The deadlift - all you need to know

[SPORT SCIENTIST]

Fact. The deadlift should be done by every man who has a healthy back. It is the king of back exercises, working the entire backside from your glutes up to your neck. It is the surest route to overall back thickness. The lift also stresses the hips, abdominals and legs, as well as working the grip, forearms and biceps. Akin to the squat, the deadlift stimulates size and strength gains that carries over to a growth response in other areas too. Due to the heavy weight, and intense nature of the lift, testosterone and growth hormone is significantly elevated following training. The deadlift builds more useable strength and muscle than any other movement. It is an explosive fluid movement.
Two styles exist; conventional and sumo, which although similar, have different biomechanics.

CONVENTIONAL STANCE (set up)
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, or slightly narrower. The feet should be as far forward as possible, without the shoulders hanging over the bar. Keep the head elevated and look forward and slightly up wards. Keep the shoulders back, albeit slightly rounded (this decreases the distance that the bar needs to be pulled). The bar should be gripped tightly, with a suppinated grip (one hand under, one hand over)


SUMO STANCE (set up)
Stand with the feet placed much wider; up to twice shoulder width (an extreme).
Point the toe outwards up to a limit of 160º. Note – the bar travels 25-40% less than in conventional stance, as the hip angle is about 12º greater and the knee angle 13º. As the trunk is closer to vertical there is less stress on the spine. Some people find that they are stronger using this technique - Ed coan, the best pound for pound deadlifter uses this method
AMAZING FEAT:
Ed Coan sumo deadlifting 832lbs at a weight of 220lbs


OTHER DIFFERENCES: In the conventional deadlift, the lifter pushes straight down with the feet. In the sumo stance, the knees are pushed over the toes (avoids stress to the knee, and engages the larger muscles of the hips earlier)

PHASES OF LIFT:

SET UP (SEE ABOVE)

FILL ABDOMINAL CAVITY – Inhale and push the air down, so as not to fill the chest. This prevents the shoulders from elevating and increasing the distance the bar must travel

INITIATING THE LIFT – Extend the knees and hip joints together, with the knee extending, as a result of the contraction of the quadriceps, moving slightly back during extension. The hip joint extends after the contraction of the glutes and hamstrings. The entire hamstring is active during the lift, with semitendinosos and semimembranosus recruited to extend the hip PULL (past the knees) This portion sees the bar travel past the knees and up to the thighs.
The knees should remain firm when straightening and not rebend. Do not pull the torso back; just push the hips forward to complete the lift. This shifts some of the stress to the larger hip muscles and glutes. Pull the shoulders back at the top of the lift.

PULL (TO THE KNEES) The bar is simultaneously pulled into the body and upwards, preventing forward rotation and a fall. This creates a stable centre of gravity. Feet placement also affects the centre of gravity, too far forward and the shins are too close to the bar, causing the bar to be pulled around the knees not past them. – Arm lever distance and torque is reduced.
The upper back and shoulders undergo isometric contraction in this phase, in order to stabilize the position of the bar. The biceps and forearms contract isometrically so as to stabilize the elbow joint. The lower back contracts bringing the spine into an erect position. In the conventional stance, you must incline the torso much more than sumo stance in order to reduce stress on the lumbar vertebrae.


It is an explosive fluid movement, with two styles exist; conventional and sumo, which although similar, have different biomechanics.


CONVENTIONAL STANCE (set up)
Stand with feet shoulder width apart, or slightly narrower. The feet should be as far forward as possible, without the shoulders hanging over the bar. Keep the head elevated and look forward and slightly upwards. Keep the shoulders back, albeit slightly rounded (this decreases the distance that the bar needs to be pulled). The bar should be gripped tightly, with a suppinated grip (one hand under, one hand over)


INCREDIBLE FEAT

Ronnie Coleman deadlifted 805lbs (conventional stance), note Ronnie is a bodybuilder with awesome strength. He did 2 reps with this weight, and that was after 3 sets of bent over rows with 405 lbs and 3 sets of T-bar rows with 540lbs!! This is incredible, considering the record is 933lbs and that he does not train primarily for strength. Concievably, he could break the 1000lb mark, if he trained specifically for this lift.

"Aint' nothin' but a peanut, light weight baby!"

 

[blut wump]

Could someone please explain why the odd grip of one hand under and one hand over? I find myself more comfortable with a double-overhand.

 

[SPORT SCIENTIST]

Could someone please explain why the odd grip of one hand under and one hand over? I find myself more comfortable with a double-overhand.

For me personally, and for every serious powerlifter, it vastly improves the grip. I would say that most go for the left hand over right hand under, although I personally am much stronger on left hand under right hand over. It stops the bar slipping out of your fingers, so maybe you have strong fingers. How much weight are you lifting?
Once you reach serious poundages, the grip is essential. Perhaps, it is the fact that you have always trained this way, and as such have a specific muscular adaption from the overhand grip. On the otherhand, it may also be a sign that your pronator teres, brachioradialis, flexor carpi radialis and palmaris longus (active in the palm up area of the forearms) need work.
Also, purely from the way the exercise feels, it is apparent to me that palm up engages the lats more.

 

[blut wump]

I'm new to the deadlift due to a long-term back problem causing me to avoid the lift and only started doing it at the start of January. I lifted 150Kg (330lbs) last Wednesday in conventional stance but haven't tried for a 1RM yet as I'm still feeling my way into it.

I was failing miserably a couple of weeks ago using the supinated grip at 110Kg and tried the double-overhand and the weight flew up. I'll re-examine my form and try again using the preferred grip and try to be more aware of what is failing. It could have been my mind being scared of the weight.
Thanks.

 

[SPORT SCIENTIST]

I'm new to the deadlift due to a long-term back problem causing me to avoid the lift and only started doing it at the start of January. I lifted 150Kg (330lbs) last Wednesday in conventional stance but haven't tried for a 1RM yet as I'm still feeling my way into it.

That's not bad considering your just starting. Have you tried sumo stance? I myself am stronger with the conventional stance, but when I was recovering from a back problem, I used sumo stance, as you don't have to bend your back as far forward, with less stress on the lumbar area. I got pretty strong on that lift (although I've switched back to conventional since since).
Perhaps, if tou have a history of back problems, you should consider sumo. You won't be as strong at first, but the poundages will come easily.

Tip - When I was recovering from a back problem, I upped my reps to 15 using light weight. I added weight every week, and decresed the reps by 1 every week until I was back to the 3-5 reps I was doing before. I actually gained strength this way (and improved my technique), and it translated into the conventional deadlift as well. It might be a good idea to do this, as the light weight high rep - to high weight low rep progression , improves your lifting technique.

Perhaps you should do some extra forearm/grip exercises. My personal favourites are:

1. Gripping a plates between your fingers and thumb - try for 1minute hold before increasing weight
2. Chin up bar hangs - hang from the chin up bar (one arm over, one arm under if you like) for as long as possible. Go for a record every time and ignore the PAIN!
3. Falmer's walk - take a heavy pair of dumbells and walk up and down the gym

One other thing, do you have wrist straps? - your grip will limit the amount of weight you can lift - you really need to concentrate a lot on grip work (I do a some every 2-3 days)
If you have'nt got wrist straps, take some toilet paper/tissue and wrap it round the bar (molding it into a suitable shape for your hands to grip) - this wil make gripping the bar very easy. I used to do this, before I improved my grip strength, it makes a HUGE difference

 

[DieselGunz]

Great post, I do deadz all the time but lately the weight has been getting the best of my back so it has been bothering me. I am going to take a couple weeks off to get right again then look out!

 

[BlondBomber]

Deadlifts-all you need to know.
1. Heavy GM's=huge deadlifts

 

[blut wump]

I'm new to the deadlift due to a long-term back problem causing me to avoid the lift and only started doing it at the start of January. I lifted 150Kg (330lbs) last Wednesday in conventional stance but haven't tried for a 1RM yet as I'm still feeling my way into it.

That's not bad considering your just starting. Have you tried sumo stance? I myself am stronger with the conventional stance, but when I was recovering from a back problem, I used sumo stance, as you don't have to bend your back as far forward, with less stress on the lumbar area. I got pretty strong on that lift (although I've switched back to conventional since since).
Perhaps, if tou have a history of back problems, you should consider sumo. You won't be as strong at first, but the poundages will come easily.

Tip - When I was recovering from a back problem, I upped my reps to 15 using light weight. I added weight every week, and decresed the reps by 1 every week until I was back to the 3-5 reps I was doing before. I actually gained strength this way (and improved my technique), and it translated into the conventional deadlift as well. It might be a good idea to do this, as the light weight high rep - to high weight low rep progression , improves your lifting technique.

Perhaps you should do some extra forearm/grip exercises. My personal favourites are:

1. Gripping a plates between your fingers and thumb - try for 1minute hold before increasing weight
2. Chin up bar hangs - hang from the chin up bar (one arm over, one arm under if you like) for as long as possible. Go for a record every time and ignore the PAIN!
3. Falmer's walk - take a heavy pair of dumbells and walk up and down the gym

One other thing, do you have wrist straps? - your grip will limit the amount of weight you can lift - you really need to concentrate a lot on grip work (I do a some every 2-3 days)
If you have'nt got wrist straps, take some toilet paper/tissue and wrap it round the bar (molding it into a suitable shape for your hands to grip) - this wil make gripping the bar very easy. I used to do this, before I improved my grip strength, it makes a HUGE difference

I did try Sumo style and found it was more comfortable but, after a discussion on here with madcow2, I decided to stick with conventional style and, maybe, use sumo on those days when I do hack squats rather than normal squats for whatever reason. The consensus was that conventional stye was a superior way of hitting the chain of muscles involved and should, ultimately, lead to greater strength.

I decided to spend a few months concentrating on my core strength and have introduced bent barbell rows and deadlifts to my workouts for that purpose. I'm following a modified 5x5 routine posted here by madcow. I've also decided to forego using my belt for a while so that it doesn't become a crutch for my core.

You are right about the grip: after the first three working sets of deadlifts I've had no choice but to use wrist-straps these past two weeks. I've not been resetting the bar back on the ground between reps during my sets so this hasn't been a problem so far. I've seen guys at the gym dropping the bar to the ground between reps from the last three or four inches and this isn't an option if one is using straps. I'm now hitting the 3x3 phase of the routine so hope not to need straps again for a while.

Thanks for the tips on training grip. I especially like the idea of using a supinated grip while hanging. It seems like a risk-free way of aclimatising myself to the differences.

 

[suk1978]

i dont know about your gym facilities, but i used ot do deadlifts off the concrete and carpeted floor. used ot find it really hard until i started training with the pl crew. they train off a platform and rubber mats and bigger plates 25kg. found it so much easier, i went from a max of 110kg to 120kg for 3 in one session. my pb is even better now. but if i go back to the concrete and carpet it really fucking hurts. maybe something ot do with the way the wieght disperses on your feet or soemthing.
anyone else notice this? all the guys at the gym say the same