Proper Hip Position on the Deadlift: It’s Not a Squat

Dec 10th, 2007 by Mehdi Tags: Deadlift, Exercise, Weight Lifting

New to StrongLifts.com?

Here are a few posts the other readers recommend you check out.

Squat vs. Deadlift. Image credit: Starting Strength 2nd edition.

Posted by Dorian Ontiveros in reply to How to Deadlift with Proper Technique

My coaches tell me when you Deadlift your hips must be below your knees like a Squat and explode. When you pick it up the bar must go up against the shins. Right now my shins are filled with scabs. I want to know: am I doing Deadlifts right?

The Deadlift is Not a Squat. While the Deadlift & Squat movements are similar, Deadlifts are not Squats:

Squat. Hips go lower than knees to break parallel.
Deadlift. Hips higher than knees. Like a half Squat.

Why Low Hip Position is Bad. Look at the Squat position in the picture above. Imagine you Deadlift from that position, here’s what happens:

Strength Loss. The knees are over your toes, shins more diagonal. Start with low hips, and you’ll usually bring your hips up anyway. The bar loses contact with your shins, ending in front of you. You’re not pulling in a straight line, meaning less weight.
Scraped Shins. You’ll hit your shins/knees if you don’t bring your hips up. That explains why Dorian’s shins are filled with scabs.

The Deadlift is not a Stiffed-Legged Deadlift. Start with the hips too high and your hips do all the work, meaning less weight. Use your knees: start with your hips lower like if doing a half Squat.

How to Find the Proper Hip Position for Deadlifts. Exact hip position depends on your build: long/short legs, long/short torso. Your hips will be higher if you have long legs than if you have short legs. But these rules always apply:

Bar Against Shins. Bar touches your shins at the start of the Deadlift.
Shoulder-blades over Bar. Put your shoulder-blades directly over the bar, close to perpendicular with the floor when looking from the side.
Shoulders in Front of Bar. Happens automatically if you put the bar against your shins & your shoulder-blades over the bar.

Example of Proper Hip Position. I have long legs & arms and a short torso. Here’s my starting position on Deadlifts. Notice the shoulders in front of the bar, shoulder-blades over the bar, bar against shins.

Deadlift Starting Hip Position
Deadlift hip position: shoulder-blades over the bar, shoulders in front of the bar.

Tired of the way you look? You want to build muscle & lose fat while getting stronger? Click here to download my 52 pages 100% FREE eBook.

Articles You Might Also Like:

19 Responses to “Proper Hip Position on the Deadlift: It’s Not a Squat”

on 10 Dec 2007 at 8:08 pm1michael brito

glad to see that i’m using proper form.
on 10 Dec 2007 at 9:13 pm2Leo

if you are giving all this information for free, how are you making any money from it?
on 10 Dec 2007 at 9:14 pm3workout mommy

great visual on this post. Thank you!!
on 10 Dec 2007 at 9:15 pm4Mehdi

Leo. I am not making any money from it. This is a long term approach
on 11 Dec 2007 at 6:02 pm5galapogos

One more thing to note that most people don’t pay attention to is not to deliberately look up. The entire spine should be neutral, and this includes the cervical spine(neck). This means your head should be facing wherever your chest is facing. This reduces the compressive forces on the cervical spine.

Takes a bit of reprogramming even for myself since I used to always look up.
on 12 Dec 2007 at 1:29 am6Gubernatrix

Very useful! I only got to grips with this position quite recently. I was quite surprised at the difference made by having shoulder blades over the bar. The lift felt so much easier and smoother.
on 12 Dec 2007 at 11:52 am7Mehdi

@Galapogos
That’s actually something I need to take a look at too. I like looking above parallel as the body follows the head, but it stresses the neck indeed. On the other hand if you’d look down you’ll bent your back.

@Gubernatrix
Remember you asked about Starting Strength vs. McRoberts books? This is the kind of info you’ll find in starting strength but not in McRoberts book Sally.
on 13 Dec 2007 at 7:44 am8Jason Papillon

I thought shoulders shouldn’t be over the bar, could u explain why they should be kept infront of the bar?
on 13 Dec 2007 at 7:45 am9Jason Papillon

Sorry what i meant was OVER the bar not infront.
on 13 Dec 2007 at 1:53 pm10Mehdi

You can’t pull in a straight line, your legs are in your way if the shoulders are over the bar. Take a look at the deadlift pic above & imagine the shoulders are in front of the bar: you can’t get past the knees without the bar coming before you, this makes exercise harder (more torque on lower back).
on 19 Dec 2007 at 4:24 am11galapogos

I have the same problem looking up as well Mehdi, especially on heavier sets. Trying to fix that. Everytime I pull with my head looking up I end up with a sore neck. Not supposed to look down, just keep your neck in line with your spine.
on 19 Dec 2007 at 10:59 am12Mehdi

Got the same thing with Barbell/Pendlay Rows
on 24 Dec 2007 at 3:18 pm13Jason Papillon

the guys at WSB do advice to keep ur shins OFF the bar and keep the shoulders infront of the bar, u might want to check their stuff if u havent already
on 24 Dec 2007 at 3:25 pm14Mehdi

Dave Tate advises that indeed Jason. I don’t agree with it, neither does Rippetoe. I’ve written a follow post on this btw, I’ll publish it next month.
on 24 Dec 2007 at 7:11 pm15Jason Papillon

I read an article by Sakari Selkäinaho from a finnish bodybuilding magazine just few hours ago, the article was about deadlift and he said one of the mistakes is the let the shoulders go forward. Im looking forward for ur new posts
on 24 Dec 2007 at 8:12 pm16Mehdi

Read this article (read the whole thread too) & read starting strength. Then test both: shoulders before & shoulders behind. Experiment & report what feels best. Andy Bolton who has deadlifted 455kg keeps his shoulders in front of the bar.
on 24 Dec 2007 at 10:35 pm17Jason Papillon

Very interesting article, i am going to experiment with both techniques, but i assume it’s more harder to keep the weight on heels if u do it the rippetoe way, or? I think the technique is not the most important thing as long as my lower back isn’t round though since i feel im built for deadlifting.
on 25 Dec 2007 at 1:28 pm18Mehdi

If the weight is not on your heels, you’ll end up on your toes, losing balance. About the technique: if the bar is further from your legs, you increase the torque on your back.
on 26 Jan 2008 at 5:31 pm19bob

hey. i hurt my back doing deadlifts today, i was on 83kg. i think it was the way i was doing it, my back felt straight, but i think i pull the bar up. should i raise using legs first then squeeze my glutes to straighten up.
my back hurts really low down on the hip region. how can i tell if its serious or not. am thinking of dropping the weight am using for my excercises and starting fresh to make sure i learn proper technique is this a good idea

Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That's how we're gonna be -- cool. If you're not, I'll delete your stuff.
Ask your question in the Forum if the post is older than 7 days.