Starting Strength, 3rd Edition - Mark Rippetoe [68]
At the top of the pull, just lift your chest. That’s all; don’t shrug your shoulders either up or back, and don’t lean back. Just raise the chest. Seen from the side, this position will be anatomically normal, with both lordotic and kyphotic curves in unexaggerated positions, your eyes looking slightly down, your hips and knees fully extended, and your shoulders back. This is the position your body must assume to safely bear weight, and the correct back position during the pull provides a safe way to transfer the load from the ground to this upright position. Refer to Figure 4-12, 5d, for this position.
Down should be the perfect opposite of up, the only difference being that the bar can go down faster than it went up. It is just as easy to injure the back by setting the bar down incorrectly as it is by picking the bar up incorrectly, and it is extremely common to set the bar down wrong, with a round back and the knees forward, even if you have pulled it correctly off the floor. A non-vertical bar path makes no more sense on the way down than it does on the way up. Be sure that you lower the bar by first unlocking your hips and knees, and then shoving your hips backward and letting the bar slide down your thighs in a straight vertical line, with your lower back locked in extension, in a movement that is the opposite of the upward bar path. As the bar passes your knees, bend them to finish setting the bar down, never unlocking the back. If your knees go forward before the bar passes them on the way down, the bar will obviously have to go forward to get around them, and this usually means that you will have also released your tight back position.
Fix your eyes on the floor at a point that is 12–15 feet in front of you, to put your neck in the normal anatomical position, and pull a set of five. Think very hard and pay close attention to your form, concentrating especially on your back position and keeping the bar close to your legs. If you’re sure your form is good enough, add weight for a few sets until it feels like the next increase might be a problem, and that’s the first deadlift workout.
Figure 4-12. The five steps for a perfect deadlift. 1) Take the correct stance. 2) Take your grip on the bar. 3) Drop your shins forward to touch the bar, pushing your knees out slightly and without dropping your hips. 4) Squeeze your chest up, with your weight on the mid-foot. 5) Drag the bar up the legs.
Back Position
Everything else can be wrong with the deadlift and nothing really bad will happen, but if your low back is round under a big load, safety will be compromised. So now is the time to learn the most important part of the deadlift: setting the back correctly. After you set the bar down, stand up without the bar and lift your chest. At the same time, arch your lower back by thinking about sticking your butt out. Refer to Figure 4-13 and imagine a coach touching you on the chest to cue your chest-up position, and touching you at the small of your back to cue your lumbar arch. The touch on your lower back gives you a point to “curl” your low back around as you stick out your butt, the net effect of which is to cause the erector spinae muscles to contract under your conscious direction.
Figure 4-13. Become familiar with the position the back should assume during the pull. Lifting the chest toward the hand of a coach places the upper back in extension, and arching the