DL Form Check

[Rayne Gray]

Originally Posted by Melissa Byers

Slightly off topic, but where can I find the Eddie Vedder cover you used in your video? It's fantastic.

Melissa

Hey Melissa,

It's Pearl jam, I do not know what album sorry.

Rayne

[Clinton Stalker]

Congrats on a new PR!

And yes, that is Pearl Jam covering Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." I have friends who tell me you can download this and other bootleg covers easily on the internet.

[Jonathan Sabar]

All excellent points. To add a couple thoughts of my own:

- As Scott said, dropping the weight from full extension will get you red-lighted, and increases the risk of hurting someone. You don't need to lower the weight - just keep control of it until it's fully parked on the deck.

- I know CrossFit looks down on sumo (wide stance) deadlifts, but frankly I think they're a better option for max weights for a lot of people (men with long femurs and torsos, and the majority of women) just for biomechanical reasons. Give those a shot and see how they feel.

- Not sure I agree with the recommendation to get your butt down. One of the biggest form breakdowns in pulling is trying to "squat the deadlift". Try pulling your hips back so you have more of a straight-line shot up your shins.

- Last thought: you can pull more than you think you can. A true max deadlift is as much a battle of will as muscle. The hardest thing to learn with pulling is to just. keep. pulling. The weights feel like they're welded to the floor, and the bar isn't going anywhere, and you think you're done. Then after five seconds, or ten, or fifteen (feels like an hour!) the bar cracks off the floor and starts moving...slowly. Your body shakes, you see lights flashing in front of your eyes, and you set your weight on your heels and pull.

When you finally lock that one out, you have a completely different view of deadlifting, and of what you can accomplish.

[Dave Hancock]

Originally Posted by Jesse Dahl

Wouldn't setting the butt higher fix butt-movement-before-bar-movement?

Yes, but not in a good way. Its also taking the legs out of the movement.

[Jacob Cloud]

As a fellow disgusting fat body (6'1" 245), congrats on the new PR! We're at about the same DL level, with some of the same bad form habits, so I can relate. I pulled 425 earlier this month, but it was disgustingly ugly. Shooting for 500 ASAP (followed by a 500 squat and 200 overhead press...someday). You can see my hips opening up early too, here on a 405 attempt: http://youtube.com/watch?v=hJasmoBYDfA

Video a few of your "normal" sets and see if you do the same thing when the weight's not as heavy. I have started doing this and find it to be a HUGE help in correcting my form. I can watch the "tape" between sets and really focus on form for the next set.

[Rayne Gray]

Thanks again for all of the feedback this is really helping give me some focus!

Cheers
Rayne

[Kevin Ziegenhorn]

Originally Posted by Melissa Byers

Slightly off topic, but where can I find the Eddie Vedder cover you used in your video? It's fantastic.

Melissa

I'm pretty sure that's not a bootleg... not sure if this is the exact version from the vid, but that cover appears twice on PJ's "Live at the Gorge 05/06".

Or, you could follow the advice of Clinton's friends.