Perfect Deadlift: Top 10 Secrets Revealed

Posted on March 6, 2017

Most people have a love-hate relationship with the deadlift. We love it because it builds total-body strength, muscle, and power like no other movement can. And we hate it because a lot can go wrong in the time it takes to pick up the weight from the floor and put it back down again. That’s because the movement requires a team effort from hundreds of muscles, full mobility in your ankles, hips, and upper back, and close attention to your form in order to do it safely and effectively. But these 10 tips can help you master the movement once and for all. Follow them, and your affection for the deadlift will never waver again.

 
​Choose The Right Variation

The benefit: enables you to execute the exercise safely and with proper form, even if you have mobility restrictions. How to do it: Choose from the variations below based on your experience level or body type.
​Beginner: trap bar
The trap bar places less weight on your spine because your center of gravity is inside the bar. Plus, the elevated handles accommodate someone with hip and ankle mobility issues—which is almost every beginner—so you can perform the movement with full range of motion.
Intermediate: sumo
People who are built to squat and bench—short arms and long torsos—should stick to this variation. Your feet will be wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes will be pointed outward, so you don’t have to work so hard to get low. It helps you build the mobility needed to perform a standard deadlift.
​Intermediate: modified conventional
There are few individuals who have the full mobility to get in the proper start position of a standard deadlift. Tweak the lift by elevating the bar on mats or on rack bars. You’ll still reap the benefits of the movement.
Advanced: conventional
Although it’s the most recognized, it’s also the most advanced version of the deadlift. That’s because it causes more stress on your spine since your center of gravity is forward over the bar. It also requires full mobility in every joint. Unless you’ve been successfully deadlifting for years with zero pain, pick one of the earlier versions.

 
​Pay Attention To Your Feet
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The benefit: stops your knees from caving in. This increases your lower-body stability and decreases your risk of knee pain and ligament tears. Your Feet Can Help You Lift More Weight, so make sure they land in the right location.
How to do it: Make as if you’re about to jump as high as you can—but stop before you actually leave the floor. Now look at your feet. This is the position they should be in for the trap bar and conventional deadlifts. For the sumo stance, line up your feet with the rings of the bar—the narrow, smooth surfaces that sit closest to the weight plates. Make sure your toes don’t go out further than those rings.

 
​Place The Bar In The Right Spot On The Floor

The benefit: maximizes your leverage while minimizing the stress on your spine. A proper starting position gives your knees a bit of room to bend when you pull up the bar. However, it doesn’t allow them too much room. If your knees excessively bend, the bar has farther to travel, which is just more work for you. It’ll also ensure that your shoulders are directly over the bar, and not leaning forward. How to do it: Walk your feet under the bar. It should run horizontally across the middle of your feet.

 
​Move Your Hips And Shoulders Together

The benefit: makes your core a solid unit. And since your core is your body’s foundation, the more stable it is, the more power and strength you’ll be able to produce. How to do it: As you initiate the pull, pretend that your hips can’t come up until your shoulders do, and your shoulders can’t come up until your hips do. This will stop your hips from moving first, which weakens your core.

 
​Tuck Your Chin​

The benefit: ensures that the top of your neck doesn’t tilt back as you lift the barbell. When deadlifting, your entire spine—even your neck—should stay in a neutral position (forming an “S” shape). How to do it: Make a double chin and gaze at a spot on the floor that’s 10 to 15 feet in front of you. Continue to stare at that point throughout the entire movement.

 
​Squeeze Your Armpits

The benefit: activates your latissimus dorsi, the largest muscles in your back. This keeps your thoracic spine—or upper back—from rounding and creates tension in your torso so you can recruit more muscle from head to toe. How to do it: Pretend there are oranges in your armpits. Now try to make orange juice by crushing them as hard as you can. Maintain this contraction as you lift the barbell off the floor.

 Try To Break The Bar

The benefit: engages your lats, pulls down shoulder blades, and lifts your chest, providing a ton of tension throughout your upper body. The more tension you create, the more force you can produce. How to do it: Grab the bar. Attempt to break it in half by twisting your left hand in a counter-clockwise motion and your right hand in a clockwise motion. If you do this right, the inside of your elbows should face forward.

Drive Your Feet Through The Floor

The benefit: generates more force, maximizing the amount you can lift. How to do it: In the instant before you pull up the bar, push through the floor with your feet.

Finish Tall And Strong

The benefit: activates your hips and glutes, some of the most powerful muscles in your lower body. How to do it: Thrust your hips into the bar at the top of the move. This will force you to squeeze your glutes so you finish upright. Your butt shouldn’t stick out.

 
​Push Your Butt Back On The Descent

The benefit: decreases the path the bar has to travel. How to do it: Imagine there’s a wall a couple of feet behind you. Now try to touch your butt to it. This forces you to hinge at your hips instead of bending at your knees, reducing the amount of time you need to manage the weight.
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Courtesy:  TONY GENTILCORE
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