Bad Form On Deadlifts

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Xardioso

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Well things are going pretty well. I was looking at my old pics and posts and I have definitely made some nice progress in the last few months. Even though my progress is going pretty fast I always feel like I want to get bigger faster. It has been made quite clear to me through many sources that doing heavy lifts of certain core strengthening exercises are best for rapidly gaining mass. One of those core exercises is the deadlift.

Now I have been 'attempting' to do deadlifts for months now. I do them on my leg training days, which are twice a week. However, I am almost certain that I am doing them incorrectly. It seems like I am working my lower back exclusively. It is also suspicious that the deadlift is supposed to be an exercise where you can lift ALOT of weight and I am currently putting everything I have into lifting 175lbs 12 times. This is compared to my squats of 265lbs 10x and benching 165lbs 10x or so. I have seen the guides online on how to do a deadlift but I just can't seem to get it down. Maybe my arms are too long in proportion to the rest of my body... I have no idea... all I know is that I end up lifting from the waist every time. On the plus side I think my lower back is one of the strongest parts of my body, lol. I can lift nearly the whole stack on the back extension machine now =P

Anyways if anyone could explain how I could fix my form and work my legs instead of my back that would be great. I have only seen ONE other guy do deadlifts in my school gym and he does them straight-legged.
 
Can't you find someone to critique your form or post a video. Long arms are a major advantage with the deadlift and you should play with a variety of stances until you find the one that suits you.

Remember, back arched (think squat) and pull BACK NOT UP. Imagine your trying to fall backwards, your head should look up at the ceiling when you pull. It's the scrapped shins thing or nearing scrapping the shins.

The important thing is to figure out where your weakness is at-glutes, hamstrings, etc. You might check out t-nation.com and check out Thibaudeau's Deadlifting for Stubby Guys.
 
Good advice evo. You should think of your hands has hooks when deadlifting. What kind of deadlift are you doing?

Stick your butt out like you are about to get kicked in the balls. That is how I always picture it.
Click to expand...

I really can't picture that, i almost sitdown. But whatever works for you.
 
1. deadlifting IS primarily a lower back and glute exercise. hamstrings and quads are very limited in their ROM and thus aren't the major focus...but they do more than stabilize.

2. 12 reps is too many IMO. 6-8 is fine..primarily because it is a heavy move, and any flaw in form can lead to a serious back injury that could haunt you for the rest of your life.
 
Deadlifts are a Great exercise if done properly. If you try to up the weight too quickly you're asking for trouble; a brief explanation.....

In your back you have different types of muscles
- big ones which move the spine around, you can see these clearly
- very small ones which stabilise the spine, the 'foundation' of your spinal strength

The little ones are part of what is referred to as the CORE muscles.

The reason a lot of people get injured at the gym is because they focus too much on the big movement muscles, which quickly overtake the strength of the stabilizing ones, so....

when you go to lift a heavy weight, your big muscles can take it, but the small ones can't; so too much stress is transfered to the spine (in the wrong places) and you end up in a messy state.

So although it IS a strength exercise, start light n go for correct form, you'll find it's hard enough anyway if you do it properly. Use perfect form as an indicator of whether a weight is ok for you - if your form suffers, drop the weight.
 
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