Thread: Another deadlift question

Apologies if this has been discussed before, I did a search and could not find an answer.

I've recently begun training with an older lady, a power lifter from back in the day. Her PB for deads was 170kgs, so I'm pretty stoked to be training with her!

We tried sumo deads, the first time ever for me. Went quite light, but really enjoyed the exercise.
We also tried regular deads, since this was our first training session for deads together, we were just getting a feel for the weight and what we could comfortably manage. She hasn't trained in the gym for 5 months and could still pick up the bar and do 10 reps at 60kgs!! Easily too.

Anyway, back on topic. Before training with her, I would always let the bar fully touch the ground in between sets. Not slammed on the ground or anything. Is that wrong? She has me just getting the bar to lightly touch then back up. Thoughts?? I must say, after trying it her way, I really felt it in my glutes (as this is a problem area for me).

I've hit the 70 kg mark for deads (without straps). I have a goal to get to 80 kgs, which I reckon I am not too far off with straps. Next goal - 100 kgs, here I come!! Specific isolation work for my glute medius, hamstring and VMO and calf have helped tremendously.

Originally Posted by mandym

Anyway, back on topic. Before training with her, I would always let the bar fully touch the ground in between sets. Not slammed on the ground or anything. Is that wrong? She has me just getting the bar to lightly touch then back up. Thoughts?? I must say, after trying it her way, I really felt it in my glutes (as this is a problem area for me).

The method she had you doing was causing you to maintain more tension in your glutes. But I wouldn't say what you were doing before was wrong, just different. In the end, the deadlift is all about picking a dead weight off the floor. Another way you should try it is pausing on the ground for a sec, much harder and stops you from using momentum. But if your glutes was a weak point, I'd say the method she had you doing should help your deadlift.

Good luck on your 100kg goal. Any particular plan of progession to get there? Or just going by feel?

Ditto. It depends on what you are aiming for. I use a similar style but I suspect that strongman/powerlifter types (i.e. Big Tim) would opt for the pause at the bottom to target the nervous system and that initial burst of power. If you were training solely for powerlifting where one rep does it all then the pause system would imitate the comp day more while the no pause "touch and go" simulates a strongman comp where endurance comes in. So not wrong, just different.

Deadlifts are called that because there must be a pausing of the weight at the bottom of the movement, e.g a 'dead' start.

In saying that i have only found it matters if your loosing form. I tend to linger on the ground for a while as I retract my scapulae and then go again. I have also found the heavier the weight the more time I take between reps. But thats just me.

If you prefer a light touch then go with it.

Originally Posted by Bricktop

Deadlifts are called that because there must be a pausing of the weight at the bottom of the movement, e.g a 'dead' start.

In saying that i have only found it matters if your loosing form. I tend to linger on the ground for a while as I retract my scapulae and then go again. I have also found the heavier the weight the more time I take between reps. But thats just me.

If you prefer a light touch then go with it.

I find as my weakpoint is off the floor its easier to just touch the floor and begin the positive - take advantage of the (semi) stretch reflex cycle.

mandym: what's ur glute isolation work? Give these ago: YouTube - Barbell Hip Thrust. I think I find the sumo easier than conventional because I'm short, so it mainly becomes a glute exercise.

Originally Posted by Sim882

I find as my weakpoint is off the floor its easier to just touch the floor and begin the positive - take advantage of the (semi) stretch reflex cycle.

.

As is mine, and a lot of peoples. The thing to watch is the 'touch' does not become a 'bounce' which is all to common. Stopping for a good second lets me engage the core, set the shoulders and go. While learning to do deads i have always found it better for trainees to stop longer at the bottom to sort them selves out.

It possible some weak point training where you start and stop every rep from the floor could help in improving the weak point.

Originally Posted by Bricktop

As is mine, and a lot of peoples. The thing to watch is the 'touch' does not become a 'bounce' which is all to common. Stopping for a good second lets me engage the core, set the shoulders and go. While learning to do deads i have always found it better for trainees to stop longer at the bottom to sort them selves out.

It possible some weak point training where you start and stop every rep from the floor could help in improving the weak point.

Yep - what you say is true. Ripettoe recommends a pause at the bottom.

I'm doing conventional deads as a back exercise now more than hamstring focussing on full retraction of shoulder blades at the top. This means I've gone from 5x165 to 5x145.

So at this stage the weight isn't heavy enough for this weak point to really matter, but I want to crack 200kg one day (preferably conventional - I'm sure I could do this sumo if I made it my goal), so ur form advice is something I will keep in mind.

obce you get to a wt you'll struggle with you'll naturally use a pause anyway i think...the only issue with a touch and go is that you may loose your core/low back positioning when fatigue sets in

Originally Posted by swans05

obce you get to a wt you'll struggle with you'll naturally use a pause anyway i think...the only issue with a touch and go is that you may loose your core/low back positioning when fatigue sets in

When I reach a weight I'd struggle with I have more of a tendency to switch to touch and go just for the sake of banging out a couple of extra reps or so. If its really heavy weight and I stop at the bottom, I won't be able to lift it again for at least a couple of minutes or more...

Originally Posted by Sim882

I find as my weakpoint is off the floor its easier to just touch the floor and begin the positive - take advantage of the (semi) stretch reflex cycle.

mandym: what's ur glute isolation work? Give these ago: YouTube - Barbell Hip Thrust. I think I find the sumo easier than conventional because I'm short, so it mainly becomes a glute exercise.

Thanks Sim. I saw you mentioned these in another post, so I looked them up and have been doing a slightly modified version (upper back on the ground rather than resting on a bench), and with much lower weight lol!

I'll try and find a link to the exercises the sports physio has me doing. The first one he gave me was awesome - it really taught me where I should be feeling the movement (considering glute max/glute med). And my butt has never been so sore in years, in a good way. Now when I am squatting, lunging and deadlifting, I can really feel the glute med activating, helping to keep my hips stable and level and also then the added control I have over my quad and knee alignment. No more knee pain!!! That's a huge bonus for me, and also people are starting to notice that my VMO is becoming much more defined, balancing out my leg symmetry.

I'll be keen to give the hip thrusts a try with the link that you provided. The glute area has always been a problem for me, both aesthetically and functionally. So much so, that a few years ago, it was the major reason I decided not to compete. I had the upper body fairly well on track, but the lower body was no where near where it needed to be. Also, being the area where I carry any excess fat certainly didn't help. Damn genetics.... but I'm working on the problem.