Can I please get some feedback on my latest deadlift form {no. 3 below}
I am a beginner and started going to the gym consistently since Aug 1st. I had a terrible deadlift from, which I found out after watching Alan Thrall’s videos (which then led me to Dr. Austin Baraki’s video on deadlift mistakes).
I started watching Alan’s and then Mark Rippetoe’s videos to correct my form. I am following the 5 steps of deadlift from SS. Two main problems: (1) The bar keeps moving because the platform has too many broken areas under the rubber mat; the mat is dented too. (2) I have difficulty keeping my lower back flat/straight. I am trying to replicate Alan’s form but failing miserably.
Here is a video before I knew what a correct form looks like.
1. First week:125 lbs (3 sets x 7 reps) -
Observation: Hips too low, form not consistent
Here is a video of me trying to learn the five steps of SS. My speed is a little slow because I am just trying to learn the technique.
First off, good job making the commitment to going to the gym consistently. That’s great, and I hope you continue. As for your deadlift form, I watched all 3 of your videos. Your hips were a little low in the first one, but your form looks fine in the second two. You might not ever look identical to another lifter because your proportions are not exactly the same. If your back, femur, or shins are different lengths than someone else at the same height, your technique will look different, and that is ok. If you look at the plates on the bar in your later videos, they pretty much move up and down in a straight line and it doesn’t roll around at the bottom, which shows you are picking it up and setting it down efficiently. Not every single rep was perfect, but you have only done the lift a few times. At this point, it just comes down to practice with the movement. Doing the lift and maybe a variation or two each week, keeping your RPE in check, and putting in the time are the things you can do to get better at deadlift now. You will naturally get better at it as you continue, and doing it slightly ‘wrong’ sometimes won’t hurt you. Hope this helps, and good luck!
I can definitely see air between your legs and the bar on the first video. Not as sure on the others due to camera angle. It helps me to get down to the bar, engage my lats (I use a cue of protecting your armpits as if someone is trying to tickle you; in the videos below the cue is to lift the chest) . This is done while pulling the slack out of the bar (ie it’s not coming off the floor, but if you pulled even a bit more it would). Then drag the bar up your shins. If I focus on dragging it up my shins, my lats stay locked. Are those running shoes? Deadlifting tends to work better with barefeet, socks, or a flat sole like chucks.
Have you seen these two videos?
