average person's view

In Response to Q.D.'s lowering deadlift under control or dropping :


I always lower under control, my wife and brother in law whom I've recently started "training" both tend to drop it from about knee level. I personally tend to think they may be missing out on almost half of what they could be getting out of each rep (also as thier grip strength improves I'm hoping they will find lowering it under control a bit easier)and I do worry about flooring and structural issues when they do that. I think Horse stall mats will solve my problem quite nicely though.
So yes I for one do lower under control, but also think it would be a blast (if they weren't my weights and my floor) to drop them! the clanging just sounds so battle like and hardcore!
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Hey Quad,

Bumpers are usually color-coded, but not always. I guess the only difference between bumpers and my rubber-coated plates are that bumpers maintain the same diameter to at least 10-pound plates and sometimes down to 5-pound plates.

Well, I am living in an apartment that I am renting. So, I meant something that I could do to the apartment over the existing flooring that would not change or damage anything so that when I move out, everything is OK.

Here is a pic of some York bumpers.

 
Most of the powerlifters I know just drop the bar. I lower it under control, but a time or two that has gotten me hurt if I wasn't 100% focused on what I was doing. The negative can injure you just as quickly as the lift itself.
 
So bumpers are just rubber coated plates. I'd rather hear the metal myself, and the rubber won't protect the structural issues anyway. I'll have to figure out something for that, maybe a couple of 2x3 ply pads to put down...but that's more stuff I have to move/store, etc.

Okay, so what you guys have told me about deads is basically that
a.) gains can be had from the negatives
b.) Injuries can be had from the negatives, therefore,
c.) I deduce (I like that word  
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) that powerlifters and people going heavy tend to drop the bar, just focusing on the concentric lift itself, possibly for injury prevention.
So at this point I'll keep lowering the bar until it feels dangerous to me, at which point I have to move outside or put down some floor protection and bracing.
Oh, or drop in to the gym on deadlift days, which are once a week right now.
 
Hey, one thing I did to help my floor was simply put down a sheet of plywood under where I lift at. It adds more support above the joists, they are 2x6's and under an old metal building. So far - they are holding up well.
 
This is an issue I have been wanting to ask about.  My garage gym currently has two layers of stall matting over the concrete floor in a 8x12 configuration.  I am not doing deads yet (I know, get with it!), but I wonder if bumper plates will also be needed when I do.  They are damned expensive, but I am concerned that the regular weights themselves will crack, or something, if dropped without adequate padding.

The couple of places I have seen directions for making a lifting platform all also have 2-3 layers of plywood under the matting.  While the mats absorb a lot of energy, I suspect the addition of wood will help dissipate it over a wider area.

Do you guys who are already doing this think that the two layers of mat are enough, or will more (bumpers and/or wood) be needed?

BTW, our local farm store (Wilco) has 4x8 mats, as well as 4x6.
 
New to deads, but I've watched them slam down the iron plates on a rubber mat over a plywood surface over rows of 2x4's over cement: no busted plates yet, so I'd say wood alone is fine.
Just for fun, post the links to those sites. I like to know stuff.
 
<div>
(Ruthenian @ Jan. 11 2007,13:12)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">This is an issue I have been wanting to ask about.  My garage gym currently has two layers of stall matting over the concrete floor in a 8x12 configuration.  I am not doing deads yet (I know, get with it!), but I wonder if bumper plates will also be needed when I do.  They are damned expensive, but I am concerned that the regular weights themselves will crack, or something, if dropped without adequate padding.

The couple of places I have seen directions for making a lifting platform all also have 2-3 layers of plywood under the matting.  While the mats absorb a lot of energy, I suspect the addition of wood will help dissipate it over a wider area.

Do you guys who are already doing this think that the two layers of mat are enough, or will more (bumpers and/or wood) be needed?

BTW, our local farm store (Wilco) has 4x8 mats, as well as 4x6.</div>
I have dropped 765 lbs of regular plates knee high level onto my concrete foundation with only one layer of mats. No cracks. Also dropped 405 lbs at shoulder level, still no cracks. Of course, I'd never do something like that on wood or even concrete without mats
 
Steve, thanks for that answer.

Quad, the first place I saw directions was in Rippetoe's Starting Strength book.  He recommends three layers of plywood, but he is talking about a platform for a sports training facility, not just home use.  Here are a couple of links that have instructions.  The second one is from a women's lifting site, but the concept is similar:

IronMind Lifting Platform

Stumptuous Lifting Platform

I don't have the book with me right now, but I don't recall Rippetoe's version having an unpadded center section -- just all rubber mat on top.  There is nothing fancy here -- they are not even elevated on studs, just a couple of flat layers of plywood overlain by rubber mat.
 
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