Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below i just started doing DL a few months ago. for now im doing them off the bottom setting on the power rack untill i get stronger at it. ive made good progress so far but whenever i come down i scrape the bar across my knees, pretty abrasively. im really tall and have long arms, is that making it worse, or is it something i just have to learn to deal with?
scraping bar on knees during deadlifts?
- Thread starter camshaft
- Start date
After taking about a year off from deads, I just started doing them again for the past 3 weeks. My shins bleed everytime. I wear pants to cover them up and the blood stil soakes through and gets all over the bar. It sucks, but at the same time I would be lying if I said it doesn't fire me up a little seeing the blood on the bar and my straps. The only problem is I have to make sure nobody else see's it since I'm pretty sure I would get in trouble for bleeding on the equipment. Great exercise and as long as my shins are bleeding I know I'm using proper form.
p.s.-I'm not a complete scumbag. When done I do spray off all the blood from the bar.
p.s.-I'm not a complete scumbag. When done I do spray off all the blood from the bar.
Growth&Courage
New member
Same here. Shins bruised after deadlifts workout. I think I may have to use some kind of knee wraps for the purpose of shin protection against further bruises.
blut wump
New member
I started doing deadlifts in January this year and soon found that I was scraping my shins. A bit of reading left me with the impression that scraped shins are just a badge of honour for anyone who deadlifts and you just have to live with it. I guess soccer shin pads might help. I don't always scrape my shins, though, just very often. Maybe it'd happen less using Sumo style.
camshaft, is there any reason why you're doing them from a rack rather than the floor other than that you like to use more weight? I think you're missing out on the best part of the exercise: the part where your back starts to take the strain as you begin to separate the bar and the floor and you wonder whether this can possibly be good for you. I think you should either bite the bullet and remove some weight and go down to floor level or else move down progressively lower to the floor on the rack with yor current weight until you are at floor level. Make sure you incorporate some hamstring work and especially stretches into your program. You need a strong core and posterior chain. I think deadlifts are the only exercise which have given me an anxiety attack.
camshaft, is there any reason why you're doing them from a rack rather than the floor other than that you like to use more weight? I think you're missing out on the best part of the exercise: the part where your back starts to take the strain as you begin to separate the bar and the floor and you wonder whether this can possibly be good for you. I think you should either bite the bullet and remove some weight and go down to floor level or else move down progressively lower to the floor on the rack with yor current weight until you are at floor level. Make sure you incorporate some hamstring work and especially stretches into your program. You need a strong core and posterior chain. I think deadlifts are the only exercise which have given me an anxiety attack.
powerliftingirl
New member
I always scrap more on my right shin then the left. I think it's because that is my front grip side, so I am pulling the bar more "towards" me on my way up. I sumo stance, toes slightly out. I love it! DLs are my favorite!
Deads are KING! There is no better way to add on some serious mass & thickness than the good 'ol powerlifting movements. Re: your shins that look & feel like they've been wrestling with a cheese grater - kudos to you, apparently your sticking with proper form. Baby powder down the shins works pretty good or go to wearing thick, high socks on dead days.
wnt2bBeast
New member
camshaft said:
if you are new to deads do them off the floor..the rack is not the same groove..the fact that you are hitting your "knees" tells me your form is off..most likely youre not pulling up and back and that the weight is getting out in front of you..scarping your shins is one thing but you shouldnt be hitting the knees as that will stop your momentum and force you to pull around them..
ligten the weight and work from the floor until your form is better and then add the weight
KIAN
New member
This is going to sound like a very 'smart-ass' answer but if you are hitting your shins (or in your case your knees) then chances are you are standing too close to the bar on the initial lift. Move back just a couple of inches. Grasp the bar with a reversed grip, arms outside the stance of your legs, arms as straight as possible, knees bent slightly, back straight, head up, and butt sticking out. Don't allow your back to round or your shoulders to drift inwards during the movement. If necessary use an unweighted bar infront of the gym mirrors so you can watch your form and make corrections.
Carl Carlson
New member
I've heard the recommendation of putting the neck pad on the bar when doing deads... I've never tried it because my shins might get a little bruised, but they've never bled or anything like that.
wow great responses guys. i hit my knees on the way down, not on the way up. i guess i can drop the weight and just make adjustments to my form. i keep my back VERY straight and my ass stuck out like some kind of queer. i make very sure to not round my back, when i first started i made that mistake and i thought i had a fucking pulled disk or something for about a week after. i am currently doing 185 off the rack 8 times. i guess i can drop down to 135 off the floor and build back up. btw when i started DL 2 months ago i couldnt even do 135 in the rack, so i have made very solid gains. i was just afraid that when i start getting heavier that my knees would start taking some serious abuse.
wnt2bBeast
New member
KIAN said:
apparently youve never seen garry frank or andy bolton pull?? shins bloodied as hell..im not saying you have to scrape your shins but theres nothing wrong if you do!
putting the pad on te bar for deads would teach you how to let the bar drift in front of you (very bad technique) those are the problems i try to fix not create..
M
Mr_MAX
Guest
if you are not hitting them on the way up.... then there should be a way to fix it..
i think most forget about form on the way down... and are just thinking about lowering the weight..... i would be hard to really know the answer with out seeing the person do the movement.. my guess would be to focus on back straight butt out..
and i would say you are useing more back..for the lifting part of the movment..not hitting legs... and on the way down.. you are using less lower back.... and more legs... as that you back is tired so you are standing up more straight... with the butt slightly to far in..... do you have problems with bent over rows..??
maybe you should play with that movment ... play around with bent rows..... or just try all different angles of the lift....
but if your form is good... and it is just some kind of anatomical problem.. some peoples torso is longer or shorter... arms ... legs.. everyone is different...
....then i would get a trap bar... there is no reason to fuck up your shins..
unless you goal is to compete..using the straight bar... there are better bars...
Trap bar-----> http://sfuk.tripod.com/reviews/trapbar_review.html
i think most forget about form on the way down... and are just thinking about lowering the weight..... i would be hard to really know the answer with out seeing the person do the movement.. my guess would be to focus on back straight butt out..
and i would say you are useing more back..for the lifting part of the movment..not hitting legs... and on the way down.. you are using less lower back.... and more legs... as that you back is tired so you are standing up more straight... with the butt slightly to far in..... do you have problems with bent over rows..??
maybe you should play with that movment ... play around with bent rows..... or just try all different angles of the lift....
but if your form is good... and it is just some kind of anatomical problem.. some peoples torso is longer or shorter... arms ... legs.. everyone is different...
....then i would get a trap bar... there is no reason to fuck up your shins..
unless you goal is to compete..using the straight bar... there are better bars...
Trap bar-----> http://sfuk.tripod.com/reviews/trapbar_review.html
wnt2bBeast
New member
a trap bar is a bad idea as well ..competing or not if your doing deads it to build the erectors etc a trap bar does not allow for the same groove as a regular deadlift bar..
cam shaft-are you doing a negative when you lower the bar? if so dont do that especially in a rack that where injury occurs ( on the negative) its called a deadlift there is no lowering of the weight..now most gyms will have a hissy fit if your slamming weights on the floor unless they have a DL area
cam shaft-are you doing a negative when you lower the bar? if so dont do that especially in a rack that where injury occurs ( on the negative) its called a deadlift there is no lowering of the weight..now most gyms will have a hissy fit if your slamming weights on the floor unless they have a DL area
2 Suggestions...
#1 Step up CLOSER to the bar, most people hit their shins because they're standing too far away from the bar and it swings in when they begin to pull.
#2 Stick your ass out behind you, your knees should be kept behind your toes. Allthough this is easier said than done for the tall guys.
-Ingram
#1 Step up CLOSER to the bar, most people hit their shins because they're standing too far away from the bar and it swings in when they begin to pull.
#2 Stick your ass out behind you, your knees should be kept behind your toes. Allthough this is easier said than done for the tall guys.
-Ingram
wnt2bBeast
New member
Ingram said:
will lead to a rounded back
your ass should be down and under you not out in front..once you get to a heavy enough weight hes gonna wind up straight legging it possibly losing his arch and dumping it all on hius low back..
there are too many suggestions here and prolly just confusing you.. i cant link it up but go here for a ton of videos..
www.irongame.com
good pullers that i would watch
andy bolton
garry frank
ano turtianen
Ed coan
all styles are slightly different but if you look and try to copy one of those people youll be fine..make sure their body type is somehwat similar to yours
bolton/frank are rather large men ver 300
ano is very lean and lanky long arms and tall 6'4"
ed coan is 220lbs and stocky and one of the best pullers ever
M
Mr_MAX
Guest
wnt2bBeast said:
good videos.. nice....
Illuminati
New member
camshaft said:
put the bar down with a "controlled drop." there is no need to go back down slowly with the bar. the DL is about getting the bar off the floor and locking it out.
Mr_MAX said:
We just got one of these bars in my gym to go with the new db's 150-200's. That bar rocks for shrugs but it feels much different for deads. You need to use a lot more hip movement and less back because you are more upright to fit through the center. it is good to switch things up though but man do your hip flexors hurt the next day. I think it makes your ass bigger too...this is just opinion not fact but my ass hurts like when i do squats when i use that bar.
Pull from the floor.
The bar does not touch my shins or my knees. If it does...my form is off.
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle...7D5D0A5C62D765DF64F7C6E7.ba08?article=194dead
Mistake #6: Keeping the shins too close to the bar
I'm not too sure where this started but I have a pretty good idea. Many times the taller, thinner lifters are the best pullers and they do start with the bar very close to their shins. But if you look at them from the sides they still have their shoulders behind the bar when they pull. This is just not possible to achieve with a thicker lifter.
If a thicker lifter with a large amount of body mass — be it muscle or fat — were to line the bar up with his shins, you'd see he would have an impossible time getting the shoulders behind the bar. Remember you need to pull the bar back toward you, not out and away from you. So what I believe happens is many lifters look to those who have great deadlifts to see how they pull, then try to do the same themselves. What they need to do is look to those who are built the same way they are and have great deadlifts and follow their lead.
B True
The bar does not touch my shins or my knees. If it does...my form is off.
http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle...7D5D0A5C62D765DF64F7C6E7.ba08?article=194dead
Mistake #6: Keeping the shins too close to the bar
I'm not too sure where this started but I have a pretty good idea. Many times the taller, thinner lifters are the best pullers and they do start with the bar very close to their shins. But if you look at them from the sides they still have their shoulders behind the bar when they pull. This is just not possible to achieve with a thicker lifter.
If a thicker lifter with a large amount of body mass — be it muscle or fat — were to line the bar up with his shins, you'd see he would have an impossible time getting the shoulders behind the bar. Remember you need to pull the bar back toward you, not out and away from you. So what I believe happens is many lifters look to those who have great deadlifts to see how they pull, then try to do the same themselves. What they need to do is look to those who are built the same way they are and have great deadlifts and follow their lead.
B True
wnt2bBeast
New member
b fold the truth said:
b-
i feel just the opposite.
i know you werent saying me-but i feel if the bar is hitting your shins you are not doing anything wrong..also like you said for you the bar does NOT hit your shins..when te bar is off my shins it seems to get out in front of me scaraping the shin is "my groove"..and trust me i need to get back to my groove because its been messed up lately lol
wnt2bBeast said:
When I tore my hamstring (Dec 2003 and Feb 2004) I vowed to work on my deadlift form and to keep the bar closer to me. Heck...I had a long time rehabbing it before I could pull 320 again...so I had plenty of time just to work on keeping the bar closer and not letting my knees get anywhere near locking before my hips. Worked fine till I started getting stronger and ready for the bigger weights. I am soooo much faster when I start the bar OUT from me. Not sure exactlywhy that is...but as soon as I bring it close...it gets SLOW and hard.
I've always believed this:
There is the best way to do it and then there is the way that you do it the best.
B True
blut wump
New member
I took a look at my stance yesterday. I stand with the second bone of my big toes under the bar. This gives me about six or seven inches to play with (chuckle) which pretty much all disappear when I bend down to grab the bar. My shoulders are a shade behind the bar when I start to pull. Either I didn't hit my shins at all yesterday or last weeks scabs were thick enough to protect me but I don't have much room to spare when I'm in the crouch.
I remember in another thread recently someone's mentioning that deads make their shoulders hurt and I remember that I used to pull back with my shoulders as I started to pull which I don't do anymore. I just try to ignore and relax my shoulders and arms except for holding onto the bar.
I remember in another thread recently someone's mentioning that deads make their shoulders hurt and I remember that I used to pull back with my shoulders as I started to pull which I don't do anymore. I just try to ignore and relax my shoulders and arms except for holding onto the bar.
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