The two greatest causes of a missed lift are technical inefficiencies and physical weaknesses. This isn't quite as simple as it sounds. If you want to overcome either of these challenges, you have to determine your personal weaknesses and then target them intelligently. If your bench press is weak off your chest, lockout work likely won't help. Similarly, if your heavy deadlift attempts won't budge from the floor, you probably don't need to do more rack pulls.
Which brings us to the question of this Table Talk video.
If a deadlift doesn't leave the floor, it often isn't a technical issue — it's a physical one. Fixing this won't be simple. It will mean looking closely at your programming and examining how you train over the course of many weeks. You might have a lack of volume; you might have an excess of volume. You might need more speed; you might need to learn to strain longer.
You'll only know the answer if you think critically about your training. Your ideal technique and execution of the lift will change based on many things as you progress through strength training. Primarily, your height, weight, and body proportions will determine what positioning will lead to the greatest weight lifted. This means experimenting to find what your technical and physical weaknesses may be.
Dave discusses this in response to a recent reader-submitted question for today's Table Talk.
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