Issue with deadlifts regarding reping and maxing.

[Hanley]

I think @Hanley was planning to do this and crush his old PR.

Yep. Pulling singles with a big ole round t-spine. Feels like cheating when it goes well. But the technique is tricky. Still working on it. I should really log….

[SaviorSelf]

I think @Hanley was planning to do this and crush his old PR.

Yep. Pulling singles with a big ole round t-spine. Feels like cheating when it goes well. But the technique is tricky. Still working on it. I should really log….

Any tips for doing it? The vid I linked just says to do it, but not how to do it

What I’m trying is that thing you see people do when they bring their hips up and down a couple times before starting the lift

[Hanley]

I think @Hanley was planning to do this and crush his old PR.

Yep. Pulling singles with a big ole round t-spine. Feels like cheating when it goes well. But the technique is tricky. Still working on it. I should really log….

Any tips for doing it? The vid I linked just says to do it, but not how to do it

What I’m trying is that thing you see people do when they bring their hips up and down a couple times before starting the lift

I'm not nearly experienced enough at it to be any sort of authority. Just a struggling newb. That said, I'd initially think about:
1) get your feet set in your standard deadlift position
2) *maybe controversial* I then protract the shit out of my shoulders with my arms out in front of me (like a mummy), which helps establish a a nasty t-spine curve, I then
3) brace the shit out of my upper and lower back
4) squat down/back to bar aiming to feel tension in glutes and hammies, then
5) lift immediately...do not fuck around once you're down at the bar.

There are certainly other ways to do it, but that's what I've been doing. I know a couple of huge deadlifters who use the rounded back approach. I'll see if they'd be willing to be filmed and provide some commentary

EDIT:

Here's a pretty good execution of the steps above (I learned the technique from this guy). Note: he's making this pull just a few months after one of many surgeries for a torn quad tendon:



And here's me practicing. I actually lose too much "roundness" when I retighten on the bottom...and something looks off with my hips (I think as a consequence of failing to pull the slack out of the bar)...but I'm trying:

[cgeorg]

And here's me practicing. I actually lose too much "roundness" when I retighten on the bottom...and something looks off with my hips (I think as a consequence of failing to pull the slack out of the bar)...but I'm trying:

Dang, that 10 plates looked smooth. It kind of looks like yours exaggerates pulling back and opening up the hips first, then finish with the quads - you rock back on the heels a bit at the top. That might be why the hips look off? I have noticed that my pulls felt stronger when I initiated them that way. Mr. 10 plates seems to have the same sequence.

[SaviorSelf]

Interesting, thanks for the follow up. To my eye, it looks like you've got it.

A couple more tips for the OP (also - I'm not a big deadlifter, just someone whose spent way too much time on the net and just parroting other stuff )

1.Don't breathe when your bent down in the starting position. Idk why, but you seem to lose a lot of strength when you do this. Take your breath when your standing up and hold it. Between reps, you can raise your hips, breathe, then bring your hips back down. Give it a try if you haven't done this. Similar thing can happen if you use straps because it takes longer to setup

2. Most people's arms aren't actually straight. If you hold your arms in front of you, palms facing up, there's a good chance that your forearm bends off to the side (your right forearm bends off past the elbow and your left arm bends off to the left past the elbow). Varies person to person how much of a bend there is. So if you are lifting with mixed grip, your right hand should be a tad further to the right on the barbell, than your left arm would be. Sounds weird, but stick your arms out and you'll see what I mean

[Hanley]

And here's me practicing. I actually lose too much "roundness" when I retighten on the bottom...and something looks off with my hips (I think as a consequence of failing to pull the slack out of the bar)...but I'm trying:

Dang, that 10 plates looked smooth. It kind of looks like yours exaggerates pulling back and opening up the hips first, then finish with the quads - you rock back on the heels a bit at the top. That might be why the hips look off? I have noticed that my pulls felt stronger when I initiated them that way. Mr. 10 plates seems to have the same sequence.

That was only 8 *sad face*

[mgil]

@Hanley, have you tried without the belt? Just thinking that setting the brace with that belt on is making it harder for the thoracic spine to stay rounded.

[Hanley]

Hanley, have you tried without the belt? Just thinking that setting the brace with that belt on is making it harder for the thoracic spine to stay rounded.

I usually throw the belt on at 405. It is - indeed - easier to brace with a round thoracic spine sans belt. I’m hopeful I can figure out how to lock in place without extending my upper back. It’s really fucking tricky.

[EricK]

I should really log….

Yes.

[ChasingCurls69]

I pull with a lot of thoracic flexion, and sort of go back and forth on how much lumbar flexion I have that's heavily influenced by my secondary DLs and general fatigue levels. I think an interesting aspect about the technique with more thoracic rounding is that it removes the issue of the first rep being weirdly hard relative to the rest, because at higher RPEs the failure point becomes locking out due to back flexion.

During training blocks where my DL is best, I can hold a decent lumbar position at higher loads without inadvertently extending my thoracic spine to make it happen. I think deficit DLs, stiff-leg DLs, and haltings+pauses below the knee have been the best for practicing the set up and getting the positions I want. Deficit SGDL has been a recent addition that I really liked for hitting the upperback and glutes particularly hard.

[acorn93]

Not trying to hijack the thread but since we’re talking about it does this look like how to round the upper back while arching the lower back? Sorry for the angle but it’s the best I could do for a side view in my cramped garage.

[mgil]

@acorn93 things look good. Definitely need some thoracic flexion to pull deficits (I think).

[acorn93]

@mgil thank you! I need any advantage I can get on deads

[Hanley]

It's funny -- and Alanis thinks it's ironic -- that I spent my early years of lifting trying my damndest to pull with a straight back, and now I'm finding lifting with a rounded back to be the most technically challenging thing I've ever tried with a barbell.

I bumped to 10 plates and reverted to a straight back. Meh.

[ChasingCurls69]

Not trying to hijack the thread but since we’re talking about it does this look like how to round the upper back while arching the lower back? Sorry for the angle but it’s the best I could do for a side view in my cramped garage.

Yeah, this looked pretty good!

[SaviorSelf]

Not trying to hijack the thread but since we’re talking about it does this look like how to round the upper back while arching the lower back? Sorry for the angle but it’s the best I could do for a side view in my cramped garage.

Doesn't look like you are rounding excessively, but it doesn't look like you were standing all the way up at the end either to me

Having to lockout all the way can put the brakes on rounding too much, cause if you round too much you won't be able to "uncurl" your back to lockout

[TornAlien]

For stability, it's all in the back muscles. I think most people don't know that when you prepare your setup, you have to contract your lats so that the upper back doesn't bend. That's a detail most people forget.

[mgil]

For stability, it's all in the back muscles. I think most people don't know that when you prepare your setup, you have to contract your lats so that the upper back doesn't bend. That's a detail most people forget.

Why?