I just started Strength II in NROL which has me doing rack deadlifts for the first time. I thought I would be able to do more weight with the limited range of motion, but I couldn't pick the weight up on my first attempt. I ended up doing the same amount of weight for the rack deadlifts as the regular deadlifts.
Can anyone provide some help on how to initiate the lift?
I'm used to regular deadlifts with my hips back and "pushing my feet through the floor". However, I could get a feel for it lifting the bar off the rack.
Thanks in advance!
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I just finished up NROL S2 and had the same issue initially. Where is the bar starting relative to your knee? I found that if I started the bar right at or below knee height, the lift was tedious at best, but if the bar started just barely above the knee, I was able to pull much more weight.
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I went by what the book said and positioned the bar just below my knees. You think setting the bar higher will help? That will limit the range of motion even further, won't it?
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It will involve a shorter ROM, yes, but my understanding of the purpose of rack pulls is to develop the top/second "pull" of the full-ROM deadlift (the point at which your knees stop extending and your hips become the prime extensor). To that end, the second pull doesn't begin until just after the bar clears your knees, which is why starting the bar just above the knees would be pertinent IMHO. I'm sure others more knowledgeable on the subject will chime in to flog me appropriately.
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I kind of agree with you on this. When I was going through S2 I had the same problem, but I kept it below knee height until I got the move down. I don't think you would be harming your gains by moving the bar up a notch, but after a couple times of doing this I would drop it back to below knee height and see where you are at.
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What do I need to focus on to initiate the lift?
This is where I struggled the other day. Like when I do regular deadlifts, I concentrate on starting with my hips pushed back, my core tightened and pushing my feet through the floor to get the bar off the floor. How do I translate this to lifting the bar off the rack instead of off the floor?
I know part of it is getting used to a new way of doing that movement, so any tips on making the transition are appreciated.
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I find that if you place the bar at or above the knee, you tend to lift more with your back. Even if you can't lift as much, with the bar slightly below the knee, you can get a little flex in the knees to work the lift. It may just be due to my long arms.
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The lower the bar, the greater the range of motion. But, the issue is also that now you have to time the extension at the knee to avoid hitting the knee. The lower the bar, the less weight you'll lift, typically.
If you can't get the form down, start above the knee and work your way down a bit each week. My rack only makes large jumps, so I stand on 45lbs plates in between major notches.
What do I need to focus on to initiate the lift?
This is where I struggled the other day. Like when I do regular deadlifts, I concentrate on starting with my hips pushed back, my core tightened and pushing my feet through the floor to get the bar off the floor. How do I translate this to lifting the bar off the rack instead of off the floor?
I know part of it is getting used to a new way of doing that movement, so any tips on making the transition are appreciated.
At the start of the rack pull (assuming bottom position), your hips are still back, core still tight, still pushing through your feet. The difference here is that you're starting from the point where you'd normally transition from knee extension to hip extension, so you should pre-load your body to feel exactly like you would at that point in a full-ROM deadlift, except that your hips/glutes should be doing most of the work since your knees are already at their theoretical maximum extension point for a full-ROM deadlift. It might help to set the rails where you want your low-point to be and use the hooks to hold the bar and therefore lift off start the movement from the top with the eccentric (lowering) phase first rather than the concentric (lifting) phase. I haven't done that myself, but it might help you feel more natural in the lift. At the bottom, try to just graze the rails. Core stability is key at that point.
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I have a question regarding rack deadlifts and regular deadlifts (I think also called conventional deadlifts). Are the regular deadlifts where you deadlift from the floor and drop the weight on the floor each time and then pick up the weight again?
Is what I do called rack pulls where I take the bar from the rack and then deadlift (without really touching the ground) and in the last rep I just put it back on the rack? That's what I do at the fitness center at my school. At home I do them from the floor with the first rep trying to pick up the bar and then last rep putting it fully on the floor (each rep the weights touch the floor because they are big, but I do not let go of the weight (relaxing my muscles each rep) and I keep going like I do at school). Is this called rack pulls both places? The only hard part about doing it at home is picking up the weight. I can do everything else fine, but picking up all the weight from the floor is the tough part because more muscles are being used.
What should I do if I want to move to conventional deadlifts or regular deadlifts to get my full range of motion and posterior chain muscles? Should I go to lighter weight? What if there is not much weight on the bar and the weights that are used are not big enough to go into a regular deadlift position (having to start real low to the ground and especially if there is no weight on the bar when I start doing it to get the right muscles working)?
I have been doing rack pulls for 8 weeks straight (first 8 weeks of the semester, 8 more weeks to go). I want to move onto regular deadlifts now and get full range of motion and all of the posterior chain muscles involved. What do I need to do to start?
I don't do that kind of rack deadlift. When I lift the bar from the rack, I move away from the rack and do my deadlifts without dropping it on the floor. I want to move to regular deadlifts from the floor for full range of motion. How should I start? If the weight I use is not very big in size (usually at gyms the plates would be bigger size). The size that is big enough (so I won't be too low to the ground to put more stress on the back) is the 25 lbs plates, which I am not at in my deadlift that I have been currently doing. I am also only 5 foot.
What you are doing is not a rack pull. Sounds like an RDL from here. If you want to increase weight or range of motion in those, you can stand on a box or weight plates.
Where's your range of motion issue with regular deadlifts?
So I have been doing an RDL all along and not a deadlift? Maybe I was not pushing my hips back far enough for it to be a deadlift and I thought it was a deadlift. I guess I should start from the ground then instead of the rack and do the regular deadlift to avoid it being a RDL. I have a form video from videotaping myself about 6 or 7 weeks ago doing a deadlift. Not sure exactly when, but I think it was the first of the 8 weeks because there is no weight on the bar when doing them and usually I look at my form during the first week to make sure its good. The more I think about this and look at the video, the more it may be a RDL and not a deadlift and you may be right. My hips do not look like they are going back far enough and did not squat down low enough like a squat. I also don't feel anything in my lower back when doing the deadlift in my 8 weeks and also I do not feel the hamstrings getting sore or anything except for the first few weeks when I was doing both the rdl and deadlift starting off, so I thought I was doing fine with the deadlift. I thought an RDL is when the knees are slightly bent. In the first few weeks, I was doing both exercises and then I just stuck with the deadlift after because I didn't think I was doing the RDL right because I had my knees too straight and I would feel it in back of my knees.
Thanks for the links guys. I'll post a better video tomorrow deadlifting here at home, so you can see at a different angle. What I was trying to do in that video was a deadlift, not a RDL by the way. This video was like 6-7 weeks ago, so my form may be a lot better now. I have had no aches and pains at all. At first I had trouble with my knees getting in the way, so thats probably why in that video my back looks straight. I am pretty sure it was my first week (1st week of the first 8 weeks) that I shot that video. I know during the first 1-2 weeks or so I was getting confused between a deadlift and a RDL, so that may also be why.
I'll post a video tomorrow evening in this thread.
For a deadlift, start it on the floor. That's why it's called a deadlift. If you are just using a bar, or less than 45# plates, start it off of pins set about 9" off the floor.
For a deadlift, start it on the floor. That's why it's called a deadlift. If you are just using a bar, or less than 45# plates, start it off of pins set about 9" off the floor.
i agree! I sounded like you were hitting the floor on those reps. Just lower the bar to where a bar w/ 45lb plates usually sits in relation to your knees.
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For a deadlift, start it on the floor. That's why it's called a deadlift. If you are just using a bar, or less than 45# plates, start it off of pins set about 9" off the floor.
Okay thank you. Actually because I don't have a rack at home, I'll do the deadlift on Monday at school off the rack and I will videotape it (I think doing it from side angle would be the best) and post it either Monday night if I have time after I get home from work, school, and weightroom or Tuesday the latest.
ive never seen a rack pull done from above the knee before, that sounds like its just going to mess up your deadlift form/mechanics.
Im not the biggest fan of rack pulls, i do them sometimes to build my upperback/traps but as far as deadlift carryover, very minimal. A reverse band deadlift is a much better tool which acomplishes the same sort of thing (overload at top).
Rack Deadlifts - need some advice
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