hernia operations as a child (long before the weights) and I have never had issues with lifting or deadlifts. You want to work your way into doing these (and any heavy exercise) gradually.

How many reps/sets you do is up to you. Doesn't really make much difference. 1RM will put the most pressure on your body to lift and recover (hence the not every week training) but if you're pulling anything over 4-5RM then no reason why you couldn't go every week.

Watch your form closely! Don't let your shoulders slump forward and don't let your lower back round, and try to lock the lift out as one.

[Diesel]

the reason I say not to go over 5 reps is somewhat hard to explain. deadlifts are a lift where you do not really get stronger by doing them. you get stronger in deadlifts by squatting and performing other back exercises. i know of a powerlifter that does not deadlift until a meet is coming up. he will do SLDL instead of conventional deadlifts. he gained 35 pounds on his deadlift within 5 months w/o even doing them over that period of time. he only does deadlifts about 5-7 weeks out from a meet. obviously, for a bodybuilder it is better to do them year round b/c we get a full, thick look. plus, deadlifts are hell on your lower back (in a good way of course). if you go higher than 5 reps then your lower back might not be fully recovered when leg day comes around and you squat. and deadlifts by no means should be performed every week. at most deadlifts could be performed every 10 days. you can always sub in SLDL on weeks you do not perform convential deadlifts. or you could even do a light week of deadlifts just to get technique down. as far as warm up sets, you can do reps of 20 if you want. but as far as your balls to wall sets, they really should not be over reps of 5.

[tim290280]

Originally Posted by Diesel

the reason I say not to go over 5 reps is somewhat hard to explain. deadlifts are a lift where you do not really get stronger by doing them.

Huh??

You can't compare what a PL does in his training to get stronger to what the average lifter does. He is fixing weak points in his lifts to improve the overall lift. He would be so far in advance of the average lifter that he can train other movements to improve the DL while not actually DLing. As a BB/average weight trainer you are not training for maximal lifting in a competition so this is less of a concern. You can therefore improve you deadlift by deadlifting.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by tim290280

Huh??

You can't compare what a PL does in his training to get stronger to what the average lifter does. He is fixing weak points in his lifts to improve the overall lift. He would be so far in advance of the average lifter that he can train other movements to improve the DL while not actually DLing. As a BB/average weight trainer you are not training for maximal lifting in a competition so this is less of a concern. You can therefore improve you deadlift by deadlifting.

what I was trying to say is there is no reason to deadlift every week. and doing high reps may not allow your lower back to recover in time for squats. did you even read my whole post?

[tim290280]

Originally Posted by Diesel

what I was trying to say is there is no reason to deadlift every week. and doing high reps may not allow your lower back to recover in time for squats. did you even read my whole post?

Yes I read it. I just disagree with you.

I see no reason that deadlifts can't be incorpated into a training regime every week. The main reason power lifters don't pull every week is the drain on the cns from heavy pulls. I was pointing this out, as the way your post read you were justifying your personal preference from a completely different training modality.

I agree that if you are frying your lower back on either squats or deads that the other will suffer. But why are you frying your lower back? Do you bend forward too much when you squat, are you locking out your legs first on the deadlift, are you doing too many lower back heavy exercises, or do you just have a weak lower back. These are the things that should be addressed first, rather than just relegating a great exercise to every-now-and-then.

[MaKaVeLi]

yeah I think you can do deadlifts every week but you shouldn't regularly do both deadlifts and squats on the same week...