It’s New Years Eve, so I have a resolution for you this year: don’t jerk your deadlift bar off the ground! We’re deadlifting tomorrow so let’s review technique!
Movement: Deadlift
Description: Pick the bar up from the ground to standing with the bar at your waist.
Primary Movement Pattern:
Physical Skills Developed:
Tips, Tricks, and Fun Facts: The deadlift is at the top of the list (along with the squat) of the most important basic functional movements that you can train as a human. The deadlift builds muscle and strength everywhere in the chain from your feet all the way to your hands, especially the hamstrings, glutes, midline, back, and grip.
Any time you pick an object off the ground in real life – you’re deadlifting! That’s one reason why it’s important to learn proper technique and progressively build to heavier weights in the gym – so you’re able to safely lift those objects around the house.
One of the keys to a strong and safe deadlift is “bracing” your midline to keep a neutral spine throughout the lift. Here are the steps:
- Squeeze your glutes to bring pelvis to neutral
- Belly breath in, making stomach go out, NOT chest go up
- Tighten your abs like you are about to be punched in the stomach
Complete those steps and then hold your breath to maintain the brace as you lift the weight. When performing multiple reps in a row, you can repeat those steps at the top (while in the standing position) before lowering the bar into the next rep.
Setup:
– Bar on the ground (mid shin level) above the knot in your shoelaces, grip the bar just outside hip width with straight arms, neutral spine and shoulders slightly forward in front of the bar. Bar should be touching your shins.
Initiation:
– brace midline and slowly press ground away to begin moving the bar upward; keep the bar CLOSE to your legs.
– keep bar close to the body as you stand up, maintaining neutral spine
– reverse the movement to control the bar back to the ground
Common faults:
– losing neutral spine. This is due to lack of bracing, or too much weight; this increases risk of lower back injury! Reduce the weight and practice bracing to keep a flat back.
– setup position with bar too far forward / too much knee bend and shoulders behind the bar. This results in an inefficient bar path out around the knees instead of in a straight vertical line.
– jerking the bar fast off the ground instead of SLOWLY, smoothly pressing the ground away. This pulls you immediately out of position.
Check out our social media for the slow motion video with commentary and have one of our coaches check your technique tomorrow!
Dean