Want to maximize the efficiency of your deadlift? I mean who doesn’t!? For a lift that seems so simple, pick up the weight and put it down, there is an ocean of information on how to perform the deadlift. I am going to break it down into the “table stakes” items. If you follow these “rules”, your form will be on point and you will pull better and stronger over time.
Step 1 – Foot Placement and Stance
If you are pulling with a conventional stance (hands outside the legs), the bar will be right in the middle of your foot. Don’t roll it or move it. This is where you live now. Find that spot and stay there! How wide your feet are apart will vary, but a good rule of thumb is just inside shoulder width. If you were to plant your feet and jump straight up, that’s the same place you want your feet for a deadlift. It’s where you will create the most power with your legs.
For Sumo stance (hands inside legs), you still want the bar in the middle of you feet, however your feet will be angled out slightly making a V shape. How wide you go here is really personal preference. Play around with the width to find where you feel the most comfortable. A little wider than shoulder width is a good place to start. The wider you go, the lower the range of motion but also the more difficult it is to generate force off the ground with your legs.
Step 2 – Shoulders Higher Than Hips
This is where most people screw up the deadlift. It’s not a squat so you don’t need to get super low. Find the spot where you grab the bar, push your hips back and you where your shoulders are just above your hips. This will eliminate wasted motion from being to low and keep you tight for your pull. Unlike the Olympic movements that require to get your ass down super low, the deadlift should be started with your hips as high as possible while still being lower than your shoulders.
You run into issues when your hips “shoot up”, starting from a higher position will eliminate this common error and give you more stability and control. Grab you phone and record your deadlift setup from the side and you will easily be able to see when your shoulders are higher than your hips. This will give you a good reference point to start fine tuning from.
Step 3 – Pull the Slack Out
When you deadlift, everything should be tight and flexed. The weak link is the tiny space in between the bar and the collar of the weight plates. Once you are in position, pull up until you feel the bar push up into the weight plates. This is usually followed by a “tink” sound of the metal touching. By doing this your creating tension and eliminating wasted movement right before you start the pull. This also helps people break out fo the habit of “jerking” the bar up. I prefer to pull the bar and the slack out before I set my position. I use the bar to “pull” myself down into position. This helps maintain that tightness in my body and leave no slack in the bar.
Dats it man! Those 3 things done every single time will help ensure that you’re setup for your deadlift properly. Practice your setup with lighter weights over and over again. Repetition will help to build the correct neural pathways which lead to you not even thinking about this stuff once you have done it enough.
Comments