Why Couldn’t I Deadlift That Weight? And Why Did My Hips “Shoot Up” During The Previous Lift?
Before we start, I should point out that I haven’t seen the videos of these lifts, so I’m going to be working off a small amount of information for this one…
Regarding the first question, there are a few general reasons why the bar stayed on the floor…
1. Too much weight on the bar…
~ This is just common sense… If you’re only strong enough to pull 180kg, you won’t pull 200kg today…
2. Your grip is weak…
~ The back will not pull off the floor what the hands can’t hold… This is due to proprioceptive feedback which tells the back the weight is too heavy. Use straps for your heavy efforts. Don’t use a switch grip - it produces asymmetrical stress on the shoulders, can cause and aggravate bicep tendon problems on the supine side, AND has a tendency to push the bar forwards of the frontal plane on the supine side due to the bicep tension.
3. You’re injured…
~ Firstly, an injury is an unwanted distraction and if it sufficiently distracting you won’t be at your best. Secondly, if you’ve hurt a body part your CNS will not allow you to put as much force / power through that body part in order to prevent you from hurting yourself further…
4. Not the best time to max out your deadlift…
~ If max effort deadlifts aren’t on the program, maybe don’t do them… A hard deadlift session is incredibly taxing and should be programmed intelligently…
5. You misinterpreted instruction / were given the wrong instruction…
~ It’s easily done… Ask why you were given a certain cue, and don’t be afraid to work with your coach to develop more effective cues for YOU. It’s a two way street - help them to help you.
6. You’re inexperienced…
~ This covers a lot… From what I’ve been told [by the person who asked the question] I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re making a very basic error in your setup… We can address that along with the second question…
Why did your hips shoot up?
Well... Did they actually shoot up? Or did your hips just move from being too low to a correct starting position?
I know you’ve been watching strongman videos - I like that - and you’ve seen things like this:
Before we start, I should point out that I haven’t seen the videos of these lifts, so I’m going to be working off a small amount of information for this one…
Regarding the first question, there are a few general reasons why the bar stayed on the floor…
1. Too much weight on the bar…
~ This is just common sense… If you’re only strong enough to pull 180kg, you won’t pull 200kg today…
2. Your grip is weak…
~ The back will not pull off the floor what the hands can’t hold… This is due to proprioceptive feedback which tells the back the weight is too heavy. Use straps for your heavy efforts. Don’t use a switch grip - it produces asymmetrical stress on the shoulders, can cause and aggravate bicep tendon problems on the supine side, AND has a tendency to push the bar forwards of the frontal plane on the supine side due to the bicep tension.
3. You’re injured…
~ Firstly, an injury is an unwanted distraction and if it sufficiently distracting you won’t be at your best. Secondly, if you’ve hurt a body part your CNS will not allow you to put as much force / power through that body part in order to prevent you from hurting yourself further…
4. Not the best time to max out your deadlift…
~ If max effort deadlifts aren’t on the program, maybe don’t do them… A hard deadlift session is incredibly taxing and should be programmed intelligently…
5. You misinterpreted instruction / were given the wrong instruction…
~ It’s easily done… Ask why you were given a certain cue, and don’t be afraid to work with your coach to develop more effective cues for YOU. It’s a two way street - help them to help you.
6. You’re inexperienced…
~ This covers a lot… From what I’ve been told [by the person who asked the question] I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re making a very basic error in your setup… We can address that along with the second question…
Why did your hips shoot up?
Well... Did they actually shoot up? Or did your hips just move from being too low to a correct starting position?
I know you’ve been watching strongman videos - I like that - and you’ve seen things like this:
His hips are back and low, he rolls the bar in to his shins, and he pulls a world record deadlift… And I get where you’re coming from - it makes sense - he clearly knows how to lift the most weight, so why not copy his technique?
Well… Before you go dropping your hips back and low, let’s talk about the things you haven’t seen…
Pause it just when the weight is leaving the ground [37 seconds].
Where is the bar positioned? Where are his hips? Where are his shoulders?
How about in this video…
Pause at 15 seconds, 23 seconds, 51 seconds, 1:24 [although it’s an odd stance and camera angle], and 1:42...
A sufficiently heavy conventional deadlift will not leave the floor unless:
1. The bar is balanced directly over the middle of your whole foot.
2. The bar is directly below your shoulder blades [NOT your shoulder joint]
Put simpler still, a sufficiently heavy barbell will not leave the floor unless the setup is precise.
This applies to 99.99% of the population. I’m tempted to say it applies to everyone, all the time, regardless of proportions, but I don’t like to talk in absolutes.
These strongmen have their practiced way of setting up for a deadlift, and it requires considerable skill to execute… But we see that they all still pass into a correct and precise position before the weight leaves the floor.
Why do they do this technique? Their approach and setup and allows them the opportunity to create an eccentric load before they begin the lift… They create internal tension to create a “spring” that they compress down by actively pulling themselves to the bar - trying to wedge themselves underneath it… Like I said, it’s a skill, and it needs to be practiced in order to execute correctly…
Absent this skill, why not just put yourself in the right position from the word go rather than squatting back, rolling the bar in and hoping to find the right position and balance on the way up…?
Things to take away from all this…
~ Despite various techniques, certain principles remain the same.
~ Don’t implement a technique if you don’t understand it first.
~ You can’t perform a correct lift from an incorrect position.
~ Deviations from ideal will result in less loads lifted. Always. And come with a higher chance of injury.
~ Deviations from ideal are much more likely with a dynamic start.
Like I said at the very beginning, I haven’t seen the videos of your lifts - this was all done off a small amount of information, so don’t take it as “that’s it, it’s definitely the set up”...
~ Maybe you need more leg drive - try thinking of the start as a leg press rather than a pull.
~ Maybe you need to adjust your stance - hang from a pull up bar and drop off - that’s a good conventional stance for you.
~ Maybe your hand position is shitty; maybe you’re looking the wrong way; maybe you didn’t pull the slack out of the bar and the hips slipped out of position; maybe you were dehydrated; maybe you were leaning back too far; maybe this, maybe that, maybe, maybe, maybe…
Without seeing the lifts I can’t give you a definite answer, but I can tell you that if you set up correctly, statically, you can eliminate a huge chunk of potential / possible errors…
“Sit the f*** down and have a beer…”
~ Coach Collins
Copyright 2018
