improving the deadlift

i had a small deadlifting epiphany yesterday, and a bigger one today as i tested and confirmed yesterday's.

i wasn't pushing my behind far enough out behind me. so today i got into deadlifting position and pushed it out. farther. more. a little more. a little more... a lot more. further. farther. come on, now, your arse is still in the same area code, that's not far enough out... there!

my older DL posture protected the back well enough, i think, but with the new posture, my shins are more upright throughout the movement, i'm balanced better on my heels (instead of my toes), and the lift has a lot more leg emphasis at the beginning, rather than back emphasis. this, sadly, may hold me back a little -- my last big deadlift push (that is to say, my last big pull push, har har har) was sumo style, which, even when you do it right, involves a lot of back and not much legs. in other words, my legs, though massive and strong looking, may prove to be the weak link in my deadlift.

i suppose that does not matter. lifting is a long-term endeavour and in the long term, better form means longer-term.

interestingly, my form revelations came from the kettlebell world, specifically, the book and exercise info i got at the RKC event a couple weeks ago. two drills in particular: the wall squat (face a wall, toes really close to it, squat to touch your kettlebell or the ground, don't fall over) and the box squat (put a box/bench behind you, squat *back* to sit on it, stand). both help to exaggerate the lower back arch and the arse-out posture.

anyways, i'll see how the new posture goes. i felt much tighter, albeit not much stronger, when lifting today.