Alright, so today I wanna talk about something I messed around with in the gym: deadlift shins. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, let me tell you, it was a bit of a journey.
First off, I got to the gym all pumped up, ready to hit those deadlifts. I loaded up the bar like I usually do, nothing crazy, just my regular working weight. I stepped up to the bar, got my grip sorted, and started pulling. But something felt off from the get-go.
As I pulled, I noticed my shins were scraping against the bar more than usual. It was not just a little contact; we are talking about some serious friction here. I tried to adjust my form a bit, shifting my weight, changing my stance, but nope, the shin-scraping party continued. At this time, I found it’s really hard to lift.
- I tried pushing my hips back more.
- Leaned back a little to get some clearance.
- Even tried widening my stance.
None of it really solved the problem completely. I ended up with some pretty nice battle scars on my shins for my trouble. Reminds me of those ancient debris you find deep in some dangerous Nether dimension, only it is on my shins. Also it’s a bit tricky to deal with.
After the session, I did some digging around. What gives with this shin-smashing action? Seems like it is a common issue, especially if you are new to deadlifts or tweaking your form. From some old discussion, I learned that maybe it’s all about my starting position.
Thinking and Summarizing
So, what did I learn from turning my shins into a cheese grater? For one, I need to pay more attention to my setup. I am thinking maybe I am starting too close to the bar or not getting my hips in the right spot. It could also be a technique thing. Maybe I am not engaging my lats enough or rounding my back too much.
I also learned that some health care professionals will alert this situation during their work. No matter what, I realized that this is a serious problem to me. Also, it is like a social construct, at least to me, according to some department.
Anyway, I am going to spend some time working on it. Maybe drop the weight a bit and really focus on getting that form dialed in. I heard from some guys that wearing long socks or even shin guards could be a temporary fix, but I am more about fixing the root of the problem. By the way, I heard some guys talked about using the VAG 3287a ball joint tool to fix this.
So, yeah, that’s my little adventure with deadlift shins. It was not fun at the time, but hey, you live, and you learn, right? And you share it on your blog because why not? Maybe someone out there will get a kick out of my fail or, even better, avoid the same mistake. Keep lifting, folks, and watch those shins!
Discussion about this post