Scraping up shins during deadlifts

[asdfzxcv]

I was practising deadlift form yesterday with light weight trying to keep my hips low and bar close to my body.Today I noticed that my shins are scraped up really bad.I am 6'4 tall so trying to deadlift like that seems somewhat awkward to lift like that due to long legs.Usually I just keep my hips fairly high and pull the bar a few inches from my body,which feels far more comfortable/stronger.Provided my lower back stays straight is it ok to pull with a more stiff-legged type of deadlift over the so called ''textbook form''.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

You may want to try sumo deadlifting. Safer for the lower back, too. Coupled with high-bar oly squats, it works great.

Or you can just do RDLs in place of deadlifts - just as good, in my opinion. I wouldn't try to deadlift from the floor and go straight-legged in the way you seem to be describing. That would put a lot of stress on the lumbar spine, methinks.

 

[Shades McCool]

Scraped shins here!

 

[H_T_]

ya know, after a while, it won't bother you.......besides isn't that text book deadlifting? you don't want the bar too far in front of you...

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

ya know, after a while, it won't bother you.......besides isn't that text book deadlifting? you don't want the bar too far in front of you...

I think he's aware it's textbook form. He was saying he wanted to do it a slightly different way, as opposed to textbook form, to avoid scraping his shins.

I don't like my shins bleeding anymore. Sorry, it's not my thing.

Coincidentally, my deadlift is going up just fine while I work on squats and RDLs. I do wanna throw in sumos soon, though.

 

[H_T_]

I think he's aware it's textbook form. He was saying he wanted to do it a slightly different way, as opposed to textbook form, to avoid scraping his shins.

I don't like my shins bleeding anymore. Sorry, it's not my thing.

Coincidentally, my deadlift is going up just fine while I work on squats and RDLs. I do wanna throw in sumos soon, though.

you really find RDL's an even replacement for standards?

 

[enigma4dub]

you really find RDL's an even replacement for standards?

We went over the carry over of rdl to regular deadlifts a few months ago. almost everyone chimed in agreeing that pulling from the floor is essential to having a good deadlift. everyone except AI. ill post a link if i can find it.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Squatting and RDLing has caused my deadlift to go up. I really don't give a fuck what you or the supposed "almost everyone" thinks, enigma. Keep your mouth shut.

HumanTarget, for a PLer or something? No, probably not. At the same time, my goal is geared towards olympic lifting and MMA. Also concerned with increasing my VJ and sprinting ability (mirroring CCJ there). I have no necessity for deadlifts. So to me, RDLs work fine as a replacement. Deadlifts are too taxing to be worth it for me anyway. I get the results from my other exercises just the same, so I see no reason to do 'em.

 

[H_T_]

Squatting and RDLing has caused my deadlift to go up. I really don't give a fuck what you or the supposed "almost everyone" thinks, enigma. Keep your mouth shut.

HumanTarget, for a PLer or something? No, probably not. At the same time, my goal is geared towards olympic lifting and MMA. Also concerned with increasing my VJ and sprinting ability (mirroring CCJ there). I have no necessity for deadlifts. So to me, RDLs work fine as a replacement. Deadlifts are too taxing to be worth it for me anyway. I get the results from my other exercises just the same, so I see no reason to do 'em.

i agree with the taxing part. i'm 34, so when i was hitting sets over 400 saturday, it left me with nothing for sunday. or monday.

 

[blut wump]

I used to scrape my shins regularly with deads but these days I seem not to. Using a double-overhand grip definitely helps save your shins.

 

[carlsuen]

i found a bar ( not your standard ivanko oly bar but 20kg none the less ) which is designed i think specifically for deadlifting.. cuz the smooth from the mid goes out pretty far out to the sides.. so if i deadlift shoulder width.. the rough surface would never touch my shins.. and i absolutely love it!

but on the down side.. it's been so used that it is slightly bent and when i DL, it would always slip back to the nataural bending position.. which sometimes effects my grip.. hope u understand what i'm trying to describe..

anyway.. when DL day comes, i try to well long pants so.. guess i won't be bleeding much..

 

[blut wump]

I've seen talc suggested or even putting some tape on your shins.

 

[asdfzxcv]

Thanks for all the feedback guys,it is much appreciated.I might give the sumo style deads a try as seems to place more emphasis on the glutes/hamstrings,which are weak point of mine.

 

[coolcolj]

line up shins with smooth apart - sorted

 

[asdfzxcv]

line up shins with smooth apart - sorted

I do.

 

[coolcolj]

strange, my shins never get torn up....

 

[silver_shadow]

try switching to sumo style... it should be even more to your liking given that your a tall boy.

 

[xblitz44x]

My shins get torn up if I wear shorts but I've been wearing those slippery workout pants by nike or adidas and the bar seems to slide up my pants without destroying my shins.

Also, I don't know if maybe I'm not working hard enough but I hear people saying how 'taxing' deadlifting is. For some reason I feel perfectly fine the day after deadlifting. Maybe a little weak in the hamstrings but certainly not as taxed as I am after a heavy squat.

 

[silver_shadow]

My shins get torn up if I wear shorts but I've been wearing those slippery workout pants by nike or adidas and the bar seems to slide up my pants without destroying my shins.

Also, I don't know if maybe I'm not working hard enough but I hear people saying how 'taxing' deadlifting is. For some reason I feel perfectly fine the day after deadlifting. Maybe a little weak in the hamstrings but certainly not as taxed as I am after a heavy squat.

i used to get sore (in the back) every time i deadlifted earlier. i used to struggle to nail the form. then i switched to sumo style and i never get sore save for the hammies as you mention. i take it that alot of the ppl who were sore could not get the form right. the only time i ever scrape my legs is my hands on my thighs at lockout.

 

[ErikZ]

Squatting and RDLing has caused my deadlift to go up. I really don't give a fuck what you or the supposed "almost everyone" thinks, enigma. Keep your mouth shut.

HumanTarget, for a PLer or something? No, probably not. At the same time, my goal is geared towards olympic lifting and MMA. Also concerned with increasing my VJ and sprinting ability (mirroring CCJ there). I have no necessity for deadlifts. So to me, RDLs work fine as a replacement. Deadlifts are too taxing to be worth it for me anyway. I get the results from my other exercises just the same, so I see no reason to do 'em.

AI, you are so subtle hahaha
I love your finesse

 

[howelad]

I used to tear my shins up in DL's and any form of lift from the ground (ex. power clean, power snatch). But its just something i got used to.

Wounds Heal, Chicks Dig Scars, Glory Lasts Forever.

 

[MikeMartial]

Also, I don't know if maybe I'm not working hard enough but I hear people saying how 'taxing' deadlifting is. For some reason I feel perfectly fine the day after deadlifting. Maybe a little weak in the hamstrings but certainly not as taxed as I am after a heavy squat.

Strange, I'm in the same boat. I fucking fear squats, yet deads don't seem to kill me like they do others.

 

[howelad]

I am the complete oppisite from you Mike. I fear deadlifts yet i LOVE squats.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

Squats are my favorite regular exercise. Next would be OHPs and chinups.

The olylifts are in a league of their own though. So much mastery involved there.

But deadlifts tax the CNS more than anything for most people, because of the sheer amount of strain posed on the body with very heavy deadlifts. It's why WSB doesn't train it directly - it's just an incredibly demanding lift. Not always something you feel. Try squatting 3x a week. Now do it with deadlifting. Most people find that deadlifting too often burns them out FAST.

 

[djeclipse]

I have scars on my shins, more on the right shin though.

I also don't feel that sore after deadlift. I can feel it a little in my lower back the next day, but that's about it. It is tiring while doing it, but it doesn't seem to take that much out of me. And oddly enough my deadlift is way out of porportion with the rest of my lifts.

 

[MikeMartial]

But deadlifts tax the CNS more than anything for most people, because of the sheer amount of strain posed on the body with very heavy deadlifts. It's why WSB doesn't train it directly - it's just an incredibly demanding lift. Not always something you feel. Try squatting 3x a week. Now do it with deadlifting. Most people find that deadlifting too often burns them out FAST.

I'll have to try that, since I only do deads 1x a week. Probably not enough volume on my part.

Anthrax, you mentioned earlier that you lift specifically for MMA, and are working on your VJ. Would you mind posting up your workout?

 

[BiggT]

Since I started pulling with a hook grip, my shins are never scraped up.....a lot of guys use baby powder on the shins and the bar slides right up them.

As for being an overtaxing life, I find that it is easy to burn out with DL's...I am never 'sore' from them, but when done heavy and frequently, I tend to get total body burnout and my lifts all suffer.

 

[Anthrax Invasion]

I'll have to try that, since I only do deads 1x a week. Probably not enough volume on my part.

Anthrax, you mentioned earlier that you lift specifically for MMA, and are working on your VJ. Would you mind posting up your workout?

Right now I'm cutting, so there's no specific work for VJing or MMA right now. I train fullbody four times a week. Depletion workouts Monday and Tuesday (2-3x15), tension workouts Thursday (2-3x6-12), and power workouts Saturday (3x5 per exercise, 2 exercises per bodypart). So far it's working well - all I have is a bit of lower ab fat to get rid of.

Normally though, I lift to increase my strength in core exercises, throwing in a bit of higher-repped isolation for my vanity bodyparts (namely arms). My squat is working back up to where I want it to be (where it was before I got ihjured) to maximize sprinting and VJ ability.

After that, I'll be doing something similar to CCJ, though tailored to my own needs (i.e., reactive or explosive work).

All the while practicing grappling with friends or cousins who know their ground game, and sparring with some friends who box, kickbox, or know Muay Thai. I get in as much training as I can when I have a caloric surplus. Otherwise, I tend to cut back, 'cause I do enough volume already that it'll bury me.

I guess my workouts are a hodgepodge of stuff. You'll always find some underlying routine (5x5, HST, Lyle's, some generic olylifting split) with some vanity work (arm isos), olylifts (rarely full 'cause I'm not actually competing, so hang snatches and cleans work better), and depending on my current sparring partner's availabilities and my routine, energy work and higher-repped circuits so my muscles don't fatigue as much during bouts.

So far though, I've had little problem with muscular endurance, so that's usually not a huge focus of my training. Just figured I'd add that some times, I will add in stuff like that, to be sure I'm at my peak when I fight.

 

[Quadsweeps Sister]

Thanks for all the feedback guys,it is much appreciated.I might give the sumo style deads a try as seems to place more emphasis on the glutes/hamstrings,which are weak point of mine.

Good to hear you aren't giving up on them, just moving from a conventional form to Sumo. I've tried both and can't figure out which worked better for me. I am pretty sure the textbook form brings the bar up the shins, but other folks just seem to have found a way around it or its just the way they are built that keeps their shins less bloody. Most of the big DL's I have seen have pretty torn up shins.

I hope the sumo works for you. There are a lot of other exercises you can perform too to bring up the areas of weakness, but wasn't sure if already mentioned. Good luck.

 

[kingkrs]

on the bars I use there is knurling in the very middle, two smooth spaces one on each side, then more knurling. I place my shins right on the smooth parts and place my hands just inside the "power rings". When I pull, "if" the bar scrapes my legs the smooth part is what is scraping, therfore no damage.

Doing it this way may be a little too close of a stance for some but I find it comfortable. I am 6'1" and also have long legs.

 

[enigma4dub]

I used to scrape my shins regularly with deads but these days I seem not to. Using a double-overhand grip definitely helps save your shins.

So that must be it! I was constantly scrapping my shins with my deadlifts. However, since we had that thread/poll on deadlift grips and straps a while back, I changed my grip to a double overhand. based on a post by you actually. So thanx for helping me with my grip strength and keepin my shins blood free

 

[Illuminati]

I was practising deadlift form yesterday with light weight trying to keep my hips low and bar close to my body.Today I noticed that my shins are scraped up really bad.I am 6'4 tall so trying to deadlift like that seems somewhat awkward to lift like that due to long legs.Usually I just keep my hips fairly high and pull the bar a few inches from my body,which feels far more comfortable/stronger.Provided my lower back stays straight is it ok to pull with a more stiff-legged type of deadlift over the so called ''textbook form''.

try starting with the bar 2-3" in front of you.

 

[KillahBee]

battle wounds.

nothing wrong with that

 

[zaxxon1982]

I wear synthetic sweat pants which saves me from the knurling. Still get the bruises though.