My millionth deadlift thread

[betastas]

Well, here I go posting about deadlifts again. I can't get help for them anywhere else. On other forums the people are incapable of describing them, and most trainers say "it's bad for your back, don't do them". Big damn help.
SO:
I recently found out how to do regular classic deadlifts (on this forum, thanks!) and now I have another question... How do you do them without bloodying up the shins? I know all the "do this, do that" to avoid injury, and I can mostly follow that. I just find it hard to get the bar back over my knees and shins without sliding it over them. I feel like I understand how they're supposed to be done, and I can get the up part pretty decently, but I have trouble on the way down. Essentially the bar contacts my legs right at my knees, and then goes down my shins. If I try to push it out further, I feel like I'm overextending my back. If you do them, I would like to hear from you how YOU do them, and how your body feels while you're doing them. I'm pretty much alone here, you guys are my only help. Any thoughts?

Also, this is my leg day:
Squats
Leg Press
Seated Calves
Leg Press (Calves)

and...

One of the two following deadlifts:
Romanian Deadlift OR Classic Deadlift.
Which one would I be better off with?

[ethan]

Try spreading your legs a little bit, about shoulder distance. Also, as you come down you need to stick that ass all the way out and curve your back so you start feeling it in your glutes. Use a split grip and go down slowly until your upper leg is parallel with the ground, then come up slowly. Try to practice just with the bar and concentrate and your knees will stop getting in the way.

[betastas]

I have the knees the proper distance apart, mixed grip, but I'll try sticking my butt further out and arching my back more. My ankles aren't very flexible though, so I'll have to work on that.

[Banditfist]

I have scars from the last 10 years of doing deads. Normally draw blood warming up with 225. Don't seem to have the problem 400+.

Guess my suggestion is to go heavy?


I agree with you though. You do want to keep the weight as close to your legs as possible. Might try bending over just a little bit more.

[betastas]

So which would be more functional for my leg workout? Do conventional deadlifts work the hams as much as a Romanian style DL?

[brezman]

Do conventional deadlifts on back day.

Squats and deads in the same workout...ugh.

[Andrew M]

I thankfully don't draw blood, but my shins do get pretty scraped usually.
Don't bother arching your back more. Keep your vertebrae in line, you need them quite a bit more than you need the skin on your shins.
I usually do deads on leg day (when I've the time for a split) and call it growth hormone day. I'm a bit shaky the next day, but I've made gains in all my lifts over the past while. Might not be optimum, but results are results.

Andrew.

[Banditfist]

Originally Posted by brezman

Do conventional deadlifts on back day.

Squats and deads in the same workout...ugh.

Deads target the lower back. All this crap about compound exercises and deads hitting the legs is just plain wrong. I have never once had sore legs due to deads. Using deads to target your legs is like using flat bench press to hit your tris. Sure you use your tris, but do you really feel like you worked you tris like you do when you do skull crushers?


SLDLs are a totally different topic and have no relation to deads.

[betastas]

Alright then, it looks like deads will go on back day. I'll have to tweak my form out though it seems, I don't mind a bit of scraping against my shins, but I don't want to feel like I'm relying on my shins to keep the bar from coming towards me.

[Cab00se]

After reading an article on bodybuilding.com about RDL's, I decided to give them a try as an alternative to regular SLDL's. I don't know if they're literally a more effective lift, as the article seems to imply, but the reduced stress on my lower back has allowed me to go much heavier with them. Having used RDL's exclusively for my hams and glutes for the past two weeks, I can say that getting up the stairs to take a PWO shower has never before been quite so difficult! My legs are barely usable after my workouts. At any rate, they feel much better to me than going all the way to the floor and regripping after each rep. I would suggest you try them out and make up your own mind.

[Gol!]

Originally Posted by betastas

Alright then, it looks like deads will go on back day. I'll have to tweak my form out though it seems, I don't mind a bit of scraping against my shins, but I don't want to feel like I'm relying on my shins to keep the bar from coming towards me.

Can I offer a suggestion? How about getting yourself some shinguards? Yes I'm serious .

I play soccer and I have an old pair laying around, in more than one occation I thought about putting them on just so I can go crazy with the deadlifts without worrying about scratching anything.

[kmfisher]

Get some cheap plastic shin guards if you are worried about them.

Otherwise, bloody shins are the mark of a true lifter. It means you are working so hard to do the lift so properly, that you've scraped yourself with your own determination.

Pants also help some.

[Timbermiko]

You're wearing sweats right?

[betastas]

Thanks guys.
When I'm doing RDLs, I find I feel it more in my left leg than my right. Both feet are in the same position, the only difference is my left hand is the underhand grip. Could it just be due to my left side being weaker than my right side? Does grip play a factor at all? Realistically, I don't think it should be at all.

[kenqman]

I use a bar pad similar to this:

http://www.nefitco.com/bar_pad.html

It seems to be work for me.

Ken

[HumptysHamhole]

I also thought about plastic shin guards - I've never had a problem with scrapes but I've seen a guy who wears them at the gym - maybe try that.

[mastover]

If your gym has one, use the diamond bar. Sometimes it's called the "trap" bar.

[HevyMetal]

While you're on the subject of deads......why is one hand over-hand and one hand underhand?.....Should this grip be "flipped' every rep?.....I've been doing them with both palms facing away for no other reason than it feels goofy one palm up and one palm down.......also , on a true bent leg dead, once you get the bar up it Should Not be lowered slowly down to the floor, right??....I like doing them but I'm not comfortable with demolishing the basement floor when I let the bar drop..........

[betastas]

I don't wear sweats. I don't mind them rubbing against my shins, if that's the proper way they are to be done. My concern was that I was relying on them rubbing against my shins as a sort of crutch, without proper form.

The grip with one hand over and one under is called a mixed grip. I find it works very well in allowing me to hold the bar longer, as it cant easily roll forwards or backwards.

I guess I'll just have to mess around with it until I get it.

[tonguey]

Betastas,

If you want to learn proper deadlifting form and get some first rate info on any other exercise and routine. Id strongly suggest you go to "www.ironaddicts.com" and look in the forums. Theres plenty of videos and helpful ppl there. Thats where I learned how to deadlift properly.

Also, you seem to take what anyone in these forums says for a fact really quickly, and thats not always the best way to get your information. Im not saying everyone is wrong, but you need to take everything you read on any forum with a grain of salt, and really do some research if you really want to find the best way to do anything.

Theres a lot of information (and misinformationg) out there and you really have to be careful who you take your advice from. Its hard to tell the good bits from the bad ones, so dont just take one guys word and run with it too quickly.

Just some friendly advice there.