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How do you start deadlifting.

Wreck it Ralph

Wreck it Ralph

Member
I want to start deadlifting but don't know where to start. I watched a few vids and gave it a try. At only 225lbs I felt like I was on the brink of hurting myself. Is there auxiliary exercises I should be doing? After 4 sets of 10 at 225lbs my back felt stiff for the rest of the day. I don't mind pain, as long as I am not damaging anything. I am hoping that @insertnamehere @Docd187123 or @Masters Power can help since they did such a good job when I started trying to up my bench.

Thanks
Wreck it
 
1st thing, throw your pride out the window. You gotta start with little to no weight and get your form down. And practice enough where you do it without having to think about it every rep (which i dont do. My form gets bad if im not actively thinking about it). I also watched this video...



Im sure the OGs will be through soon, but thats my attempt at help.

Edit: and trust me, youll have no pride being a big guy in the gym dling 95 lbs...
 
I've learned shit form on DL got me going snap city many enough times so it can't be stressed enough to keep proper form especially when going really heavy.
 
Wreck it Ralph said:
I want to start deadlifting but don't know where to start. I watched a few vids and gave it a try. At only 225lbs I felt like I was on the brink of hurting myself. Is there auxiliary exercises I should be doing? After 4 sets of 10 at 225lbs my back felt stiff for the rest of the day. I don't mind pain, as long as I am not damaging anything. I am hoping that @insertnamehere @Docd187123 or @Masters Power can help since they did such a good job when I started trying to up my bench.

Thanks
Wreck it
Click to expand...

When you say you felt like you were on the brink of hurting yourself, what exactly do you mean? Please be as thorough and precise as you can be.

When you say your back felt stiff for the rest of the day, are you referring to muscle tightness or tendon/ligament type stiffness?

Once the above questions have be answered and understood, I and others can offer better advice but like Jmax said, take it slow and work with manageable weights so you can get the correct form and technique.

BTW, 4 sets of 10 is on the higher end of volume for deadlifts, especially at weight that you feel might injury you.

If possible, please post a vid of you deadlifting, directly from the side.
 
If yo have bumper plates just put 10s on so the bar sits at the height as it would with 45s if you don't have this put blocks or pull inside the squat rack with the safety pins on the very bottom setting, you don't want to have to pull the bar from an inch off the ground cause in a real deadlift you don't do that and the form practice won't translate. As for your form itself you are going to have to video tape yourself and compare it to form videos on YouTube as it won't be something you can feel. The most complete deadlift video I've seen to date is Layne Nortons "how to deadlift" on YouTube, he is incredible thorough and goes over a lot of points usually missed in other videos. Take pride out of the equation and you will be deadlifting more weight without even the though of injury. A tip to avoid lower back pulling is to not think of lifting the bar off the ground but instead imagine pushing the ground away from the bar utilizing the same muscles generally used on the leg press. Don't bounce at the bottom to come back up either, if you are doing a set of 10 reps treat it like 10sets of 1 rep with no rest, meaning you stop at the bottom and retighten up than pull.
 
insertnamehere said:
When you say you felt like you were on the brink of hurting yourself, what exactly do you mean?
Click to expand...
I was waiting for that electric shock feeling. The stiffness was definitely muscle soreness. Whenever I injure my back (last time was squatting) i would get muscles spasms when I would go to bend over. The spasms would feel like I got hit with a stun gun (again, long sad story) that stands me back up fast.

I will try to get a vid on Friday. What weight should I use for the vid? Something that I can do easily or a weight that takes effort? How many reps per set should I be doing?

Thank You
 
I like 45's on each side for a good form/warmup go. I also look in the mirror and find something high in the background. Staring at it keeps my head and eyes up and keeps my back from hunching over.
 
Wreck it Ralph said:
I was waiting for that electric shock feeling. The stiffness was definitely muscle soreness. Whenever I injure my back (last time was squatting) i would get muscles spasms when I would go to bend over. The spasms would feel like I got hit with a stun gun (again, long sad story) that stands me back up fast.

I will try to get a vid on Friday. What weight should I use for the vid? Something that I can do easily or a weight that takes effort? How many reps per set should I be doing?

Thank You
Click to expand...

I hope you know your body well enough to know when to back off, not push it too far, and when to rest. Additionally, doing prehab work like stretching and foam rolling can help prevent injuries. Regular foam rolling sessions have helped my back stay spasm free for a while now.

I would say you're safe to use 135 for the vid and a starting point for your strength journey but make sure your feeling recovered (no unusual lower back tightness or potential spasm on the horizon) and get warmed up with lighter weight or just the bar first.

Do 5x5, resetting between each rep, report back here and we'll go from there.

Record 5 resetting reps directly from the side for vid form check post.
 
frankonya said:
I like 45's on each side for a good form/warmup go. I also look in the mirror and find something high in the background. Staring at it keeps my head and eyes up and keeps my back from hunching over.
Click to expand...

135 is probably a weight he could use if fake plates aren't available yes. Although your tip on looking up could not be more incorrect I'm sorry but by doing this you hyperextended your cervical spine and reduce the amount of hip drive substantially, you should be looking at a point on the ground 6-10 feet in front of you.

As doc said, starting strength 3rd edition great buy just finished reading it and lots of good info even if it helps just a tad bit it's well worth the 20 bucks.
 
RodgerThat said:
135 is probably a weight he could use if fake plates aren't available yes. Although your tip on looking up could not be more incorrect I'm sorry but by doing this you hyperextended your cervical spine and reduce the amount of hip drive substantially, you should be looking at a point on the ground 6-10 feet in front of you.

As doc said, starting strength 3rd edition great buy just finished reading it and lots of good info even if it helps just a tad bit it's well worth the 20 bucks.
Click to expand...

I have a hard copy of the 1st ed an ex got me for my bday and bought an e-book copy of the 3rd ed last year. Money well spent and even to this day I still reference the book
 
Ya I'm not a fan of mark on YouTube but he does write a pretty good book and very thorough and keeps it entertaining. If you want to understand the mechanics of the movements he has it down pat. I purchased Powerlifting thinking it would be the holy grail to the sport due to how thick it was but it's essentially an entry level book where as mark can even help an advance lifter progress.
Docd187123 said:
I have a hard copy of the 1st ed an ex got me for my bday and bought an e-book copy of the 3rd ed last year. Money well spent and even to this day I still reference the book
Click to expand...
 
I'll add a third to the starting strength suggestion too. If you're interested in this, it's a very good manual. Required reading really. The corresponding videos are nice too, good to video yourself and compare with.
 
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