Forum Statistics

Threads
27,576
Posts
541,665
Members
28,557
Latest Member
Ethan7400
What's New?

Lower back: arch or round during deadlifts?

Blacken

Blacken

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2013
212
40
As pretty much everybody has said keep your back straight, blowing your back out is no fun at all been there.
 
woodswise

woodswise

TID Board Of Directors
Apr 29, 2012
4,334
1,340
Neither.

Here is good deadlift form as taught to me by my trainer.

Grab the bar at shoulder width.
Lower your hips below parallel, raise your head (head neutral), push out your chest and flatten your back.

Now, keeping your core tight, head neutral and back flat, leading with your head, stand up with the weight on your heels.

If you are having trouble, lower your hips even more . . . just before you drive up with your heels.
 
Last edited:
J-dub

J-dub

MuscleHead
Feb 16, 2013
1,171
178
Arched.

Here is good deadlift form as taught to me by my trainer.

Grab the bar at shoulder width.
Lower your hips below parallel, raise your head, push out your chest and arch your back.

Now, keeping your core tight, head back and back arched, push up with the weight on your heels.

If you are having trouble, lower your hips even more (this is the most important bit) just before you drive up with your heels.

This is decent advice beside the head back part, thats kind of an old school method of teaching... your head should be in a neutral position if you push your head too far back it interferes with your ability to pull your shoulder blades in, get your chest up and changes the position of your traps. Head up and head back are too very different instructions.
 
woodswise

woodswise

TID Board Of Directors
Apr 29, 2012
4,334
1,340
This is decent advice beside the head back part, thats kind of an old school method of teaching... your head should be in a neutral position if you push your head too far back it interferes with your ability to pull your shoulder blades in, get your chest up and changes the position of your traps. Head up and head back are too very different instructions.

You are right. He always says head up. I didn't realize the difference between head up and head back until I read what you posted.
 
J-dub

J-dub

MuscleHead
Feb 16, 2013
1,171
178
It's something we all used to do I remember yelling head up, head up at people while they trained. When what we really meant was chest up.
 
PillarofBalance

PillarofBalance

Strength Pimp
Feb 27, 2011
17,066
4,640
Arched.

Here is good deadlift form as taught to me by my trainer.

Grab the bar at shoulder width.
Lower your hips below parallel, raise your head, push out your chest and arch your back.

Now, keeping your core tight, head back and back arched, push up with the weight on your heels.

If you are having trouble, lower your hips even more (this is the most important bit) just before you drive up with your heels.


If your squatting below parallel then you have taken your hams out of the equation. You want to pull not squat.
 
alpha

alpha

VIP Member
May 1, 2012
119
42
Arched.

Here is good deadlift form as taught to me by my trainer.

Grab the bar at shoulder width.
Lower your hips below parallel, raise your head, push out your chest and arch your back.

Now, keeping your core tight, head back and back arched, push up with the weight on your heels.

If you are having trouble, lower your hips even more (this is the most important bit) just before you drive up with your heels.

Leave your head neutral, most of the time ppl give the "head up" cue its because the person is leaning too far over the bar and they want the chest to come up a bit and this is the easiest way to translate it to the lifter. You wont see the lifter shooting his hips up as fast if they focus on head position and chest position. You want to focus on a spot roughly 2 feet in front of you on the ground with your head in a neutral position the entire lift.

You want neither an arch or a rounding of the lower back. You want to tighten and brace your back with your lats engaged and erectors at a neutral spine position. The "arch hard" cue is generally a cue that is thrown around when a client or training partner does not have the body awareness to flatten their lower back when getting into position to pull the bar. Most of the time when you get an inexperienced lifter they do not understand how to flatten the lumbar section of their spine. When you tell them to arch, most of the time they understand now how to position their lower back and most aren't even close to an arched position but rather a flat, neutral lumbar spine, but this cue translates well to newer lifters and teaches them how to flatten the lower back properly.
 
BrotherIron

BrotherIron

VIP Member
Mar 6, 2011
10,717
2,808
Simple.... a neutral spine. You can use an arched position but for us bigger folk neutral works best. You can round your upper back but that's easier said that done.

As for the head up cue... your shoulders should be inline or behind the bar which keeps your chest high. Your hips should be below your shoulders. If you start correctly you'll end correctly for the most part.

Also make sure you shoot your hips and not extend your back when you finish your pull.
 
PillarofBalance

PillarofBalance

Strength Pimp
Feb 27, 2011
17,066
4,640
That head up cue has got to go. It needs to he chest out. I have seen some dudes do gnarly shit to their neck due to that cue. It was the first thing and almost only thing I fixed on uphills deadlift.
 
myosaurus

myosaurus

TID Board Of Directors
Sep 21, 2010
934
401
Simple.... a neutral spine. You can use an arched position but for us bigger folk neutral works best. You can round your upper back but that's easier said that done.

As for the head up cue... your shoulders should be inline or behind the bar which keeps your chest high. Your hips should be below your shoulders. If you start correctly you'll end correctly for the most part.

Also make sure you shoot your hips and not extend your back when you finish your pull.

do you have any links to videos showing this form?
 
BrotherIron

BrotherIron

VIP Member
Mar 6, 2011
10,717
2,808
do you have any links to videos showing this form?

Not off the top of my head. The main thing is just to make sure your shoulders aren't out in front of the bar b/c if they are the bar will drift forward which takes it out of the area of balance. Remember you pull the bar up and back and not just up. That is why so many fall back when they miss a lift.
 
jks1

jks1

Member
Aug 30, 2015
77
23
Straight back, perhaps with a very slight arch of the lower back, definitely no rounding for me, always aiming for a powerful solid foundation pillar feeling throughout the back and torso while driving from the legs on up, a feeling of attempting to push the floor away works for me

Had no injuries whatsoever from deadlifting so far
 
Who is viewing this thread?

There are currently 0 members watching this topic

Top