Starting Strength

sure you are finishing each deadlift with locked knees, and remind yourself occasionally to check them. This last little movement is an important part of the lift, even if a powerlifting meet is not the goal of your training.
    Get in the habit of holding the bar locked out at the top for just a second before you set it down, so that you achieve a stable position first. If you are in the process of falling backwards as you attempt to lower the bar, there will be a significant wreck. The bar should be lowered only after it is locked out and motionless for just a second, indicating a correctly finished lift with the bar under control. Don’t exhale; just pause a second and then set the bar down.

    Figure 4-47. Our very strong friend Phil Anderson has forgotten to lock his knees at the top. The fix for this is better coaching and a cue to “Stand up!” Phil has since had his knees replaced with the apparently very good Stryker prosthetics, and he deadlifted 600 pounds 11 months post-op.

    Setting the bar down fast in the deadlift is actually okay. Since the deadlift starts as a concentric movement, much of its training effect is due to the hard initial position and the lack of help from a stretch reflex during the lift, as discussed above. Setting the bar down slowly will make it harder, and some people might benefit from the extra work, but the emphasis in the deadlift is on picking up heavy weights. As the weight increases and the lift gets difficult, upward bar speed will decrease. Setting the bar down slowly uses up too much gas that could be better used in picking up your next rep. As long as some modicum of control is exercised, the bar can be dropped as fast as you are capable of doing safely with your back in good position according to our previous analysis. Going down fast with poor control is, of course, hard on your kneecaps and shins. And depending on the type of plates being used and the nature of the platform surface, a poorly controlled bounce can cause problems. But in general, a deadlift can, and usually should, go down faster than it comes up.
     
    Platforms
     
    A platform is a good thing to have in your weight room: use multiple layers of plywood or particle board glued and screwed together, with rubber mats under the area of plate contact or the whole thing surfaced with rubber; horse-trailer mats work just fine and are relatively cheap ( Figure 4-48 ). Failing that, rubber mats placed under the plates on the floor will work, but the room really needs to be set up correctly for you to train the pulling movements. Bumper plates, a necessary expense for the clean and the snatch, can be used for the deadlift as well, but the more reasonably priced ones take up so much space on the bar (they are very wide) that iron plates will eventually need to be used as you get stronger. Your gym should be equipped for this. And if your gym is one of those places that doesn’t allow deadlifting, find a better gym. Sorry to have to keep saying this, but there may come a time when your training becomes more important than the reasons that caused you to originally choose the inadequate facility. It’s a sign that you’re becoming a lifter.

    Figure 4-48. The basic components of a cheap and durable training platform. Three layers of 4 foot × 8 foot × ¾ inch plywood or particle board, laid in alternate directions each layer and then covered with horse-trailer mats, provide a durable, inexpensive training station. It works well on a concrete floor. This particular platform has been in service in a commercial gym for 16 years.

    Straps and belts
     
    Straps will be useful on occasion. Use the kind made from seat belts (it’s probably best not to take the ones out of your car for this purpose) or some other nylon-type strapping material, about 1½ inches wide. Cotton will not work, no matter how thick and strong it looks; it will tear at an inconvenient time. Straps can be left as simple pieces of material, about two feet long, or the ends can be tacked together.

    Figure 4-49. Several types of straps are commonly seen in the gym. The kind most commonly available commercially ( right ) is junk: the design does not work well, these straps do not last long, they hurt the hands, and they can break with a heavy weight. The black one in the center has been in use since 1984 and has never failed.

Straps go around your hands, not your wrists. And do not use the kind with a loop sewn into one end, where the rest of the