deadlift question

[jamesdal7]

OK, I've been doing dead lifts for about 3 weeks now. I did read the stick thread about doing dead lifts. I have a question, when bending down, I bend at the knees until my thighs are perpendicular (sp?) with the floor. I looked at the pics and thats how i do them but this guy told me i was doing them wrong, he said u should only bend your knees a little bit,i was like,what??? u're an idiot but it just got me thinking....

Also, do u put the weight all the way down? or just let it touch then come back up???

[Ramstein II]

It depends. Many powerlifters have the goal of lifting as much weight as possible and may use more back as that shortens the distance. I use deadlifts for bodybuilding and for sports performance as deadlifts are one of the most functional exercises around for any sport. I'm like you. I go down deep and use more leg action. I think this offers a fuller range of motion and more engagement of the quads. Deeper deadlifts mimick many athletic crouching positions used in just about every sport. I go lighter too from this style and get good reps ie. 8-12. This also means that every rep starts from rest on the floor. This is also a good way to do bent rows by the way. Unless you're training for a powerlifting meet, you might consider doing this too. Low reps with deadlifts means the weight gets pretty heavy pretty quick. It's a judgment call as to whether you need to lift such heavy weight on this exercise. Listen to what others have to say too.

Originally Posted by jamesdal7

OK, I've been doing dead lifts for about 3 weeks now. I did read the stick thread about doing dead lifts. I have a question, when bending down, I bend at the knees until my thighs are perpendicular (sp?) with the floor. I looked at the pics and thats how i do them but this guy told me i was doing them wrong, he said u should only bend your knees a little bit,i was like,what??? u're an idiot but it just got me thinking....

Also, do u put the weight all the way down? or just let it touch then come back up???

[jamesdal7]

Originally Posted by Ramstein II

It depends. Many powerlifters have the goal of lifting as much weight as possible and may use more back as that shortens the distance. I use deadlifts for bodybuilding and for sports performance as deadlifts are one of the most functional exercises around for any sport. I'm like you. I go down deep and use more leg action. I think this offers a fuller range of motion and more engagement of the quads. Deeper deadlifts mimick many athletic crouching positions used in just about every sport. I go lighter too from this style and get good reps ie. 8-12. This also means that every rep starts from rest on the floor. This is also a good way to do bent rows by the way. Unless you're training for a powerlifting meet, you might consider doing this too. Low reps with deadlifts means the weight gets pretty heavy pretty quick. It's a judgment call as to whether you need to lift such heavy weight on this exercise. Listen to what others have to say too.

My reps are 8 to 10. Hope I get more advice. The guy was saying that you're not suppose to bend your knees, and i told him, "u'll mess up your back that way" ive never seen him do it, so i dont know why he was giving advice. but i was looking at pictures on dead lifts and I see everyone bends their knees, some more than others but all bend their knees....

[Ramstein II]

Keep in mind that there are many forms of "deadlifts." Basically, any exercise that takes a weight off the floor is a type of deadlift I suppose. THere are straight leg deadlifts, romanians, both for hams and lower back. There are sumo style (wide stance and narrow grip) for powerlifting. THen, there are standard or traditional deadlifts which is what I think of when someone says, "deadlift." This where your grip is wider than your stance which is about shoulder width or slightly more or less. You should squat down to where quads are parallel to floor at least, look slightly up and lift with your legs while keeping back as straight as possible. This teaches you to get your hips and center underneath the resistance as you must do in any athletic endevour to lift or power through anything. You don't want to bow your back and pull like so many do. Think of its as driving the weight up not "pulling." Maybe your friend is talking about straight leg deadlifts? I dunno.