Scraped shins are the price to pay for Deadlifts. The closer the bar to your shins, the less torque on your lower back. Scraped shins prove you’re keeping the bar close to you during deadlifts.
Unfortunately, scraped shins can turn into bleeding shins. Which will hurt. And when your shins hurt, you’ll deadlift with the bar away from the shins. Here are some ways to minimize shin scraping from deadlifts.
Get Closer to the Bar. If the bar is far from your shins, you’ll bend more from the ankles & hit your shins on the way up. Position yourself 5-10cm/2-4″ from the bar & push from the heels.
Protect Your Shins. Depending on your body type, scraped shins will be inevitable. Here are some ways to minimize shin scraping:
- Long Socks
- Long Pants
- Chalk
- Sports Tape
- Shin Sleeves
- Shin Guards
I always deadlift with long pants & pull my socks up.
Use Another Bar. Some bars have more aggressive knurling than others. Switch bar for a while to give your shins time to heal.
- Bar with less aggressive knurling.
- Bar with less wide knurling in the middle.
- Trap bar.
By the way. Scraped shins aren’t necessary. Some don’t get scraped shins at all. A lot depends on your body type: length of limbs & torso. As long as you keep the bar close to you’ll be safe. Whether you get scraped shins or not.
