Hi everyone,
I have a question about the deadlift. I don’t have enough hip mobility in the bottom position to perform a conventional deadlift (with standard diameter plates) within my active range. My spine rounds in order to reach the bar.
What is your take on this? Is it better to deadlift from the floor with a little bit of spine flexion at the bottom and achieve full range of motion or reduce the range of motion and deadlift from the block with a neutral spine to stay within the active range of motion without rounding my spine?
Is it necessary for a recreational lifter to ensure deadlift setup is within active range of hip flexion?
I don’t have plans on competing in powerlifting in the future.
Thanks!
Everyone’s spine is flexed during a deadlift/“picking-up” task, even if it visually appears flat.
This is discussed on podcast episode 131 (and on several others), as well as:
Ultimately, the “active range” of a conventional deadlift is entirely arbitrary, based on whoever decided that a standard plate diameter is 45 cm. Given that you do not plan to compete in powerlifting, this “range” matters even less. As a result, if you strongly prefer a different range of motion – such as from a block pull, that would be completely fine, or you could deadlift using sumo style.
Finally, it may also be worth getting a quick form check consultation with one of our coaches who can discuss all of this in further detail.
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