The Deadlift - Last of the Ego Lifts
· Choose a grip that suits you, double over hand or one over, one under.
· Stand with your legs just over shoulder width apart.
· Before you begin, keep your chest up, back tight, don’t arch over.
· Drive cleanly with the legs and back together while keeping your head upright.
· Don’t lean too far back at the top of the movement, this takes the tension off the target muscles.
Very much an all over exercise. Crosses over legs, back, core so some people struggle where to fit it into their routine. Not a fan personally I’ll be honest with you, for me it’s a powerlifting movement and shouldn’t really be used in bodybuilding but a lot of people swear by it and there’s no doubt it does put thickness and size on your back. But my only issue with it is that it brings in too much leg activation which then throws out that side of things, but anyway.
So, the deadlift. Biggest thing with this is lower back form and not driving with your legs. The amount of people you see deadlift put far too much weight on the bar because it is one of those lifts that you can throw a lot of weight at and they end up doing some sort of rounded back, weird, stiff legged deadlift. Really you want to keep the weight lower and practise the form and build that lower back strength up and that mid-section strength up so you can hold the position throughout the movement.
With a deadlift you need to drive cleanly, head up and once the bar starts moving, it’s not a two part movement so it’s not straighten the legs then stand up straight with the bar. Everything needs to be going together and your head sort of leads the way. So usual set up, core position, chest up, lower back tight and then as the movement starts you really need to focus that you don’t drive with the legs and then with the back, you drive with the back and legs together so as your legs are straightening your lower back is straightening.
Now the other thing that a lot of people do with the deadlift is they lean way too far back at the top of the movement. It’s dangerous, it puts your lower back in a really strange position. Lock out is upright, chest up. You don’t need to lean 6-7-8 inch backwards and if anything you’re actually taking the tension and load off your back which is the target muscle with this.
Ok, so stance just over shoulder width apart. Now choice is yours on grip, you can use a double overhand but obviously that’s a weaker style of grip, or you can use opposing grip. If you’re gonna use an opposing grip, make sure you swap it over left to right regular. Bend your legs, drop your arse, chest up, head up and a small arch in the back. Then as you start to drive, keep your back shape intact and drive with your legs and as you come up, stand upright so that as you reach the top of the movement your legs are locked and your back is straight. Then lower slowly under control, and repeat.
It’s that simple, however if your back starts to round and you start to lose back shape then you need to stop because you’re starting to get dangerous and the weight is too much. It may mean you going back to lighter weights and starting again but in time you will be ultimately stronger.
Just be careful with the deadlift, the first thing I prefer to use a double overhand grip and straps for the simple reason that there’s less load on the bicep and if anything the weak link in the deadlift is the bicep of the arm that’s facing forward if you’re using opposing, so just be wary.
Other than that, that’s it, it’s not an overly difficult exercise. A bit similar with the bench press though, when you think about pulling the weight, don’t think about pulling the weight off the ground, think about the weight staying static and driving yourself through the floor.
· Choose a grip that suits you, double over hand or one over, one under.
· Stand with your legs just over shoulder width apart.
· Before you begin, keep your chest up, back tight, don’t arch over.
· Drive cleanly with the legs and back together while keeping your head upright.
· Don’t lean too far back at the top of the movement, this takes the tension off the target muscles.
Very much an all over exercise. Crosses over legs, back, core so some people struggle where to fit it into their routine. Not a fan personally I’ll be honest with you, for me it’s a powerlifting movement and shouldn’t really be used in bodybuilding but a lot of people swear by it and there’s no doubt it does put thickness and size on your back. But my only issue with it is that it brings in too much leg activation which then throws out that side of things, but anyway.
So, the deadlift. Biggest thing with this is lower back form and not driving with your legs. The amount of people you see deadlift put far too much weight on the bar because it is one of those lifts that you can throw a lot of weight at and they end up doing some sort of rounded back, weird, stiff legged deadlift. Really you want to keep the weight lower and practise the form and build that lower back strength up and that mid-section strength up so you can hold the position throughout the movement.
With a deadlift you need to drive cleanly, head up and once the bar starts moving, it’s not a two part movement so it’s not straighten the legs then stand up straight with the bar. Everything needs to be going together and your head sort of leads the way. So usual set up, core position, chest up, lower back tight and then as the movement starts you really need to focus that you don’t drive with the legs and then with the back, you drive with the back and legs together so as your legs are straightening your lower back is straightening.
Now the other thing that a lot of people do with the deadlift is they lean way too far back at the top of the movement. It’s dangerous, it puts your lower back in a really strange position. Lock out is upright, chest up. You don’t need to lean 6-7-8 inch backwards and if anything you’re actually taking the tension and load off your back which is the target muscle with this.
Ok, so stance just over shoulder width apart. Now choice is yours on grip, you can use a double overhand but obviously that’s a weaker style of grip, or you can use opposing grip. If you’re gonna use an opposing grip, make sure you swap it over left to right regular. Bend your legs, drop your arse, chest up, head up and a small arch in the back. Then as you start to drive, keep your back shape intact and drive with your legs and as you come up, stand upright so that as you reach the top of the movement your legs are locked and your back is straight. Then lower slowly under control, and repeat.
It’s that simple, however if your back starts to round and you start to lose back shape then you need to stop because you’re starting to get dangerous and the weight is too much. It may mean you going back to lighter weights and starting again but in time you will be ultimately stronger.
Just be careful with the deadlift, the first thing I prefer to use a double overhand grip and straps for the simple reason that there’s less load on the bicep and if anything the weak link in the deadlift is the bicep of the arm that’s facing forward if you’re using opposing, so just be wary.
Other than that, that’s it, it’s not an overly difficult exercise. A bit similar with the bench press though, when you think about pulling the weight, don’t think about pulling the weight off the ground, think about the weight staying static and driving yourself through the floor.
