DEADLIFTS To the average gym goer the lift of all pride and bragging rights is the bench press. Within the strength community however there is only one lift that transcends the barriers of the sports, that they all perform on a regular basis. This is the lift that most elite strength coaches agree is the simplest and truest test of pure strength there is to a human. The squat is cited often as being ‘The King of Exercises’, and while this may be true, if the squat is the king of exercises then the Deadlift is most certainly Heir to the throne. The strength sport bragging rights lie with the deadlift. Now before I start to examine and explain the mechanics of the lift there must be a distinction made with the lift. Within the powerlifting community and in the occasional strongman competition we see a variant of the deadlift known as the Sumo deadlift performed. The dynamics of the two lifts have some notable differences so there will be a follow up to this article based around the less popular Sumo deadlift. As with any form of lifting body position is key; it is beneficial to have the most mass and the strongest muscle chains as close to the weight and balance point as possible while allowing a natural path of travel for the bar. Starting at the width of the feet. To locate the optimal position for your own body shape the simplest method of examination is to stand away from the bar and jump in the air as high as possible to a straight legged position (i.e do not pull your knees up). Try this a few times. Before you perform your final jump stop briefly and examine the distance between your feet, this is your optimal position to generate vertical force. You are using this foot placement to propel your body from the ground, to generate enough energy to project your body against the force of gravity. It makes sense that this is your own line of power. The next issue common with the deadlift is the width of the grip. To find this stand with your feet under the bar using the foot position you have found. Let your arms hand naturally at your sides just out of contact with your hips. Keeping this position bend down and examine where this equates to gripping the bar. The optimal width is as close together as possible without your hips, knees or thighs interfering with the movement. Most will find this is with the hands directly under the shoulders. After these two simple things are located the next issue is where do the feet/shins place in terms of proximity to the bar? This is a debated point; some will say your shins should touch the bar, some will say the bar should be over the middle of your feet, some will have the bar slightly towards the front of the foot. Which is correct? None and all at once, the answer is completely dependent upon your shape: Those with shorter femurs will naturally prefer to have their shin closer to the bar, while as an extreme contrast those with long thighs will need to be an inch or two away at the initial set up. The reason for this becomes apparent when the lifter lowers themselves to lift the weight; a short femur will not push the knee too far forward allowing a quick retraction of the joint as the initial drive is started, while the long femur will push the knee forward substantially more resulting in the shin making contact or being very near to making contact with the bar in the initial position. Further debate has been caused from the position of the hips at the start of the set up. As with all technical points relating to bio-mechanics this is dependant upon and individual. The shorter legged lifter will be able to sit their hips lower at the start of the lift to initiate drive. If they do not they will struggle to lift the weight. Those with longer legs will sit their hips much higher and use less drive from the quadriceps to initiate the pull relying more upon the relative length of the posterior chain muscles. There is no correct way! There have been large deadlifters using a variety of techniques, the bottom line is the correct bar path is straight up so you need to examine your own body shape and path of the bar to understand if your position is optimal for you. It is key to ensure your set up is correct and it is also important to examine how you lift. Every lifter needs to make best use of their strongest muscles, but on the same note they also need to strengthen those that are weaker to optimise their ability in the lift. As a general rule: Those with shorter legs; extensive posterior chain work will be required to strengthen the hamstrings, glutes and erector muscles. This includes firing them in the correct sequence as there will be a tendency to try to be quad dominant when lifting. This is not necessarily a bad thing and should break the weight from the floor very well; the comparative weakness in the posterior chain will cause an issue when trying to drive the hips forward to lockout the weight. Ideal supplementation movements: Glute ham raises, Romanian deadlits, Straight leg deadlifts, lunges, hip thrusts and power cleans. Those with longer legs; extensive quadriceps based movements will be required to maximise the use of this muscle in the initial drive, which if mastered correctly will place you in a very comfortable position to lock the weight out with the dominant posterior chain. Ideal supplementation movements: Olympic Squats, Front Squats, Trap Bar deadlifts, Hack Squats and power cleans. You have probably noted power cleans are included in both examples, that is because to perform the movement correctly the sequence of movement is ideal for both lifters, driving from the floor and accelerating firing the posterior chain hard to generate the vertical force. The next thing to look at is the shoulder position during the movement, this remains the same for all lifters as the optimal position to pull from is the same; directly above the weight. The shoulders should stay over the bar until the very last moment of the pull as the hips ‘lock’ themselves the shoulders should be pulled into the neutral position. Please do note that the shoulders should not be drawn back and there should be no excessive lean backwards to emphasise the lockout, both of these actions place extreme unnecessary pressure onto the lower lumbar and the trapezius. If you carefully watch lifters performing this excessive lean you may also note in many cases it unlocks the knee joint and the legs are forced to re bend to maintain the position. Mainlining this correct shoulder position during the pull along with combating the weak areas of your lift will eliminate the commonly seen ‘hitch’ in strongman competitions, something that is not allowed in any powerlifting federation. Regardless of the body shape the sequence of lifting should be the same for the deadlift: Feet and grip set. Hips dropped as appropriate. Back muscles locked tight from the upper back down to the lower back. Initial drive produced from the quads and hamstrings close to where the hamstring and glute tie in just under the buttocks, the hips should not rise faster than the bar. Shoulders stay over the bar. As the bar passes the knees the hips are forcefully driven forwards bringing more of your body closer to the weight. As the hips reach the bar the shoulders and torso are pulled into the upright position. The Knees, hips and shoulders are locked, the body is standing up straight. Lift completed. During the lift imagine a car driving through its gears. Do not try to rip the bar off the ground unless you particularly enjoy having torn biceps, lats and other issues. Rather than being pulled the bar is pushed from the floor using the legs to initiate the movement and then through a combination of continued pushing with the legs, driving the hips forward as the bar clears the knees and the pull of the erector muscles and static stability of the traps and upper back muscles to keep the shoulders in line the bar should be accelerated. The reason I do not advocate the ‘rip’ technique is down to a lack of education around lifting. You can brace yourself against a weight and still fire a lot of force into it; however when lifters try to rip at the bar there is a tendency for the arm to bend as the body dips then rapidly straightens. Applying Hooks law the transition of force from near nothing to the maximum resistance of the deadlift at that speed will be amplified through the bicep tendons; one of the weakest attachments relevant to strength sports. As a better option when you sit the hips down to the relevant position for yourself use the movement to store energy in your hips, pull yourself down to the bar like a spring coiling against the resistance of the bar. This will help to pre load the muscles against the dead weight and ensure movement. Metaphorically think of it like driving and the initial movement of the car; you find the biting point and wait for a slight pull from the car before releasing the hand brake, then you change through the gears to accelerate; this is how you need to view the deadlift. Brace the tension, drive hard and accelerate the bar and finally the fastest movement is your hips driving to get close to the bar as soon as it is possible. I’ve already mentioned many assistance exercises for the hips, hamstrings and quadriceps. Other key focus areas should be the back, this includes upper, middle and lower back. Shrug variants, row variants, pulldowns (closer variants work the relevant muscles more effectively for the deadlift, for complete development and for injury prevention various grips are optimal). Good mornings, reverse hypers and back extensions along with any form of core movement based around stability will also be beneficial.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:42:06 +0000
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