Deadlift
The Deadlift is an excellent, foundational lift in the weight room. It is also dangerous if done improperly. Use a few different resources to study the lift BEFORE doing it. I have some books and have attended certification classes through USA Weightlifting. There are also some excellent tutorials available on Youtube that can help introduce some important considerations about the lift:
We have images and videos below to help the new athlete consider some of the basic points of the lift.
The Deadlift is a fundamental exercise in weightlifting. As discussed elsewhere, we never jump into heavy lifting without proper warm-ups. At the end of our warm-up routine we will begin to focus on our most challenging lift for the day. With Deadlifts, for example, we’ll lift about 30-50% less weight for the warm-up to make sure our form is on track and our muscles are functioning properly.
Notice her feet are not too far apart - you could place a ruler between her heels. Larger athletes may have a slightly larger base. There are different grips - she is demonstrating a mixed grip. If we use this grip, we actually switch the hands throughout the lift. Notice her hand grip is just outside the legs and the arms are not bothered by the knees / legs.
Notice that her shins are very close to the bar. You want the bar very close (1 inch or less) to your legs throughout the lift. Notice her posture and placement of her legs and buttocks. You can see her chest is flexed in order to keep her posture. Her shoulders are over / beyond the bar. Toes are actually sticking out beyond the bar.
D1a & 1b:
Deadlift
D1a: Deadlift: Keep the bar as close to the body as possible. Keep good posture with the back. Keep chest flexed out (the flexed chest, combined with pushing the hips through / front, will eliminate many of the mistakes that are common with the lift. Push the hips through at the top.
D1b: Deadlift: You want the bar moving straight up and down… not swinging. If you are swinging the weight out / in at all, you are likely in the wrong position to begin with… increasing the chance injury. Once you grab the bar, drop your hips back until your shins are touching the bar (or a couple millimeters away). Start the lift by driving the middle of your foot “through the floor.”
D2a & 2b:
Hex Bar Deadlift with Drop
D2a: Hex Bar Deadlift with Drop: We use this lift weekly (or more) during the season. We lift VERY HEAVY with this exercise, such as sets of 2, 3, 4, or 5 during our workouts.
I’ve written in other parts of our site about analyzing your athletic event and figuring out what type of lift to do to become stronger in your event. Ryan Flaherty (Nike / USA) popularized this lift over the past four years (highlighted on Joe Rogan and Tim Ferris podcasts) and it seems to make sense. Further, our High School athletes are able to figure it out safely and quickly, and it seems to make sense. And yes, our HS athletes outperformed their peers regularly:)
As always - watch Kelsey’s posture, positioning, and from throughout the lift.