I've been doing Deadlifts for 2 months now and I wanted to get some opinions on my Form (or if I should mainly focus on improving). I think that my lower back looks weird but maybe its just a layer of fat. I do feel a discomfort there sometimes though.
This is the 4th Set with these Reps: 6 6 5 6 7 9 At a 90kgs / 198pounds
I would suggest starting with the barbell on the floor. If you can't, or won't, and the blocks are necessary1, then I would find some way to safely elevate yourself to the same level. Once you and the barbell are at the same level, you can work on getting your deadlift technique down. For that, I would recommend watching Alan Thrall's 5-step approach to the deadlift. Use all 5 steps.
I do agree with Mandy, I think you're still doing this rather stiff-legged and you could benefit from sinking into the deadlift.
With respect to the 5 steps that Alan points out, I want to draw emphasis to #3 and #4. Once the barbell is over your mid foot and you've gripped the barbell, bring your shins to the bar and then pack your lats. In order to bring your shins to the bar, without moving your feet, you'll have to drop you butt. You can think of the deadlift as a leg press, in the lower half of the movement, where the goal is to push the ground away.
1 If your plates are really small (i.e. not olympic sized plates) then you can elevate the barbell such that the center of the barbell is 8.875" off the ground.
You're pretty much using all back with your current form. Lifting with your legs is really important with a deadlift and will help you get more weight, as well as, not hurt your back. You have a really great form in your back, you just need to squat down a bit more for the full motion.
StrongLifts suggest squatting down until your shins hit the bar. The overall angle will vary depending on your size, but it will give you better form for your body. The link has a really great step-by-step guide and a checklist you can download
You are almost doing a Romanian Deadlift, which is a great lift, but you want to do this at a lower weight and it works your back and hamstrings a lot more.
You need to position your feet so that the bar starts directly over the mid-foot.
Your biggest technique issue that is visible from this video is that you are starting with the bar over the balls of your feet, rather than over the centre of your feet. You can see this in these screenshots I've taken from your video, with a vertical line superimposed over where the centre of the bar started.
Having the bar over the front of your foot is a substantially weaker pulling position than having it over the mid-foot, as it requires you to lean over further to reach the bar. With correct foot position, the bar will generally only be about an inch in front of your shins when you're standing up. This will feel very close, but you can check that it's correct by leaning to either side to verify that it's inline with the centre of your feet. Don't tilt your head forward to look as that will result in you looking on a slight backward angle, rather than straight down, which messes up your perspective.
Others have comments on keeping the bar in contact with your shins - this is correct, but you must fix the starting position first, as pushing your knees forward when the bar is also too far forward will still leave you in that weaker pulling position.
(It's possible to tell that the bar isn't in contact with your shins from the fact that your hips stay stationary when the bar first moves off the floor. If your shins were touching the bar, then you'd need to start the lift with knee extension, in order to get your knees out of the way of the moving bar, and that would cause your hips to rise with the bar. But, again, this doesn't matter yet because you need to fix your foot position first.)
I'll also recommend the excellent Alan Thrall's 5 Step Deadlift Setup video.
Finally, if you're needing to take a rest in the middle of your set, the weight is very likely too high for the number of reps that you're aiming for. If you were previously able to complete the same number of reps at a lighter weight without resting mid-set, then that suggests that either you're adding weight too fast, or you're trying to force your way through a stall in progress which would actually require a rethink of your training program, diet, or some other factor.
the book Starting Strength has extremely detailed instructions on deadlift form. Depending on your age (if you are under ~30), it might be a good book to follow in general.
I can't tell for sure, but my hunch is that you are located on an upstairs floor of a house or apartment (thus the blocks and highly controlled return of the bar). If that is correct, you are going to be very limited in how much progress you can make on DL's (at higher weights it's normal to drop the bar, or at least let gravity do most of the work on the return.... but that risks breaking a hole in the subfloor). If you can get onto a hard, level and solid surface, that will be a big help. As others have said, try and get rid of the blocks.
As far as form:
Edit: Do standing lifts (DL included) wearing either completely flat soled shoes, or no shoes at all. Avoid cross trainers, tennis shoes, running shoes, volleyball shoes.... basically anything with supports or that is designed to change your gait in a way that is considered beneficial for other sports. It's detrimental to weight lifting, even if you normally use inserts (I have very flat feet and have no problems doing this).
Well I will tell you what my strength coach used to tell me every time I deadlifted (even when I got good at it)...
Your butt is up and it is pushing your equilibrium forward too soon. You have to almost force yourself back to get the bar straight up.
What you need to do is lighten the weight. And then get deep and comfortable with your legs not 90 degrees but pretty close while starting the movement. Weight should be on your heels and the bar should go from the shin towards/rolling-up your body. Your body should not be at 90 degrees in comparison to the ground. Your legs should be tilted back an extra 5-10 degrees.
So your form sucks... that isn't a big deal. You are doing the work. But understand just like guys who don't go all the way down in their squat you have put yourself in the same boat - you will plateau very quickly.
Your back is the weak link. You want that back straight so that it forces other parts of your body to carry the load. Your back should be getting what we call a plank workout. That is your back and stomach should be trying to hold itself flat - and instead of a great amount of time, this is a great amount of weight.
The missing link... is your hips. Because you are not getting low enough your hips are not engaging. When your hips fire you should feel a small amount of rotational movement and jolt in your body. Much like turning a wheel and something popping out. This is what allows people to deadlift 600 pounds. Some of the strongest guys in the world would have an issue doing 500-600 with your technique.
Also the other answers have good observations... but I will say this. No you are not doing Romanian deadlifts, you are just deadlifting with normal beginner form. The thing about bar height... not sure if that matters that much. I have done deadlifts from all heights. Yea with a lower bar you might rip your shins or lean for the first few inches but your butt wasn't even down at the beginning... has nothing to do with bar height.
One last thing... You could just by a deadlift bar to help train that good habits in too.
Don’t focus on the form. Focus on where you feel the tension. Focus on using the right muscles. Hint : not the ones in your back.
I believe Stuart McGill provides the best technique for any movement where your back is involved.
He calls it the bracing technique and it basically consists in creating a corset with your core muscles (obliques notably) and your breathing. Read McGill books or listen to podcasts with him. You will gain a ton of knowledge applicable elsewhere and bulletproof your body in the process. You will also see if you are curious that what McGill preaches can be found elsewhere with other names.
I have mixed feelings on focussing on the form rather than tension of the muscles to judge whether or not one is performing the movement correctly. On one side I believe that tension is more important. You can look perfect but still using your back to lift. And you can look ‘ugly’ but have a right tension in the right muscles. On the other side studies say that deviation from neutral spine puts higher stresses on the disks.
