are you not supposed to pinch your shoulder blades together on the deadlift?

i thought you are supposed to but mark ripptoe says not to do that b/c it can damage nerves

5ocCK4BSIMI

when i dont pinch them together, i can still get my chest up high/out, but my shoulder blades are hanging loose and are not tense. is this proper? the DL is supposed to work out the traps, but it doesnt seem like it would if i didnt pinch the blades together.

also why do ppl in the gym lean backward on the top of the lift??? it cant possibly work anything extra out by doing so, and it seems improper. i go until i am straight/vertical/until there is that natural back arch

i thought you are supposed to but mark ripptoe says not to do that b/c it can damage nerves

5ocCK4BSIMI

when i dont pinch them together, i can still get my chest up high/out, but my shoulder blades are hanging loose and are not tense. is this proper? the DL is supposed to work out the traps, but it doesnt seem like it would if i didnt pinch the blades together.

also why do ppl in the gym lean backward on the top of the lift??? it cant possibly work anything extra out by doing so, and it seems improper. i go until i am straight/vertical/until there is that natural back arch

The deadlift works your traps in an isometric fashion. Not concentric. If you're trying to shrug during a deadlift you're doing it wrong.

also why do ppl in the gym lean backward on the top of the lift??? it cant possibly work anything extra out by doing so, and it seems improper. i go until i am straight/vertical/until there is that natural back arch

Also, because people are stupid. Probably a quick way to injury.

you are not fully contracting your traps until you bring it back

I've had been "doing" deadlifts for at least a month or two thinking that I had the form down perfect. I saw a couple guys doing it a little different, so I went online to look around, and I was doing it completely fucking wrong. I watched a couple videos, read a couple descriptions, and then went in to the gym...

... and got fucking worked. It felt great and a lot better than it ever did before I was doing them without proper form.

Here's a question: Since there are different kinds of deadlifts, do any of you guys cycle through the different kinds or just pick one and stick to it? I do the straight leg and I'm just curious if I should start to work on some other types (like switch it every other workout day, or monthly, etc.).

:heart:

Straight Leg Deadlift is a pretty different exercise than the traditional deadlift.

The SLDL I do for hamstrings on my leg day.
The DL I do for back / hamstrings on my back day.

I consider the regular DL one of the 3 core compound movements to build a routine on.

you are not fully contracting your traps until you bring it back

i think ripptoe is saying not to do this though

there is a difference between what he does at 1:52-1:53 (which is close to a shrug), than what he does at the last second of the video. he says you shouldnt do either

however i usually do a movement close to what he does at the last second of the video. when im at the very top of the lift, i bring my shoulders BACK (not up) to feel it in my middle'ish area traps, but this is wrong according to ripptoe, as i understand it

edit: oh i think i misread what you said, but anywho this better explains what i do

ty 4 help pals

I move my hips under my center of gravity, pulling the bar back so it looks like i'm humping the bar just a bit. This is to get full extension of the legs and hips. I don't shrug or anything though.

fuck now I have to figure out how to do DL correctly again

MX8jgCFXYTU

Your arms and shoulders should have no play in the deadlift, its strictly back and legs... thats why people who shrug are not properly doing the lift right which can lead to injury real easy. Rayn - do you really deadlift twice a week? that seems too intense for your body with not enough rest time. I DL once every 8 or 9 days which allows me to do them heavier every time

I will sometimes end up doing them twice a week, but it would be on a Monday and Friday. Plenty of time to recoup since I'm only doing around 235 right now.

I have instead added Squats into my week twice.

They'd be on day 1 and 3 of my workouts.

M W F would be M and F

Deadlifts go in between my 2 squat days - so I think I'm hitting lower body enough for now :)

Do you guys do any cardio after DL? I really like to end my workouts with a couple miles of running and 7-10 miles on a bike, but my entire body is rocked after DL...

I've stopped doing cardio at the moment because I've been taking ~2 hours at the gym when I would do cardio after lifting weights.

But yes, I would do 40 minutes of cardio on the elliptical with my heart rate ~160.

deadlifts are supposed to target your glutes, right? (while working a bunch of other muscles like hamstrings, quads, lower back, etc)
I'm pretty new to deadlifts (1-2 months), and my lower back gives out before i feel any real strain in my glutes or legs. I'm doing 5x5 and my last set hits around 175 (a little less than my squats). And I haven't made any progress in the last two weeks (i feel like i should have since it's a new exercise)

is it normal when you're starting out that your lower back is "too" weak to do deadlifts? Is there anything to worry about, or do I just have to be patient?

Glutes? No, not really. It's hamstrings and the complete back. If you're feeling it so much in your lower back, its probably a form issue. You are probably leaning out too far to grab the weight which requires you to pull it in towards your body with your lower back in the first stage of the lift.

i don't deadlift but would it have a detrimental effect on running (my primary focus) if i were to start doing it?

i don't deadlift but would it have a detrimental effect on running (my primary focus) if i were to start doing it?

Why do you think it would adversely impact your running? Obviously it's going to hurt like hell the first couple weeks, but any new addition to a routine will do that.

muscle soreness isnt a big deal but i've always been wary of weight training with my legs when my focus is on running

i dont know enough about deadlifting to know how it will affect me though