Deadlifts: drop or put down?

[David Thornton]

It seems like I hear a lot of stories about injuries with deadlift when putting the weight down, rather than on the way up.

Thus, is it wrong to just drop the weight after lifting, or is it foolish to miss out on the negative half of the lift?

[Katherine Derbyshire]

You're more likely to get hurt if you relax your back while it's still supporting the weight. So working the negative is fine, but form is just as important on the way down as on the way up.

If you're doing sets, rather than singles, the set ends when you drop the bar. Working the negative is part of the point.

Katherine

[Eric Montgomery]

I'm not familiar with any injuries on the eccentric portion of the movement, but then again anything done sloppily can lead to injury.

A dropped deadlift is a no-lift in competition. Some people drop deadlifts because they don't want to overtax themselves by lowering multiple reps under control, but those people are also probably deadlifting 800+lbs.

[Adam Carlson]

I keep a close eye on my strength and conditioning kids when they deadlift, since many of them keep strict form on the way up but completely fold on the way down if they aren't reminded that the lift isn't finished until the bar is on the ground again.

[Tyler Schaeffer]

When my coach sees someone drop a deadlift, he says a lift has two parts, up and down, or down and up

[Joshua Murphy]

Originally Posted by Adam Carlson

I keep a close eye on my strength and conditioning kids when they deadlift, since many of them keep strict form on the way up but completely fold on the way down if they aren't reminded that the lift isn't finished until the bar is on the ground again.

See this in adults too, the down is just as important.

[Doug Lantz]

Rip states in SSBBT that down is just the opposite of up but the bar can go down faster.

Personally I'm experimenting with increasing the speed of the up and the down ensuring good form in both movements with video.

I started out setting the bar down slowly out of concern for relaxing my lower back.

I would tend to think that dropping the bar could also lead to injury from the instant relaxation.

Also as others have mentioned, dropping the bar in competition will get you 3 red lights.

Seldom in real life do we pick something up and drop it.

Failing to set the bar down removes half the functionality of the deadlift.

[Adam Carlson]

Doug - all good points! I especially like the second to last one.

[Kevin Simons]

Originally Posted by Tyler Schaeffer

When my coach sees someone drop a deadlift, he says a lift has two parts, up and down, or down and up

How about a Clean + Jerk? Or a throw? Just because something has traditionally been done one way, does not make it the right. I'm not necessarily saying it is wrong, only that it is faulty reasoning.

Originally Posted by Doug Lantz

I would tend to think that dropping the bar could also lead to injury from the instant relaxation.

I have never heard of this, and I REALLY don't think so. That seems pretty silly to me.

Originally Posted by Doug Lantz

Seldom in real life do we pick something up and drop it.

So? Seldom in life do we pick 500lbs off the ground at all... or squat with something 5 times, or a myriad of other things we do everyday in WODs. We are working to develop peak athletic performance not to duplicate the things we do in everyday life.

Deadlifting heavy is super taxing on my CNS. It often takes me a couple days to adequately recover, and the eccentric portion of the lift is the biggest culprit. I have experimented with only doing the positives and dropping the negatives in training and find that I recover much better that way. I don't ever plan to enter powerlifting comps, but if I did, I really wouldn't be concerned with not being able to lower a weight that I just picked up.

[Jon Gregory]

Originally Posted by Kevin Simons

How about a Clean + Jerk? Or a throw? Just because something has traditionally been done one way, does not make it the right. I'm not necessarily saying it is wrong, only that it is faulty reasoning.



I have never heard of this, and I REALLY don't think so. That seems pretty silly to me.



So? Seldom in life do we pick 500lbs off the ground at all... or squat with something 5 times, or a myriad of other things we do everyday in WODs. We are working to develop peak athletic performance not to duplicate the things we do in everyday life.

Deadlifting heavy is super taxing on my CNS. It often takes me a couple days to adequately recover, and the eccentric portion of the lift is the biggest culprit. I have experimented with only doing the positives and dropping the negatives in training and find that I recover much better that way. I don't ever plan to enter powerlifting comps, but if I did, I really wouldn't be concerned with not being able to lower a weight that I just picked up.

Couldn't agree more. Dropping the bar is no big deal. Personally I put the bar down in part due to the gym management (and the detectives working upstairs) not liking the noise. A lot of people get into a horrible mess on the down though!

I suppose there is an argument for "doing it properly" and I certainly can agree with that and this also accounts for me putting the bar down. I feel a bit lazy and like I cheated if I drop!

If you wanna drop it, go ahead. Just don't do it in comps!

Is it just me that loves the DL above all other lifts?!