hi! posted this as a comment on the daily questions thread and got amazing feedback! im greedy and want more hehe.
5'3" 18 years and around 90lb. lifting since september but mainly used dumbbells until 4 months ago. deadlifting for ~3 months. started GZCLP last week.
main concern is taking too long between reps. i've cut down the time i spend between reps a lot (was 20 seconds).
& am i rounding my lower back? i can't seem to get my upper back straight but not sure if that's an issue
my legs are pretty spread apart though it might not look like it.
also, am i squatting the weight up?
im also bad at signs of whether the weight im lifting is too heavy or too light.
i don't feel any muscle activation/burn anywhere during these.. just TIRED.
Yes you are definitely taking too long between reps. A few seconds to reset and then pull again. You don't have to rush like crazy but it should be: put the weight down, get tight again and pull. Otherwise you're just doing a bunch of singles.
Also, you are not pulling the slack out of the bar. You get in position, get yourself tight then I see you yank on the bar in a jerky motion to start the lift. This will make you lose that nice start position you worked so hard to get into (will become more of an issue as the weight gets heavier). What you want to do is when you're setting up, get really tight and as you are lowering your hips you should already be starting to pull up on the bar while pushing your feet into the floor and creating a lots of tension in your legs. When you do this with a lighter weight the bar will almost be lifting off the floor before you start the pull. Like you are wedging yourself against the bar.
@godislove32 i was afraid of that! will be lowering weight snd trying to lower time between reps. thank you!
also, when i used to do begin pulling on the bar during getting into position, i end up moving the bar back a bit or losing the pressure in my legs, if that makes sense? like it feels like i'm pulling with my upper body rather than pushing.
thank you!!!!
edit: now that i think ab it, i think i might just not be pushing through my feet when i follow the "begin pulling on the bar as you sit back cue." i'll try again!!
@brokenjohninchrist Based on the slow bar speed here, I would say these reps seem fairly heavy for you. You are not likely to feel much of a burn while lifting heavy weights with big muscles for low reps, so that's very normal. Your muscles are being activated, though; otherwise the weight wouldn't go anywhere!
On the first rep you seem to send your hips back slightly after initiating the pull, which makes me think the bar may be starting too far out in front of you. Think about staying right over the bar until it passes your knees, at which point you can push your hips through to lock out. You want to keep the bar path as vertical as possible.
I know it's hard to resist, but try not to look at your camera while you're lifting! Not great for your neck. The whole point of recording is so you can watch later.
Yeah, sort of. You want your hips and shoulders to be rising at the same rate as you come off the ground, keeping the bar close in to your body by engaging your lats. Then when you get past the knees, you can squeeze your glutes to finish out the lift.
@brokenjohninchrist as long as youre setting up correctly, your initial hip height seems good. make sure youre starting with the bar over your midfoot (where your shoe lace knot is in normal shoes) and bring your shins to the bar. you do a good job pushing through your entire foot. a cue that might be helpful is to imagine the deadlift as being a leg press. focus on pushing through your legs versus pulling up with your back.
your low back is rounding a bit. when you brace your core, brace as though someones about to punch you really hard in the side.
honestly, lower the weight a little and focus on keeping your shoulders back and your core braced. the weight seems a bit heavy for reps right now since your low back is rounding and your shoulders are being pulled forward. if you can perfect your form, you’ll be able to increase your weight consistently and feel more power in your reps.
thank you for the cues! i try to keep them all in mind when i deadlift (shoutout to the deadlift set-up god, alan thrall)
i struggle to keep my core braced throughout the lifts for sure . especially with heavy weights!
this is the heaviest i've ever deadlifted. i think i need to A) chill out and work with a lighter weight or B) do less volume. honestly, i did 3 sets of 8-10 right before these and then wanted to see how heavy i could go (yes, dumb lol) my back doesn't seem to be enjoying it
will be lowering weight/volume + working on form and working on bracing core especially
