The Unmatched Deadlift Technique of Konstantin Konstantinovs

[@AlexanderBromley]

Free KK Program Download: empire-barbell.com/full-library-of-free-video-pdfs/ Never doubt your programming again. Learn more at www.BaseStrength.com "Big Dreams, Bad Genes" at www.Barbellapparel.com/Bromley WE'RE ON DISCORD! BromleyHQ discord.gg/CnhSBYb5qy

[@lanidrac]

I was able to get coaching from him in latvia in 2016. His coaching cues for deadlift in a nutshell. 1. Pull shoulder blades forward slightly. 2. Reach down for the bar as much as you can. 3. Hinge to the bar. 4. Big breath and tight abs at the bottom. 5. Push like hell.

[@elilachappa3330]

"he only ever hurt his back squatting, not deadlifting" same bro

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Seated dumbbell shoulder press for me.

[@Pantelifts10]

He only hurt himself while on tren. So probably gave him overconfidence and injury. His words. Not mine.

[@bloodysath]

Gratz to 1/4 Million Subscribers. You really earned it 💪

[@AlexanderBromley]

Thank you 🙌

[@HonkeyKongLive]

KK was such an animal. Everything looked like he was doing it "wrong" but it was always putting him in a mechanically advantageous position. He was one of the first guys of the post-Westside era to realize that optimal technique wasn't just about shortening the ROM, it was about focusing on what enabled you to generate the most force.

[@JustSomeGuy69420]

I deadlift with a perfectly straight back and then do weird round back stuff for my accessories. I am enlightened. 😇

[@unc1221]

You probably can’t even pull 405 clean. Stfu

[@shades4313]

I think that’s actually legit the way to go

[@DDazzle1]

Hey, fellow patrician speaking. I round on warmups for pull movements

[@Tokenutha]

Just pulled 285kg at my first meet thanks to your programming bromley, just wanted to say thanks for all the info you put out and boost the algo lol

[@nickcustodi592]

Wow I absolutely nerded out on KKs programming. Love the use of the heavy rack deadlift to prime his nervous system for the rest of his lifts for the day. Absolutely incredible work capacity on those heavy deadlifting days. Makes complete sense you’d need so much time in between those. Very interesting to see the programming of the elite - but even cooler to see KK had some deeper understanding of training to make such intentional choices in his routine. I have to say his beltless 939 will forever live on in my head rent free. When I think of lifts that spike testosterone; that one gives me supraphysiological levels comparable to an IFBB pro. RIP KK you are a legend and the lifting world is a better place because of you.

[@sebastianbechpetersen858]

That lift and Benedikt Magnussons raw 463kg for me are the best ever.

[@alexmc7798]

Evan Kardon; famous for rounding the back. Famous for rounding up her age.

[@DennisGr]

i really like that you immediately open up the importan question "good because of it" or "good despite it". i've seen it in many elite atheletes that succeeded with odd strategies. sometimes it works JUST FOR THEM due to their specific body or training and you can NOT copy it to get better.

[@Mr.PotatoAWESOMEFitnessTips]

The fact I've lifting for decades and coaching for years, and just realized that my spinal erectors are ginormous from rounding my back a lil'bit is one the things that makes me love this stuff so much- it's a never ending learning experience, so very very humbling at every stage.

[@PlutoTheGod]

I miss the old Russian team of KK, Kirill, Malanichev, Koklyaev.. those dudes were my idols when I was starting out

[@DesLeGatt]

I have the same feeling, but unfortunately time takes its toll. KK is not with us anymore, and the rest of the crew are long past their prime. Good thing there are plenty of video recordings to witness days of their past glory)

[@theunusualdispenser9474]

shame that Kirill left a lot in the table in his prime but can't blame him for doing what he desired

[@alexenache6942]

​@theunusualdispenser9474 He's making ton of money and tbf you can't blame him, if competing paid reasonably he probably would've kept going.

[@dieselpunkpowerlifter7667]

To me there's a big difference between a slight rounding of the back at the starting position that straightens as the lift progresses, and a drastic rounding of the back that develops during the lift, resulting in a rounder back mid lift than you started with.

[@DFunct905]

This is a good observation.

[@freakied0550]

My first 300kg deadlift in competition was beltless. LARPed as a KK wannabe, but really was too lazy to learn how to use a belt.

[@drewgatewood1864]

This is an amazing video. Your stuff is always extremely thoughtful, and your are extremely generous in the amount of insight you share with the people for free, but this is a level above. Thank you for continuing to share this type of tremendous content with us.

[@ZevAidikoff]

Can’t believe im just finding your channel now, a breath of fresh air in lifting content.

[@jima6545]

Found him a few months ago. Great channel

[@kentuckyteck9302]

This kind of information is so important. Everyone is different but knowledge is power

[@NateGfit]

this is amazing! this is so similar to the same form that i have fallen into after trying so many things, and it works really well for me. exciting to here, that my body works well with similar form to one of the best deadlifters ever! now im just amped and ready to keep working on this.

[@jermellemacleod7750]

We need a deadlift like George Leeman video! Another legend!

[@LeoJGym]

This is very insightful and very similar to Zack Telander's video about Lu Xiaojun's ability to essentially deep squat his clean & jerk just from being adapted to it for so long.

[@BurntSofa]

the history and analysis is absolutely awesome, keep it up bromley

[@jay-remedy-plz]

Explained the contrasting styles perfectly. Thx

[@dantemarotta356]

A pleasure to watch , Saw KK live once awesome individual.

[@psyoperator]

As someone who doesn't deadlift with a belt close to max... EVER! My guess is the reason he didnt use one is the same reason I dont... It most likely was causing him pressure type injuries/uncomfortableness during heavy lifts. Also... I can confirm that back pain is psyop.

[@stephen8996]

Or he wasn't a 🐱

[@j1hn1221]

​@@stephen8996yes, he was a 🦩

[@kh.movement]

Well thank you for the shoutout!

[@LandonTBrock]

KK is the reason I got serious about lifting for strength when I got started 8 years ago. Love the breakdown of this video and his technique. I mimic a fair bit of his methods both in deadlift and in my focus of which muscles I focus on for accessories. It's got me a belted 620 deadlift and a 495 beltless as of this year. So it works. You just have to be prepared for alot of hard work. Side note I've also never hurt my back pulling. Only from an accident at work that was completely unrelated to weights.

[@sebastianbechpetersen858]

Great video! Perfect timing for my situation as well. Like you, 10+ years of lower back injuries. Currently on week 4 of yet another L4/L5 and L5/SI joint injury, where I try to stay active and fine ways to challenge my posterior chain without aggravating my injury or causing pain. What I have noticed this time, is the only movements I feel good with are hip thrusts and 45 hypers with feet turned out and deliberate upper back rounding focusing on glute+ham drive. This kinda hit like a revelation to me, thought of Konstantinovs technique and was like "holy shit, maybe I shold try that style". Searched for KK, found ur vid and here we are!

[@j.n.4977]

Love to see Emanuel Pescari get some attention. He is an insane athlete and i'm hyped to see his progression.

[@jamesrogulski5676]

Simply outstanding. Have your issue w/ low back -- going to train bracing and 90 / 90 breathing. Planks to ab roller, hollow body hold, isometric suitcase holds. I even have a "Zercher Log" (8" diameter x 5' long log with lead plates hanging from the ends of it). I also think that when I set up I'm putting my pelvis in extension -- your descriptions on posture and "not denting the can" are perfect. Using Mark Rippetoe mostly to learn movement patterns, but you and Chris Duffin are it for bracing and seeing past dogma. Thank you, looking forward to pulling 500lbs in about a year (I'm at ~400 now).

[@WilliamsWrestlin]

I decided to pull like KK today with the more kyphotic rounded back and I pulled 610lbs, first time I pulled over 600 lbs in 3 years. Weird thing is that the lockout was the smoothest part and I had another 20 lbs in me. Legit set up

[@DreynHarry]

the thing that amazes most on KKs deadlift is, that he did not rip off his biceps. his back was always in a stable position.

[@michaelanthony4750]

I love these historical deep dives

[@godwavenexus]

I’ve started pulling like this again myself, and it feels way better for me. I don’t have long arms for my height, and I’m very strong in a rounded upper back position.

[@Buchinator12]

Oh the irony in the synergy of two conflicting viewpoints resulting in a sum greater than its parts

[@fica1137]

Thesis and antithesis

[@teiwaztim1482]

no complaints on your channel; i love listening while meal prepping on sundays. would you ever consider covering any olympic weightlifters? not lasha or karlos or any of the other known guys; maybe someone like artem okulov or ruslan nurudinov, guys still training and competing. someone like klokov? rostami? lu xiaojun? we love you here in Appalachia mate. many of the dogbrothers and i listen daily. cheers!

[@thomasreynolds1530]

The KEY here is that KK's back straightens THROUGH the lift. His back doesn't bend in response to the weight---it straightens!

[@basedstruggler3436]

Absolute monster of a lifter, an inspiration to all powerlifters.

[@divicospower9112]

I love how we can see the calves work at 13:20

[@cammackk]

Another guy I've seen perform a variation on this is Justin Lee, dude really gets as much out of upper back rounding as he can.

[@nureddinz]

5:48 Loss of force transfer is bad in things like vertical jumps, but is it really bad in powerlifting?

[@nicodifrancesco5843]

INSANE MATERIAL.

[@Leonidas-eu9bb]

The spine is built to bend, side bend and rotate. This 3D motion is very important for athletism ( running, throwing, punching, swimming). But heavy loads are a whole different thing.

[@geneharrogate6911]

I think Greg Nuckols said when his DL was at its strongest, about 725 and change, he was doing Roman chair situps with a 90lb dumbbell on his chest.

[@983fjiwd32f]

i found that keeping the bar touching my shins prevented back pain, even though i round my back quite a bit

[@alexmc7798]

The thing that is rarely discussed is that he weighed 275-308 across the second half of his training career. Having a midsection like that at circa 300 is different to having a similar proportional midsection at 200-230. Sometimes just getting massively muscular is the answer.

[@zaynmalice7106]

"Maximal poundages" just made its way into my vernacular.

[@Rorschachs_Bloat]

Bromley did include my happy ending, nice.

[@Biglenny-v9r]

Bromley, could you do a video on benefits of tapers vs deloads??

[@5055672439]

There’s a huge difference between deadlifting with a tight mid section and neutral lower back with rounding towards the upper back and shoulders and the deadlifts people do where it looks like they’re being pulled up from a string attached to their L2.

[@Rikullinen]

I would be in shock if after 34 years on this earth id suddenly one day discover i was actually Konstantin Konstantinovs

[@AndronikosVII]

Under extremely heavy loads my back rounds a little bit, but it never feels bad in the least. Of course, this slight rounding is nothing like the camel technique lol. Eric Bugenhagen and many many others allow some rounding on the heavy lifts and haven't been injured. Ultimately probably comes down to each persons specific biomechanics.

[@weid7070]

You're not related to the Boise Bromleys by any chance are you?

[@theghostofjimmcknight4378]

Putting AtlasPowerBottom in a video about KK seems sacrilegious

[@sethreed7213]

I'm bad at neutral spine lifting, I get hurt often. With thoracic curvature I haven't had an injury in several years. To each their own I think

[@Rudi4rius]

can you double check?

[@alexrobinson5114]

For the Motherland

[@beetlejuice4693]

🇷🇺💪

[@kblkbl]

"Heavy lifters often need less volume and lower tonnage" > KK doing deadlift 2x/wk twice over the same session lol

[@AlexanderBromley]

A top set on 2 deadlift variations is pretty low volume and speed deads are more recovery work than anything.

[@iielysiumx5811]

For me personally a slight round in my upper back is optimal, I just pull more weight, faster and with no pain or stress that way. My round is no where near as extreme as KK but it worked great for me personally. I also feel though that you should learn to deadlift properly first before implimenting deliberate rounding, I did this up to about 400 pounds and then used the round to carry me to 500 pounds and beyond

[@dirtygeazer9266]

What a name doesn't say im a brick shit house quite like that name

[@umtluyum]

Hi Alexander, not related with this video but i do have a question. I'm going to try 5-3-1 but there's one thing i dont understand. I'm gonna use it for my Streetlifting training so weighted pull up, dips and squat for 3 days Am I suppose to do every one day each lift or like for week 1, im going to do 3 day every lift first 2 set excatly same just third set AMRAP My English is not very good but I hope I was able to explain my question properly

[@umtluyum]

@Simlatio Thank you very much for your answer. I got the answer as I expected, thank you very much. I am thinking of adding only bicep curl, triceps extension and back extension as accessories. I will be tired because I will go to work and university at the same time, so I don't want to push myself too hard.

[@umtluyum]

@Simlatio This comment answered all the questions I had and didn't have in my mind, thank you very, very much. Finally, I would like to ask this: I will go to work 2 days a week + 1 day online. So I have no time problems in my training. Would you still recommend myoreps or should I do normal straight sets with a good rest. (main goal is strenght)

[@umtluyum]

@Simlatio Thank you very much again. Yes, my work schedule is low (and I work at HR so it is 9 hour just laptop work), but my main problem is that I go to work very early (I get up at 5-6 in the morning), so I don't sleep very well, which affects my regeneration badly and I get nervous that I cannot recover. In fact, the cafeteria of the company I work for is very rich in protein and I can keep my protein intake at an ideal level. So I guess I don't have to worry too much. Your answers were very valuable for me. I currently have +40 kg x 5 chin-ups, 60 kg x 3 dips and 100 kg x 10 Squat PRs. (74kg BW) I want to do 50kg chin-ups (full ROM) 80 kg Dips and 140 kg Squats at the beginning of the year. I will take all of your advice into consideration. I look forward to seeing how I will progress until the new year. 🙏

[@umtluyum]

@Simlatio No matter how much I thank you, it wouldn't be enough. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer all my questions. See you again, my friend, take good care of yourself.

[@Pepecigar]

Sounds like a stupid question but what do i do when my grip fails before my muscles do ? I feel i'm bottlenecked by my grip most of the time while i feel i can do more rep

[@AlexanderBromley]

Wear straps!!!!! If your grip is weak, it's more effective to do holds and other exercises specifically for that than just waiting for it to catch up from crappy deadlift sets. So in the meantime, don't sideline the bigger muscles of your legs and back because of your grip

[@Pepecigar]

Aight I'll do that then, thank you for your fast answer. Have a nice day.

[@GnarStark]

Interesting. I slightly round at the top of my back as well but it never feels like it’s risky. Everything feels tight and safe. Of course maybe I just haven’t gotten injured yet. I’m going to continue to try and correct it if I can but maybe my body shape just is stronger in that position 🤷‍♂️

[@atlaspowershrugged]

Actually, I think the biopsychosocial model is a cop out that appeals to professionals who feel self conscious about not being certain what the cause is. Your back doesn't hurt because of "microagressions" or whatever. It is probably biological in most cases other than hypochondriacs, who you can't help anyway. But that doesn't mean it is fully understood, and my understanding is, that the degree to which the spine can adapt to loaded flexion isn't fully understood scientifically at all. But practically speaking we can see that people with healthy spines at least absolutely can make adaptations in terms of capabilities, whatever that ends up looking like on the inside, and have been doing that throughout history.

[@AlexanderBromley]

It was coincidence your clip ended up there. I didnt know what your actual take was, (or the other guys for that matter), I was painting with a broad brush. Very generally the "round back" advocates overlap with "back injuries are NBD... if not all in your head" crew. But I completely agree. It's that doctor bullshit where, in the face of no clear cause, they relabel their uncertainty to give an affirmative diagnosis. Its the need for authority over accuracy

[@atlaspowershrugged]

@AlexanderBromley understood, but there are definitely some factions in "movement optimism" that I disagree with, movement nihilists, "lift as thou wilst shall be the whole of the law" gym Crowleyites. I align with the "science doesn't understand this, so lets get technical and figure out a set of best practices to do this stuff right in practice" subfaction

[@cheeks7050]

Then why does how much sleep one gets or how stressed one is on a given day affect pain massively? And why are most disk bulges asymptomatic, i.e. pain free? Think dude.

[@AlexanderBromley]

@cheeks7050 pain has a subjective component and not all bulges cause symptoms. Both reasonable and correct statements. But what did you prove there

[@IncompletenessTheorem]

"This is my fucking belt!"

[@Souljaxl]

Never seen someone so effortlessly destroy such a well constructed strawman before. First few minutes where very impressive.

[@purplecircle7413]

How tf did he round the upper back and keep the lower back straight I can’t do it. Feels about as easy to do as trying to wiggle my ear

[@Screenshot1015]

I wish I could deadlift every day but I don’t have the discipline to resist going too heavy to do so

[@MarkWadey]

If it’s under 100 lbs I don’t bend down to pick it up. Rounding the back is the most effective way to lift at work. You don’t have to take the time to bend down.. you save the lower back as it is already exhausted from lifting the super heavy things when you need to bend down an use the legs.

[@BabyKale-b]

I havea question for anyone that has some thoughts. First he looks like a big dude, Im no power lifter, and almost never deadlift. But could the rounding of the upper back be a way to get lower? Maybe this is really a dumb question, but is it possible he doesnt have a lot of mobility, or flexability in other areas. I wonder how mobile/flexible other rounders are.

[@lanidrac]

No, it's a way to get your hips closer to the bar on the start position. Better leverage.

[@BabyKale-b]

@@lanidrac ahh ok thank you

[@lanidrac]

@BabyKale-b no problem 😊

[@likemy]

weighted rollouts? For a guy that big? Insane stuff.

[@kemshasan8866]

good lord I think I gained a back injury watching some of those lifts holy balls 😛

[@DrAJ_LatinAmerica]

Very interesting. Thanks 👍

[@lloyd011721]

i heard the knife fight one, but 45 minutes? what?

[@zedcastillo5758]

3 thumbnail changes in a day

[@Anabolicnerd]

I think I’ll listen to Stu.

[@hianshul07]

This is how I do deadlifts.

[@chasleichner5895]

I know that you are being hyperbolic for the bit, but the biopsychosocial model of pain is very commonly applied to ankles as well. People's understanding of how their healing can progress and how load can be applied at each stage of healing is definitely well known to affect their rehab of all sorts of things. (That wet pop is the "bio" part.)

[@AlexanderBromley]

How? I mean EXACTLY how, not the vague move of stating "x can effect y" then failing to give an actionable follow up or real examples in treatment. I had mine reconstructed with a plate and 12 screws.... it was a big ordeal and the "psycho social" part was nonexistent. So I'm struggling to think of any scenario where it's actually used.... let alone used "commonly"

[@chasleichner5895]

@@AlexanderBromley I'm sorry that your care didn't include those components. Pain neuroscience enducation (PNE) has been a useful tool for patient healing and return to sport in every study that I have read on it, but I don't have a specific one on hand for ankle reconstruction. "An Updated Model of Chronic Ankle Instability" by Jay Hertel and Revay O. Corbett describes the specific ways the biopsychosocial model (amongst other things) inform the diagnosis and treatment of chronic ankle instability. To be more specific, they discuss analyzing the biological factors (joint laxity, joint movement restrictions, osteoarthritis, impared somatosensation), pschophysiological factors (pain), and psychosocial factors (fear of instability, fear of movement and reinjury). These are therefore all areas to assess and work on during rehab. There is more to it, but this comment is getting a bit long. The whole paper is pretty readable though. The paper has received 630 citations since 2019, so it is definitely part of the discussion in the academic side of PT and sports medicine but 2019 is still relatively recent for this approach to saturate rehab practice, but something can be common or well-understood without being completely ubiquitous. (And also PT, like any profession contains people with a variety of skill levels and a variety of interest levels in staying up to date.)

[@AlexanderBromley]

The lines are getting blurred here. The specific difference between the back and other joints that leads me to poke fun is that the back is the only body part where the 'psycho social' factors are used specifically to explain away pain and inflammation. "instability" is a reach; my point is that no one has ever gone in for pain in their ankle, hip, knee, shoulder, etc. and had the practitioners begin with those factors as a potential root cause. Pain might be higher or lower based on those factors, but the assumption is something is mechanistically wrong. Of course pain is subjective and of course managing it can help with rehab. That's not where the controversy is.

[@dustinfrank6129]

Somebody send this to Mark Rippetoe

[@AyubLakhal]

Hi Alexander, do you have by chance a specific contact email? Have a good day!

[@ronbackal]

Seeing Konstantin from the back angle, you don't need hip thrusts to get huge glutes, but boy that's much harder to deadlift 400kg

[@honestlifter]

He is actually rounding his lower back? It seems like all the rounding is in the thoracic region. That is what a lot of lifters do.

[@cheeks7050]

Take that, Glassbacks.

[@Bknorrski]

Heard he does pull ups.

[@scottharrison5734]

Bob peoples pulled with rounded back pulled 725lb 182lb farmer powerlifter natty

[@georgechristofidis7944]

thumbnail title inspired by Telander

[@oORegularKevOo]

Plot twist: he just had kyphosis and was lifting tmwith good technique the whole time.

[@Tanno_Buchino]

Dude looks like Kratos with that body type and face.

[@Lee-ic2yn]

I've never seen anyone with better technique than luke Richardson tbh

[@jp2135744]

KKs low back look pretty nuetral to me. his thoracic spine rounds which is fine.

[@BruhBruh-h1f]

5:32 jumpscare

[@mikemoore2791]

He was doping. Drawing blood and later putting it back in.

[@HenrikSherwood]

Even kardons rounds his back, and the age of the girls he talks to

[@cheeks7050]

It's so dumb to call back rounding a loss of efficiency and force transfer. Force transfers equally well through a round or flat back, and a round one is more efficient because of the shorter moment arm from the hips.

[@Isaiah_McIntosh]

Makes the lockout harder though. There's a balance for the amount of round you'd want for your leverages.

[@AlexanderBromley]

I believe my words were "if you pull up and your back goes down". No, that is the exact definition of loss of force transfer. But that's why I differentiated between starting rounded like KK (and being strong enough to straighten out as you lift) and floppy sponge back pullers who don't think about it

[@HikoSeijuroXIII]

I can't lift with a belt anyhow, it really chafes.

[@Kibblelobston]

And he ain't me 😊

[@David-c3f7m]

I dunno, he just looks like a tall guy deadlifting.

[@azulsimmons1040]

I thought he died doing bodyguard work protecting a client. I guess no one knows for sure. Though if he were protecting a criminal client, that client may not want any word of what happened spread. Who knows. It is unknown. That dude believed in old world masculinity.

[@lanidrac]

I met him in Latvia in 2016 and he told me the bodyguard work had been finished for a bit. I don't believe he was killed in a fight. I think it was health related to be honest. Rip KK. His coaching helped me a lot with deadlift.

[@zaynmalice7106]

I also don't think KK's technique was *that* rounded, his erectors were so thick it's difficult to discern what position he's actually in.

[@AlexanderBromley]

No. No it's not.

[@alexanderchernoshtan9898]

"Konstantinov", no one calls u Bromleys, right?

[@AlexanderBromley]

lol try google

[@alexanderchernoshtan9898]

@@AlexanderBromley aa u made him Latuanian, haha, okay

[@captainobscurity491]

All my homies hate Stu Mcgill