Deadlift shoulder position question

[ocellaris]

When I deadlift, my shoulder blades are pulled together and my chest is out at the beginning of the lift and at lockout, but at some point along the way (up and down) my shoulders seem to roll forward or drop down a bit. I have to drop the weight pretty substantially (~60%) to sucessfully do 5 reps with the shoulder blades squeezed together the entire time. My lower/middle back angle is pretty constant and I'm a bit confused as to whether or not this is considered rounding the back, and bad, or if its fine. Thanks.

 

[curgeo]

A couple of things. As long as your arch in your lower back is sound, you are okay. A lot of powerlifters, myself included, try and round the upper part of the back so we can shorten the range of motion. It's not really rounding, it's more like making your arms a little longer so to speak.

As long as that lower back is arched you are okay. When you do the lift, from the start position, make sure your shoulders are either even with or behind the bar before the pull. That should also help you to pull back and use your leverage of bodyweight during the lift.

 

[Illuminati]

When I deadlift, my shoulder blades are pulled together and my chest is out at the beginning of the lift and at lockout, but at some point along the way (up and down) my shoulders seem to roll forward or drop down a bit. I have to drop the weight pretty substantially (~60%) to sucessfully do 5 reps with the shoulder blades squeezed together the entire time. My lower/middle back angle is pretty constant and I'm a bit confused as to whether or not this is considered rounding the back, and bad, or if its fine. Thanks.

you should try to round the upper back, instead of keeping the shoulder blades pulled together. this will give you a little less of a distance to pull, and could make a huge difference in you max, especially if you have problems with locking out the weight.

 

[nycgirl]

you should try to round the upper back, instead of keeping the shoulder blades pulled together. this will give you a little less of a distance to pull, and could make a huge difference in you max, especially if you have problems with locking out the weight.

I thought I was doing them wrong when I round my upper back. I admit I took a bit of a break over the winter. So, when I did deads for the first time last week, I forgot what the proper form was. I did a double overhand grip and my upper back was round.

 

[ocellaris]

Great, Thanks for the replies. So should the shoulder blades be pulled together at any point during the lift, or they should they stay in whatever position they roll forward too for the duration? Thanks.

 

[oso0690]

Great, Thanks for the replies. So should the shoulder blades be pulled together at any point during the lift, or they should they stay in whatever position they roll forward too for the duration? Thanks.

shoulder blades should not be pulled together at any point, you should try to round your shoulders forward because of the distance. at the lockout, don't worry about pulling them back, just push your chest out and the shoulders should go where they should be

 

[bignate73]

you can keep your shoulder blades locked back doing RDL's or SLDL's but with regular deads, you take a couple inches off your pull, plus with that much weight, you'll be working against yourself to keep your shoulders back. now if you are training for cleans and snatches, then you might want to keep em locked back or at least neutral.