ExRx.net

I went to the gym with my friend the other day to do he's routine and hangout. Well, when we get there, he did pretty much everything I've learned not to do on here (Controlled motion machines, like 8 or 9 sets of curls, and VERY bad form). So any ways, he's routine (witch came out of a mag he bought) called for RDL, I have never done RDL's before in my life and didn't know the correct form, so I start doing just DL with good form and he goes off about how he know good form for it and "shows me how" so i start doing them and after about 5 to 6 reps at 215 - 225 my back mess's up (I have a bad back anyway) and I couldn't do another rep if I wanted to. So what dose he tell me.........................
"RDL's make it harder huh"........... ARRHH....... I just wanted to hit hem. I was thinking its not RDL's that make it harder as much as bad form on RDL's that make it harder. to top it all off I've been sick sense Monday and really haven't work out that hard. But anyway my point is Harder isn't ALWAYS better if making it hard means breaking form and snapping your back.

You've learned something important! I don't think anyone needs to tell you anything else about this!

Arnold was big on using "cheating" techniques to lift weights that can't be moved cleanly in order to spur growth. But some bodyparts are more amenable to cheating than others. The lower back isn't one of them. Good thing that you found that out before it became a problem.

This is what he is "sure" is correct form:

Picture this: A stiff leg DL without a platform to stand on and not ever letting the weight touch the ground (for 12 or so reps). that's he's RDL.


Don't think I didn't try to help hem either. I told hem he was doing way to many curls and didn't really do very good form on most stuff. But he wanted to argue with me about it, saying "I don't believe that crap". he's the kind of person that knows everything and will not take advise from anybody.

I cant even go to a gym where there are people there to help me hands on with my form, and I know I have better form then he does from experience. He's been my best friend sense we were 5 and 6 years old, I wish he wasn't so stuppid.

Well, using a lift depends on your individual ROM, flexibility, etc. And, not touching down is OK with the SLDL variations. In that sense, they aren't really "dead" lifts, but the motion is similar, which is, I suppose, how they got the name.

Yeah, people who have been lifting for a time, especially if they have made some gains without much injury, tend to be pretty confident that they know what they are doing. Just be patient, do what you think is best for you, and see if they might come around some day.

I f

Well, I had never done a DL like that. It felt very uncomfortable and felt like I had very bad form. as soon as I completed the 3rd or 4th reps my back had shooting pains though it and after the 5th or 6th, I couldn't stand up strait for a few seconds so I now I did something wrong.

I think I'll just stick with regular DL for a while, lol.

When I do RDLs I usually use high reps. As with any exercise, you need to start with very low weights to learn the movement and then increase gradually. Start with an empty bar. Keep your back flat and only go down as low as your flexibility allows. Not touching the ground it not only OK, it's expected. In fact, if you are touching the ground, you should stand on a platform so you don't. It is a very good exercise if you do it right.

Don't go too heavy on them. It will be hard to keep proper form on them and for that matter there is the issue of risk/reward.

Here is a good article on SLDL. http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/traini ... -sldl.html

There are some motions where the downside of going to failure is more. I think a hip thrust, that is too heavy is no big deal. You probably won't get it off the ground or just won't complete the movement. But a 1RM on RDL would be asking for trouble. Sure, you might be able to do the 1rM RDL safe and you might be able to get hurt on hip thrusts. But the likelihood is different.

Note: I do both hip thrusts and RDLs and like them. This is not to say one is "better". They give you difference emphasises and just have different safety concerns.

You can think of all exercises as having some risk/reward profile. A strict preacher's curl is not likely to hurt you at failure. Conversely, if you decided to do weighted back flips to failure. :(