Deadlift: acceptable angle of attack?

I've seen folks doing deadlifts on a squat rack, where they pick up
the bar at knee-height. I have really poor flexibility at the hips
(really short legs, long trunk), so have been doing Good Mornings,
where I can get the bar at shoulder-level and bend to my own
capability.

Is there a minimum angle to lift the bar at with deadlifts which will
produce decent results for hams and glutes? Are there any stretches I
should work on so I can pick the bar up off of the ground? Or are Good
Mornings acceptable?

Thanks.

BLink
--------------------------
"The worst thing about censorship is [redacted]"

"Brian Link" <blink.RemoveThis@visi.com> wrote in message
news:v8c922lubeos06vl6ki4j1s4s0u960kjiq@4ax.com...
> I've seen folks doing deadlifts on a squat rack, where they pick up
> the bar at knee-height. I have really poor flexibility at the hips
> (really short legs, long trunk), so have been doing Good Mornings,
> where I can get the bar at shoulder-level and bend to my own
> capability.
>
> Is there a minimum angle to lift the bar at with deadlifts which will
> produce decent results for hams and glutes? Are there any stretches I
> should work on so I can pick the bar up off of the ground? Or are Good
> Mornings acceptable?

Not to be harsh, Brian, but ...

I have short legs and a long trunk, too, but that has nothing to do with
your flexibility "at the hips" - work on hamstring flexibility. I
pulled 330 lbs. @ 150 today at the end of my workout while standing on a
1.5" platform.

A classic strategy would be gradually increasing the reach. Start
pulling off the safeties at some height you can barely make with good
form and gradually lower the bar. A few 2'x2' or slightly bigger sheets
of 3/4" plywood are good for this - you can adjust the combination of
the pin placement and standing on a few boards to very gradually
increase your reach.

I've heard stories of old-timers who DL'ed outside. Rather than
increase the weight with pulls from the floor, they'd pick a weight
they'd couldn't do for a full range DL but start standing in a hole.
They'd gradually fill the hole back up until they could do a full-range
DL with their new weight.

According to some, shortening or lengthening one's reach in the DL has
little carryover if you go past about 4" from normal/floor pulling.
That may be true, but if your first goal is to improve your flexibility
so that you can later pull from the floor, there's no reason you can't
start at your knees and work it down from there.

Last but not least, GM's are just fine - if you don't care about your
hamstring flexibility and GM's do what you want, just stick with them
and forget DL's. If you do them right, GM's should help increase your
hamstring flexibility, but you'll really have to focus on loading the
hamstrings by pushing the butt back while keeping the chest lifted.

Just my opinion.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com