The deadlift is often blamed for hurting people's backs across the world. The new fad is to just avoid deadlifting at all or instead of using a regular barbell using a trap bar. The reason the trap bar has become popular is that it is idiot-proof. Now although I agree the trap bar is a safe alternative because the weight is to the side of you there are a few things that I have a problem with. The first being that in the real world when you go to pick something up the weight will be in front of you. The second is for all those coaches and trainers to stop being lazy and teach people how to do it right!
Breaking news the deadlift doesn't hurt your back! The deadlift is one of the most functional movements you can do and it can be used to help strengthen the whole posterior chain. The issue is you are doing it wrong. So instead of giving up on the movement lets take a look at some tips on how to fix it. Here are 3 tips to keep in mind before we go through the technique.
Tips
1. Take weight off the bar: This seems like common sense but far too often people let their ego dictate what weight they use rather than doing the movement right.
2. Slow Down: By slowing down you will be able to focus on doing the movement right. A bonus to this is that it will also make the lightweight you chose to feel tough.
3. Do not do deadlifts in metcons: I am not a huge fan of doing deadlifts for time but if you do choose to do that at least while you are fixing your technique you should keep them out.
Now keeping these in mind here is what you should focus on for technique. The focus here will be first getting your back in a good position and then using the legs to lift. By using the legs you will protect your back and lift more weight!
Technique
1. Start Position: Bar should be over the shoelaces, hips about halfway between knees and hips, back should be set, breath and brace.
2. When you go to initiate the lift thinking about pushing through your feet. Everything should rise together, the bar should stay as close as possible to your body and you should finish with the hips.
3. On the way down hinge at the hips until the bar passes the knees then you can sit into it. The bar should remain over your feet at all times.
4. If you are doing touch and go GENTLY touch the ground and reverse directions. If you are doing a full reset make sure you take the time to get set again.
There you have it the deadlift. Much harder than it looks but if you keep in mind the 3 tips it should allow you to make progress fairly quickly!
Share this with someone who always blames the deadlift for hurting their back!
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