To Roll or Not To Roll?

To Roll or Not To Roll? By Myles Kantor Of the fourteen men who have deadlifted over 900 pounds, at least three of them (Garry Frank, Doyle Kenady, and Benedikt Magnusson) rolled the bar into their bodies before starting the pull. It is worthwhile to explore the mechanical effects of this style. Rolling the bar back will recruit the lats and increase tension in these muscles. Mike Tuchscherer, who has deadlifted 826 lbs. raw in the 275s, remarks along these lines regarding his less pronounced roll of the bar: "As the weights got heavier and my deadlift skill got better, the need for more tightness in the bottom of the lift grew. When you're really tight in the lats and back, the bar will be close to the shins. Since my setup has been developed a few inches away from the bar, I've developed a roll to transition where the bar begins and where it needs to be by the start of the pull. I'm not sure it's the best way to do it from a learning standpoint, but I am to the point where I can control the variability of the start to a good degree. Roll or no roll, it's more important to be tight in the bottom." The variability Tuchscherer notes concerns the bar being aligned with the mid-foot and shoulder blades at the start of the pull. If a lifter does not roll the bar into the correct place every time, the efficiency of the start will vary and negatively impact the pull. For example, the pull might start with the bar a half inch or more forward of mid-foot, resulting in horizontal bar movement, reduced strength, and increased injury risk. Rolling the bar will also challenge arching the back. This motion promotes a rounded spinal position, working against the "chest squeezed up" posture that yields an extended thoracic and lumbar spine. Lifters who desire spinal extension at the start of their deadlifts should keep this in mind. Fundamentally, rolling the bar consumes energy--in this case to produce horizontal movement of the bar. The goal in a deadlift being vertical bar movement, and PR attempts entailing the whole of one's strength, is this consumption of energy before the bar even goes up a good idea? The amount of energy consumed might seem insignificant, but at maximal weights every inefficiency becomes consequential. Specifically, the lat recruitment produced by the bar roll also draws on the lats' strength, which could be better reserved for their isometric function of keeping the bar tight against the body once the deadlift begins. As noted in the beginning of this article, historic pulls have been completed with rolling the bar. Amazing squats have also been done that were in effect good mornings out of the hole. Whether these elite achievements reflect optimal technique is another matter. If technique is considered a variant of style--that is, a subjective quality--then there is no such thing as inefficiency. But if a normative mechanical model for deadlifting, etc. does exist--and the shared musculoskeletal system of humans with laws of physics that act independently upon that system suggest such a normative model, combined with copious video data specific to powerlifting--then the pursuit of strength is intertwined with the refinement of efficiency. For related reading, see Straight Lines, Stronger Deadlifts