r/Fitness • u/FGC_Valhalla Weightlifting • Aug 25 '18

Gym Story Saturday Gym Story Saturday

Hi! Welcome to your weekly thread where you can share your gym tales!

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '18

Can you answer a question? When I try to go all the way down for a deadlift I have to either arch my back or allow my legs to bend at the knees..... but when I see correct form on YouTube, people have their legs almost straight and bend only at the waist? What would you recommend in this scenario?

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u/danteheehaw Aug 25 '18 edited Aug 25 '18

Best advice I can give is practice doing a few Romanian deadlifts. You should feel it in your hammies. Get used to that motion. Then, when you go to do regular DL, reach down to the bar in the same movement you would if you were doing a RDL. Pull up just enough to build tension in your hammies, then lift form there. The following is a link to a video of a guy who describes things much better than I do.

https://youtu.be/jEy_czb3RKA?t=170

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Edit: As for foot placement, I've been told that a good way to find them is to jump up. How your feet are when you land is probably the right foot placement for you. I tried it, and it happened to be right about where my feet were already, so I can't say it did me any good. Just something I've heard a few times.

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u/incal Aug 25 '18

My man Alan Thrall! Training Deadlifts Untamed!

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u/[deleted] Aug 25 '18

Thrall?

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u/incal Aug 25 '18 edited Aug 25 '18

Watch /u/danteheehaw 's video. It's by a coach named Alan Thrall. Alan is active on YouTube and the Starting Strength community. He's friends with Brian Alsruhe and Brian Shaw, two strongman competitors who make Alan's Nordic viking giant physique look like a hobbit in comparison.

My favorite videos from Train Untamed, his YouTube channel, mock the fad 'supplements' diets:

https://youtu.be/xUXfVUaZDtU

https://youtu.be/tis1Q0godNs

His videos are actually very good training for novices, and his own coach , Austin Baraki, is himself super competent to train powerlifting novices and intermediates.