Bar alignment, or rather your body position relative to it, can make a huge difference in the way that your deadlift feels and the amount of weigh that you can move. In this quick post I want to share a quick fix that has helped numerous clients take pressure off their low back and improve bar pathing during the deadlift.
Check out this quick video and see details below.
Notice a few things with the picture on the left: The bar is aligned with my mid-shoulder, my center of mass is behind the bar, my butt is low, and my knees are forward. This is putting me in a ‘squatty’ position, and lifting weight from this position with the weight in front of my center of mass is going to place torque my low back.
Now notice the picture on the right: The bar is aligned with my armpit (actually a little behind my armpit), my butt is higher, and my shins are more vertical, i.e. my posterior chain is loaded and ready to do the work. My back should have more success in this position, being less likely to round-out in the bottom of the lift. The knees stay out of the way so that the bar path is straight up. Clients have even said “it feels like the distance I had to move the bar was shorter.” And they are not wrong – the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line.
(quick criticism on my self: I wish my neck was not extended. I would rather see a straight line along the entire spine. Something to work on next time!)
Try the quick tip mentioned in the video during your next deadlift day and let me know how it goes.
Another quick note: we all come in different shapes and sizes. I happen to have long arms that allow me to reach the ground with my hips relatively high. We all have different arm, torso, femur, and lower leg length. If you are struggling to get comfortable with the deadlift and just can’t find that perfect positioning for your specific body type, let me know and I can help you!
I hope this quick post helps you improve your deadlift mechanics. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out!
Tim Brown, DPT
Ascend performance Therapy, Founder/Owner
If you need to book an appointment, reach out to me at 417-569-5086, or email me at Tim.Brown@AscendPerformanceTherapy.com
For new clients, register here: https://ascendperformancetherapy.com/appointment-request/
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