The 5 step approach of Alan Thrall. 1 - Bar over midfoot 2 - Grab the bar 3 - Shins against bar (DO NOT MOVE THE BARBELL) 4 - Chest up/ Face forward 5 - Pull!
This was so helpful for me. I was always struggling because I had the false impression that my femurs had to be parallel to the ground during the movement and I felt weaker in that position. This video really cleared things up for me, BIG thanks!
You're the man dude. Very much appreciated and I can't wait for the new stuff to drop. I really don't feel like I see anyone else dropping knowledge like you do.
Daniel Kunkler thank you man! Honestly I don't either which shocks me because I'm not some super genius or anything. Wish guys like Greg nuckols or Mike I. and them would do more videos on RU-vid! However I do what I can! Glad you appreciate the content!
Thank you as a fellow RU-vidr I truly want to say that I appreciate it posting the video it is very helpful I'm a personal trainer but I'll be completely honest this is something that I was struggling to figure out with clients I'm always the opening to learn new information again thank you so much and good luck on your Ventures
Mark Rippetoe is the kind of dude who puts people built TOTALLY differently side by side and tells them to place their hips on the same level, high af.
Really enjoyed this video. I've been following you on insta for a long while now and am just now watching your videos. This video was great because I am in the process of potentially pulling conventional again. I started my lifting journey pulling conventional and did so poorly (back consistently flared up) and now I am pulling sumo (~3 years) but feel I am leaving some on the platform.
I really appreciate this informative and worthwhile content. The high quality knowledge-wise makes you stand out in the fitness RU-vid community. Keep it up!
Great vid! Love the stick drawings ✍️ 😂 I like the that fact you gave a very thorough explanation. As a trainer I think explaining to people that they need to find what works for them based on the exercise, science, the desired outcome and their anatomical structure is very practical and will lead to consistent success in the gym. I look forward to your vidz with The Muscle Doc as he is a great resource of information that I’ve come to respect he provides great content and explanations with the above mentioned in mind.
Damn..Just found your channel and I have been binge watching. These informations are gold.Only now I came to know it's the scapula that should be aligned with the bar and not the lateral head of the shoulder. Apparently I have pulling the bar waay in front of me. THANKS Brendan. Loving the sumo and squat form breakdowns aswell because I found a lot of mistakes I was making and I cudnt find these information on other channels. eg: (Sitting inbetween the hips during squats instead of hip hinging too farther and then squating,which I was doing! Glad I found your channel🔥
Janus715 Hahahahaha dude I see too much of that. I try to be as pragmatic as possible. I don't care for over the top minutia and fancy words. I just want people to be able to actually take what I talk about and apply it instantly! Thanks for the love man
Good stuff man! I find that many people put their scapula behind the bar to, as you said, use more leg drive, because they're "scared" of using their lower back (Lift with your legs not your back). But people fail to realize that your back will always be engaged when lifting anything. So they end up with weaker deadlifts and subjecting themselves for injury by using an inefficient movement pattern. You always drop fire Brendan!!! Keep it up!
blaktrumpet thank you so much man! And yeah I see that often especially in female trainees for whatever reason. Ironically the loss of position usually causes them to lose leg tension at some point too. The glutes tend to shut off a bit because of the overly forward position they get tossed into. Very correct in your analysis! It's funny how strengthening your back has become voodoo when the literature shows it's the most important muscle to have strong along with your abs!
Mary Frazier I'm glad!! I need a resource to talk a bit longer and more broad about things that I can't make full videos about. It'll cover that grey area for me!!!
Dluu22 I've literally texted him like 3 times in the last few days making fun of Canada so he'll come back LOL. He just replied today saying he's definitely back next week. We're gunna bang out a bunch of them!
Thanks sir! My question is how can I tell where my scapula are when preparing and performing the lift? I have no room for video analysis as I train in a small shed.
Wow! I always thought you do a great job. You know I love your videos, but now you're improving... with fine and simple details, with examples for men + women and sometimes, but just sometimes, short videos are also a good option. Of course, since you always show your gorgeous face and wonderful smile! You know we call this marketing.😉
hannakurt hahahahaha thank you for all the compliments and glad I am improving! Sometimes it's so hard to condense the info down but I'm learning! I have realized there is a sweet spot for fitness RU-vid and that's usually right around 6-9 minutes!
Nice video. I have long gorilla (and annoyingly weedy) arms, long torso and stumpy legs. I look like I am nearly stranding up before the bar hits my knee (and I am 6'2). It feels comfy though, so I will keep on it!
When the scapula lines up with the bar, are the rear delts, lats, teres and shoulder muscles doing more work in the deadlift and being stressed more? Or is the vertical path actually reducing the load on them?
I'm 5ft and weight 102lbs. Right now it's pretty hard for me to use more than 25lb plates! My pelvic also has an inverted tilt creating a hyper extension in my lower back while doing deads and squats and when I watch my form my butt does that "wink" thing everyone talks about!! Any suggestions!?
Great video. If we remember the cue of removing slack out of the bar and keep my arms in tension, will that autoregulate my position of scapula over the bar ?
Sankalp Arora not necessarily. I've seen guys pull the slack out but stay in front however if you do this while leveraging back like the way I do yes you'll instantly fall into position!
Hey do you think the rule mid-foot over the bar is a must universal rule? My deadlifts always move slow when i do mid-foot, my regular is a little far from mid-foot like 3/4. Or is it slow because I've built a certain movement pattern?
Asif Munir no definitely not universal! I actually squat slightly behind mid foot and deadlift slightly behind it as well! Most sumo pullers definitely need to be way closer than mid foot too! The rule here will actually fix that too. A lot of people will find they need the bar further or closer to achieve the shin touch and scapula over the bar. If you feel stronger at 3/4 definitely stay there! I do mine like just a tad past mid foot
Although ironically the size of traditional 45 lb plates or 20/25kg plates has made the deadlift start position somewhat arbitrary I do think it's best to learn from this position. Most people will progress their deadlift to this much weight very quickly, even smaller females and so it makes sense to practice from this position. I would say find bumper plates since they're always all the same diameter or elevate the plates. Also it's worth noting in my time as a PT I never had anyone between the ages of 15-45 utilize less than 135lbs for more than a few sessions and usually we got to that weight the first session. This may seem crazy however usually if someone is strongly correcting technique you can achieve that kind of weight pretty quickly. That's not to say you should expect that without someone who really knows what they're doing next to you. However the point being it's possible and can happen much quicker than you think. The only time this wasn't true was with a couple outliers in females who had very light body weights 105lbs or less or men with unhealthy bone densities. Progress at a SMART pace, do not push it beyond safe capability but do think progressively and know your body is more capable than you think. Technique technique technique! It's everything
Brendan Tietz thank you so much for this detailed response! It's good to know what I should really be lifting with correct form. I'm 5'1 113 lbs and thought that weight is achieved over time with strength. I didn't know that's expected with correct form. Is there any correlation with the weight you can squat with the weight you can deadlift?
JeCar17 deadlift just happens to be an exercise where it's relatively easy to lift higher loads (135+ lbs). If you want to start lighter, try 25 lb bumper plates like he recommended. If you don't have those, you could elevate the smaller plates by stacking blocks or firm mats on both sides of you if you have them. Otherwise, it's ok to just use the smaller plates to learn. Most people's deadlift exceeds their squat by a bit. A guy with a 400 lb deadlift might squat 315. But everyone is different!
What should I do if the bar is wayyyyy closer to the ground due to lower weight than 45 plates on each side? Do I need to elevate it? Or is there a different position to start at?
Ann Marie Irvine hey read my reply to JeCar17! Sorry I tried copy pasting it but it won't work. In short, I would try to elevate the weight and progress quicker. By doing a lower deadlift you're in turn making the weight much harder and also risking mobility limitation issues
@@BrendanTietz You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that. My neck is really skinny (at least compared to the rest of my body) so I'm obsessed with trying to figure out ways to put some muscle on it. I hate neck exercises with a passion though - they make me feel like I'm going to snap something. Would you recommend also shrugging after deadlift reps every now and then? And would you say any specific rows are better for the neck (Penlay vs. bent over)? Thanks for the reply!
I have a little above average arms, but long ass legs and a super short torso, I was almost bummed out at how high my deadlift was, but my SLDL is higher than my normal deadlift so, who cares
this doesnt have to be true tho, eddie hall pulled 500kg easy with the wrong form your explaining, how can he do that if he does it wrong? ive found that big individuals with alot of leg strength usally pulls more with lower hips.
He's too big to get into proper position so he has to do that but if you watch from the side he ends up in the position I'm walking about anyway. Also that train of thought isn't logical in the sense that just because someone's achieved something great doesn't mean it couldn't be better. You truly can't argue physics. Also Cailer just pulled 926 @ 220 which is a better pound for pound lift and he pulls the way I mentioned. Both sumo and conventional. Using the logic you just used I could refute that point with Cailer
thanks for replying brendan, but i would disagree on that statement with him being to big tho, since benedict magnusson pulls the standard way like you explained and theyr about the same size, please do alaborate with me on this though, why do you think 9/10 strongmen pulls this way? i pull myself like you explain, but i find it interesting that they lift this way, yea i do know that the bar doesnt leave the ground untill they reach the perfect position but there must be a reason why they lift this way. i doubt its because they "think" that they get more quad activation.
rubenaunet late reply, but I find that the kind of dynamic setup Eddie uses where you lower your hips and then expolde up is mostly applicable to large weights on soft bars. As his hips rise he pulls the slack out of the bar and he leaves the ground with a good amount of momentum. With lower weight and especially a stiffer bar yanking it like that will throw off your position. A dynamic setup is also dependent on the exact stiffness of the bar. Eddie had a tough time with the elephant bar compared to Shaw because he wasn't used to the lower stiffness. Even with sumo you can see a lot of difference between how Woolam yanks the bar, while Wierzbicki pulls out the slack. tldr: dynamic setups are mostly applicable to huge weights on soft bars.
Yazo0o7F low is arbitrary, ask him describe low. He won't be able to because it's different on anyone. Imagine a guy who's 6'5" with long femurs trying to put his but as low as someone average height with short femurs. If you put your hips any lower than where the scapula ends up over the bar you literally won't be able to pull the bar up until your body deviates into a vertical position which causes a position loss. So in actuality I'm telling people to put their hips as low as possible while still being in a position with the scapula directly over the bar. That's just physics
Yazo0o7F welcome bro! Just remember to question everything you hear! Even with me! If they can't concisely answer why or don't offer an explanation of why then it's most likely false or partly false.
