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Barbell DLs range of motion

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Hold on.
In your other thread you are talking about standing on a box to increase range of motion… and in this one you want to raise the weight to decrease the range of motion. I get that KB’s are different from BB’s but still… :)

But… yes starting with the bar raised can be a viable option. Doesn’t need to be much either. You can just use a couple of plates on the floor.
 
Hold on.
In your other thread you are talking about standing on a box to increase range of motion… and in this one you want to raise the weight to decrease the range of motion. I get that KB’s are different from BB’s but still… :)

But… yes starting with the bar raised can be a viable option. Doesn’t need to be much either. You can just use a couple of plates on the floor.
Yup....
my two threads do contradict each other..
i guess my question is if i should be even pursuing better ROM at all....if I should can I do it with a KBs...
 
Can you raise a barbell or kettlebell off the floor to compensate for limited mobility while learning how to deadlift? Sure.

Should you stop there and not develop the mobility? I'd say no.

If we're talking training clients, there might be some who can't get there.

Should you be able to pick something off the ground? Yes. Folks like to complain about being too tall to squat, or apparently too tall to deadlift - but when you have to pick up a bag of dogfood or a child or a fallen tree branch, or maybe a box of books ... it doesn't really matter how tall you are. Things are on the floor, at various heights. The question is: Can you go? And if you can't - now what?

(Can you go / now what are taken from Dan John. Not original to me.)
 
We use 2" deadlift blocks here, and for people who can't pull with a flat lumbar, we put the bar on 2 blocks, so at a 4" elevation. Then we work on adding weight. Then we go back to the beginning weight but only at a 2" elevation, work on that for a flat back, then add weight. Then we go back to the floor, make sure that looks OK, and then add weight. It's a solid progression I've used many times, always with good results. The key is to remind the lifter each time we lower the bar that it's going to feel different and they'll have adjustments to make, likely feeling their hips and hamstrings fighting to round the back while they resist that temptation.

-S-
 
I'm in the "Long Torso / Short Femur" demographic.

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What this means for me in terms of DLs:

--Clean DLs / clean pulls are much more comfortable for me, and stronger/heavier, than conventional DL
--Sumo works great

Since I'm anatomically built for "great squat", my levers are well-suited to weightlifting, but if I were to go into PL I'd definitely pull sumo.

I never train with plates on risers, though, because I have to be able to pull from the floor for competition.
 
@Abishai I would definitely post a form check. It might not be that you don't have the mobility, it might be a technique issue.

Anyways, here's my two cents.

From the cited article:
"It isn't a sign of weakness; it's a sign of geometry."
While that is one truth, it also could be a sign of a lack of hip mobility. As John K went on to say:
Can you raise a barbell or kettlebell off the floor to compensate for limited mobility while learning how to deadlift? Sure.

Should you stop there and not develop the mobility? I'd say no.

If we're talking training clients, there might be some who can't get there.

Should you be able to pick something off the ground? Yes. Folks like to complain about being too tall to squat, or apparently too tall to deadlift - but when you have to pick up a bag of dogfood or a child or a fallen tree branch, or maybe a box of books ... it doesn't really matter how tall you are. Things are on the floor, at various heights. The question is: Can you go? And if you can't - now what?

(Can you go / now what are taken from Dan John. Not original to me.)
I would add that "picking things off the floor" is not really the same as deadlifting. Sure, technically both things are "picking things off the floor," but I hope this doesn't imply that to pick things that aren't a barbell off the floor requires hip hinging and avoiding spinal flexion :)

Another, much more specific point about deadlifting (and squatting) is managing one's center of mass. Moving it forward or backwards slightly can change how an individual uses their musculoskeletal system and consequnently their range(s) of motion. Think about people who struggle with squat mobility, and how a goblet squat (or otherwise anteriorly-loaded squat) helps them get deeper. By adding weight anteriorly, they are effectively shifting their center of mass forward.
 
I would add that "picking things off the floor" is not really the same as deadlifting. Sure, technically both things are "picking things off the floor," but I hope this doesn't imply that to pick things that aren't a barbell off the floor requires hip hinging and avoiding spinal flexion :)
I've seen enough deadlifts that I'm not even sure that those require hip hinging or avoiding spinal flexion! ;)
 
There are more extreme examples than even Eddie's, but he might win an award for heaviest round back deadlift.

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He was an incredible deadlifter! Upper back rounding is a competitive advantage as it shortens the ROM, usually by several inches. Strongman are interesting example - they do a lot of round back lifting, and you really see that when they're lifting stones, which is an extreme example where they go from flexion to extension.

1654683869695.png
 
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