Why my deadlift stalled at 180

Six weeks. Every Saturday I would load 180 and every Saturday it would come off the floor, stop just below the knee, and go back down. Annoying does not cover it.

The shoes

I was pulling in running trainers. Soft soles feel fine until you push hard into the floor and the floor pushes back into foam. I switched to flat shoes. Nothing fancy, the cheap canvas ones. First session, 180 went up. Slowly, but it went.

The hips

When I filmed it from the side, my hips came up first and my chest stayed down. That turns a deadlift into a stiff leg pull with a heavy bar, and your back does all the work.

The fix was taking the slack out of the bar before I pulled. Pull up on the bar until you hear it click against the plates, chest up, then push the floor away.

• Shoes flat and hard
• Bar over the middle of your foot
• Pull the slack out, then push the floor away

Last week I did 185 for a single. Not a world record. Still made my day.