Straight Leg Deadlift Form

[b said:
Quote[/b] (volatile @ May 25 2004,1:41)]Or should you gradually push your butt out while lowering your back at the same time?
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Stick butt out gradually as motion proceeds


as for your other questions, for god's sake man, read the responses carefully - kate eloquently answered u about range of motion.

and i posted a link for you to see the proper form. It shows the starting, middle, and ending position - the rest you should be able to figure out if you allow your motor cortex to interpolate...
 
I've been paying close attention to my SLDL form since last post.
I've done SLDL 3 times for my routine in the last week, could you tell me if I got it right?

Basically, I start with my knees bent, bar on the floor.
I then pick the bar up, alternate grip, and stand straight.
I push my butt back, at the same time I have my back slanting foward, and my knees bend in.
I do this until I see in the side mirror that my back is just ready to straighten out in a line.
I then push myself back to the starting positon, trying to get a burn in my hamstrings.

When I did this the last time, I indeed noticed a burn in my hamstrings as I lifted the bar up.
I also felt, at the end, a sore ache in the very lower area of my back.
This went away within 5 minutes.
I also felt, as I lifted the bar up, a burn in my bicep too.

Are these normal, does it sound like I am doing SLDL correctly?
 
Very few people need to reach the floor on these. You are probably still getting too much motion in your lower back. Try starting your SLDL from standing position. Keep your lower back locked up tight and lower only until you can't get any further without bending your lower back.

There is no need to use an alternate grip for the kind of weights your hammies can pull. Use an overhand grip. This may or may not explain the the bicep complaint. Keep some tension on your shoulders throughout the lift so that your arms are not just hanging, but avoid the temptation of moving that bar furtherwith the arms and/or shoulders.

Getting a lot of motion out of the barbell is not the intention of this exercise. Slow down, shorten your range of motion and try to feel a stretch on your hamstrings.
 
I see, is the position of my back supposed to have an upward incline?
Some other people had told me that I was supposed to keep lowering the bar until my back straightened out.
I took this as meaning that my back shouldn't be locked, I should have it moving until it just reaches a horziontal line, then rise.
I used my back straightening out as a measure stick of when to stop lowering.

I guess what you're suggesting is that I should use my hams, specifically once they can't take the burn any longer, as a guide for when to rise again.

See, it always helps to ask questions.
With complex exercises like this, it takes awhile to get the RIGHT description.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (volatile @ June 01 2004,1:04)]With complex exercises like this, it takes awhile to get the RIGHT description.
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This does get rather confusing, especially when you are getting conflicting advice.

There are two ways to do this exercise, one which includes flexion and extension of your lumbar spine (the bending and unbending of your back) and one where the motion is almost exclusively at the hip joint.

I am recommending the second option, so YES! make the hamstrings do the work. If you cut and paste what Daniel has posted above, you'll get a great visual...
 
keep those shins perpendicular at all times, else you'll be doing more of a bent legged deadlift. I don't start with knees bent - i bend them as part of the motion. Always keep back arched, so even if back is parallel at end of motion, it's curved.


the link daniel posted has no knee bending, so just modify it by bending knees...
 
I had the back arched last workout.
As I was lowering the bar my back was moving downward simultaneously with my butt, until my back was just about to be parellel with the floor.
Is that the right way to do it?
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (volatile @ June 04 2004,12:50)]As I was lowering the bar my back was moving downward simultaneously with my butt, until my back was just about to be parellel with the floor.
Is that the right way to do it?
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Sounds like you've got it right!

[x]j, you are right, that is the third (and best) way to do them: RDL (Romanian Deadlift) also known as Keystone DLs.
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (double e @ June 08 2004,2:38)]are leg curls worse than SLDL's?
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Hi, double e, and welcome! :D

I'm not sure I understand your question. Worse in what way? And do you mean seated or standing or prone leg curls. So many variations on a theme...
 
Kate, I just finished my 3rd workout of SLDLs for 10s week.
The load is increasing by now, and during the last workout for SLDL's my back ached, not too badly, as I completed the exercise. This dimished within 5 minutes after.
During the entire lifting time this last workout, I felt more of the burn in my back than hams than before.
I'm a little confused as to why this would happen because my form for the last SLDL lift was the same as the previous sessions.

Basically, after I get the bar in my hands standing straight with a shoulder width leg stance:
-I move down, pushing my butt out
-I continue to lower until my back is nearly flat
-I then try to push with my hams back to the starting position

Am I doing this correctly, just so I don't continue any bad habits?
Thanks.
I'd hate in 2 months to be find out that for my 1st two cycle's I did SLDL wrong and thus wasted it.
 
I keep my feet closer than that, almost together.

Maybe your back aches more because more weight is being used?
 
Volatile-
Are you working with another person? If so, have him/her check your back- it sounds like you could be rounding, even inadvertently or minimally. You'd be surprised how a tiny bit of rounding can kill your back, especially when you get into the heavier weights. If you're not working with another, find someone to check your form.
Jake
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (volatile @ June 21 2004,10:00)]Basically, after I get the bar in my hands standing straight with a shoulder width leg stance:
-I move down, pushing my butt out
-I continue to lower until my back is nearly flat
-I then try to push with my hams back to the starting position
Am I doing this correctly, just so I don't continue any bad habits?
Thanks.
I'd hate in 2 months to be find out that for my 1st two cycle's I did SLDL wrong and thus wasted it.
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Hiya, Volatile! :D

It's possible that Bo Sox is right. Even with the best of form, more load on the bar means more load on your lower back.

I think Jake's advice is great.
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No matter how knowledgable one is about form, it's virtually impossible to "see" what you are doing without some outside help.

I wonder if you might not be better off NOT trying to flatten the back. By focusing on this, you may be inadvertantly flexing and extending your back as part of the movement. Try locking your back into place by squeezing your shoulders together and lifting your chest up before you descend. Some lifters call this "setting your back". Then just move down and squeeze the hammies to pull yourself back up.

Try to keep those shoulders locked back (imagine they are laced together back there) throughout the motion and stop when you cannot bend from the hips. If you haven't been maintaining this posture throughout the move, you will notice that the bar does not get as low, but you should feel more in those hammies. Remember that the purpose of this exercise is to work the hamstrings, NOT to move the bar.

Try to think about the process of lifting in terms of good, better and best. It is good to do SLDLs. It is better to do them without hurting yourself. It is best to do them with beautiful form and to focus on the target muscle.

Lifting is not either black or white, good or bad. You certainly have NOT been wasting your time, no matter how far from perfect your form is. Trust me, I have learned more from my failures and injuries than I have from my successes.
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Keep at it, volatile... you're headed in the right direction.

Kate
 
I was wondering myself if maybe the ache was coming from the heavier load.

Let me just get this straight, when you refer to 'rounding' the back are you referring to the back bending downward at the end of the exercise?
I try to keep my back arched, continuing to move down until my hams can't, which means my back is usually close to if not flat.

Jake, I work out by myself. However, there is a side mirror right next to the bar. Everytime I have done SLDLs I always have been looking with my head turned at the mirror to check my form.
I use the mirror as I guideline, I could not imagine doing SLDL's without a mirror.
I've become dependant on it. :)
I just hope all other gyms have one or else I could be in trouble there.
 
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