DO YOU DEADLIFT?

I’M TALKING ABOUT THE DEADLIFT

Unless you carry the title of power lifter or even if you compete in Olympic weightlifting, you probably ignore what is arguably one of the most important exercises ever practiced. An exercise that is so under-utilized and even more rarely executed correctly. This exercise is one of the best for testing overall strength. I’m not talking squat. I’m not talking the snatch or clean or even the jerk. Although all of these have their own respective pros, con and receive their share of criticisms; I’m not referring to either ... I’m talking the deadlift.

The deadlift, “death-lift”, “deaf-lift” or whatever title you decide it should have; is the lift that I receive the most questions on. Most everyday gym goers are really bias against deadlifts because for some strange reason they were led to believe that the deadlift (like full depth squats) are a danger to your health. It doesn’t take a scientist to know that this probably came about because of numerous reported back problems due to improper execution—not to mention obvious improper loads on the bar.

A LITTLE MORE INSIGHT

The deadlift is when a loaded barbell is picked up off the floor from a “dead” stopped position. It is the third and final lift during a power meet and has been used to train strength athletes for decades. This is why it baffles me that it gets such a bad reputation. Hopefully I’m able to shed a little light on the subject.

There are two common methods to execute the deadlift that are widely used by competitors: conventional or regular-stance and the sumo deadlift—said to have been pioneered in power lifting by Ed Coan; don’t know who he is? Use the Google. Moving on, neither stance is better or worse than the other. You must select the stance which you are most comfortable since there are varying mechanics involved with each stance. A conventional stance requires the feet be no wider than shoulder width apart with the bar placed right over the middle of the foot. The sumo deadlift is performed with the feet wider than shoulder width, like that of a sumo wrestler.

I will mention that a strong conventional stance can most likely transfer into a strong sumo; not vice-versa. You can program your deadlift days to incorporate each type of pull. For instance: You can dedicate each training block or wave to each type of pull or you can alternate pulling conventional and then sumo in-between each rep during a dynamic effort day. Whichever method you choose, you must ensure you’re consistent with each. Furthermore, most variations and exercises used to supplement the deadlift can only be executed from a conventional stance. Thus, being proficient with the conventional stance proves to be very beneficial.

WHERE DO YOU STAND?

Each stance provides its own advantages and disadvantages. However, the largest disadvantage to deadlifting is not deadlifting (wink). Nevertheless, depending on which stance you choose to make you own will depict which muscles act as the primary, secondary, so on and so forth.

Conventional

The conventional stance uses much more of your posterior chain to initiate the pull and throughout the movement (i.e., hamstrings, calves, glutes and lumbar). The lifter will stand with the feet no wider than shoulder width apart and should place the feet so that the bar cuts right through the middle of the foot (or just in front of it). To grab the bar, the lifter will push the hips back and down to create proper knee flexion as they lower themselves towards the bar. NOTE: This action is NOT a bend. Bending at the hips will in most cases leave the hips to high which puts the lifter out of position before the lift has even begun.

The idea is to keep the hips as close to the bar as possible to prevent any undue stress on the lower back. By raising the chest up—and keeping it high—the lifter can get the hips in their proper position. To grip the bar, the hands will be placed just outside the legs. A good rule of thumb for beginners is to have them keep their arms straight down as they bring themselves to the bar. This would ideally be the best position to grip the bar.

Once the bar is in hand there are a few minute yet important things to remember: Keep the shoulder back but not tight, this will aid in keeping the chest up and high. Head position; the head should maintain a neutral position. The head should not be tilted up or down. There are several issues with poor head positioning, however an important one is: by tilting the head up, the lifter will disrupt the natural curve (or arch) of the spine. By tilting the head down, the lifter will inevitably shift their weight forward which will cause the hips to rise, placing stress on the lumbar. Thus, a neutral head position is paramount for preventing issues down the road.

While in this initial position, the lifter will initiate the lift by pulling the head and shoulders back while pushing against the floor with the middle to back half of the feet. The bar should avoid being jerked to begin the lift. Abruptly jerking the bar will put lifter out of position; making the lift much more difficult. After the bar breaks the floor the lifter should begin extending the knees. Once the bar passes the knees, the lifter should begin pushing the hips forward as the lower back extends. Ideally, the knees, hips and back will all lockout at the exact same time.

Try to imagine the opening of an accordion, everything separates in unison. Lastly, think of the deadlift like a teeter-totter; if you put weight on one end, the other end will rise. You want to keep all of you weight behind the bar. If too much of your weight is in front of the bar, the back inevitably round and will place the majority of the load on the lumbar which causes undue stress on the back. Keeping the bar close to the body will help with keeping your weight behind it. The bar should touch or lightly brush the legs throughout the entire movement.

Sumo

The sumo deadlift is extremely similar to the conventional with some exceptions. First, the muscles used in the sump deadlift are primarily the quads and hips. Besides that, every muscle group used in the conventional pull is used in the sumo. However, the sumo can remove the stress from the lower back by placing the majority of the load on the hips. Thus, strong hips are essential with the sump deadlift.

The lifter should approach the bar until the shins are in contact with the bar with the feet rotated outward approximately 30 to 45 degrees. The width of the feet will vary from lifter to lifter. Width ranges go from slightly wider than the shoulders to where the tips of the feet are almost touching the plates. With the arms hanging straight down, the lifter grips the bar very similarly to the conventional stance: pushing the hips back and down, chest up, head neutral and all of the weight behind the bar.

Lifters with short thick trunks tend to benefit more from the sumo stance versus those with longer legs. Also, those with hip mobility limitations may benefit from a wider (sumo) stance. However, if hip strength is in question then that should be developed before attempting heavy loads (i.e., 85 to 95% of 1RM). As mentioned before, lifters should experiment with foot width until the optimal position is discovered.

 Supplements

The exercises that help supplement the deadlift are vast. However, a few of my favorites are:

1.  Good Mornings

2.  Squat

3.  Stiff leg deadlift

4.  Deficit deadlift

5.  Block/Rack Pulls

Mistakes

Common mistakes with the deadlift are:

1.  Being too close to the bar (conventional) or too far away (both sumo and conventional)

2.  Not completely filling the belly with air prior to gripping the bar

3.  Trying to jerk the bar from the floor

4.  Keeping the shoulders relaxed and forward

5.  Knee extension prior to the hips and back

Finally, the deadlift is an extremely functional movement since its techniques can be applied to everyday life through such actions as picking things up from the floor. The muscles that are developed with the deadlift can help stabilize the muscles and joints required for most contact sports. Your deadlift may never be perfect. However, proper attention and the fine tuning of your technique can lead to lead to sustained progress and various long-term benefits.

References:

Groves, B. (2000). Powerlifting: Technique and training for athletic muscular development. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics