Quarter Deadlifts
- Thread starter sue320
- Start date
Hi,
This is SUCH a good question!
You know.....I love these things......feel so good. But I'm really trying to get the form down, keeping the weight low first.....I'm finding that even slight differences in posture- how you hold your shoulders, bend in your knees, tilt from the hips- will make a much larger than expected difference in both the intensity and exactly where you feel it. does anyone else find this, or am I doing it completely wrong? I have a lot of trouble with keeping shoulders "back and down".
I do, however, feel it in the hamstrings- but not in the glutes! I'm desperately working on my butt- sufferred greatly from months and months of swimmng........
Anyway, last week when doing them I made a conscious effort to lift ONLY with my legs......(I don't have a barbell, using dumbells)- basically, it just hit me- my upper body, arms, were only going along for the ride. I guess I'm just trying to say that I made sure my arm muscles were very relaxed and I think that forced my legs to take more of their weight going up and down? I think that I also may have started to keep my weight in my heels, just like in squats- is this right, too?
I find that when I do 'em the glutes tend to get worked on the way up as opposed to the way down, but not as much as I would like. I'll also be reading this thread!
This is SUCH a good question!
You know.....I love these things......feel so good. But I'm really trying to get the form down, keeping the weight low first.....I'm finding that even slight differences in posture- how you hold your shoulders, bend in your knees, tilt from the hips- will make a much larger than expected difference in both the intensity and exactly where you feel it. does anyone else find this, or am I doing it completely wrong? I have a lot of trouble with keeping shoulders "back and down".
I do, however, feel it in the hamstrings- but not in the glutes! I'm desperately working on my butt- sufferred greatly from months and months of swimmng........
Anyway, last week when doing them I made a conscious effort to lift ONLY with my legs......(I don't have a barbell, using dumbells)- basically, it just hit me- my upper body, arms, were only going along for the ride. I guess I'm just trying to say that I made sure my arm muscles were very relaxed and I think that forced my legs to take more of their weight going up and down? I think that I also may have started to keep my weight in my heels, just like in squats- is this right, too?
I find that when I do 'em the glutes tend to get worked on the way up as opposed to the way down, but not as much as I would like. I'll also be reading this thread!
kathryn
Cathlete
Make sure you keep your back straight, and keep your scapula retracted throughout the movement. I'm not sure if you're doing this, but if you round your back at all, you'll both take the emphasis off the hamstring/glute area and put yourself at risk for lower back injury. I like to think of those "dunking bird" toys when doing the 1/4 deadlift. The bird's beak dips into a glass of water, then it comes back up again. The only pivot point is where the birds "hip"would be, and the "upper body" keeps the same rigidity at all times.
Also, pushing your glutes back a little more when going down (think "glutes back" as your first move) and pushing up through the heels when coming up.
Also, pushing your glutes back a little more when going down (think "glutes back" as your first move) and pushing up through the heels when coming up.
Connie1
Cathlete
Once you are comfortable with form, try doing what I did: do very few reps (like 4) with a very heavy weight. Not too heavy for you but the heaviest you can lift. If you can do one rep and that's all, then stop there.
You will feel it in the glutes and hamstrings.
This exercise is great for the entire upper body. Just training to keep stabilized, is great for everyday activities, for injury resistance. It trains you to instinctively protect your low back while moving through life. Do not plan heavy dead lifts the same week you are moving, or helping someone move (house).
Anyway the main muscles used are large, and therefore can handle a heavy weight.
I do not think actually relaxing any upper body muscles is good, just contracting them in the right direction. "Irradiation" is a term I have seen used- it means increasing your strength through contracting all the muscles around the prime mover. So you would want to contract your whole torso in its neutral position, contract biceps and triceps and forearm (grip), and retract the shoulders somewhat.
For example, for a biceps curl, you would grip quite hard, retract the scapula, contract the chest, to stabilize intensely. This enables you to lift a higher weight for more reps. Good to know when you need your strength on the job.
You will feel it in the glutes and hamstrings.
This exercise is great for the entire upper body. Just training to keep stabilized, is great for everyday activities, for injury resistance. It trains you to instinctively protect your low back while moving through life. Do not plan heavy dead lifts the same week you are moving, or helping someone move (house).
Anyway the main muscles used are large, and therefore can handle a heavy weight.
I do not think actually relaxing any upper body muscles is good, just contracting them in the right direction. "Irradiation" is a term I have seen used- it means increasing your strength through contracting all the muscles around the prime mover. So you would want to contract your whole torso in its neutral position, contract biceps and triceps and forearm (grip), and retract the shoulders somewhat.
For example, for a biceps curl, you would grip quite hard, retract the scapula, contract the chest, to stabilize intensely. This enables you to lift a higher weight for more reps. Good to know when you need your strength on the job.