Deadlift Technique

I decided to throw a few thoughts up on deadlift technique as I have facepalmed so many times as a result of many peoples' attitudes to it...

"The deadlift is the number one technique lift. If you don’t have technique in the deadlift, you just can’t muscle it up"

Ed Coan

This illustrates what I'm getting at. People go on all day about squat and bench technique. When was the last time you heard someone really talk about deadlift technique? It seems the attitude of most people is that you just pick it up. Not so simple. Try a 1RM deadlift with the bar starting 6 inches in front of you or with your arms bent. See what I mean?

I'm gonna run through a few pointers on deadlift set up. It may help some people, but it should also act as a refresher for myself and also allow me to vent a little :)

I'm gonna address conventional deadlift as I know very little about sumo pulling and conventional pulling is just 1000x times cooler anyways. Quite frankly, a well performed conventional pull just looks sharp and stylish. You will know one when you see one. A bad one will almost bring tears to your eyes

There's only two guys who make sumo pulling look good. Malanichev and Belyaev...

Many of the points I'll go on  about should still be applicable anyways.

First off - stance. Conventional stance I take around about shoulder width apart. If you are using a proper deadlift bar there will be no knurling in the centre. This is so it doesn't get caught on your thighs. It can also give you a decent idea of where you should be setting up for the path of least resistance. Don't roll onto your toes at the start of a pull, likewise don't roll back on your heels at the end of a pull. Distribute your weight evenly across your feet. The bar should be against your shins when you pull. Bleeding shins are to be expected. The closer the bar is to you the safer your lower back is

Gripping the bar - I use a mixed grip. My stronger hand goes underhand and my weaker hand goes overhand. I have started mixing this up during my warm ups and speed sets but on heavy sets and comp it is always right under left over. Grip should not be excessively wide or excessively narrow. Wide = more biceps tears. Narrow = getting in the way of yourself. We want the most efficient pull here so get the grip in as close as is comfortable. Grip the bar hard

Arch your lower back - arch your lower back like you would with a squat. Keeping your lower back arch is key to avoiding injury. Once this goes you're in an extremely vulnerable position. IMO you should be holding your arch whenever you are performing all accessory movements and they should be designed in such a way to strengthen this arch. (Reverse hypers are an exception)

Upper back position - bone of contention for some people. In an ideal world it should probably be in a straight neutral position. But this isn't an ideal world. Personally I know I pull with my upper back slightly rounded, but tight. Big pullers like Konstatinovs and Tom Martin do this so I don't see too much wrong with it. As long as you have the strength to finish through at the top of the pull and you keep your chest proud it shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Taking your air - again take your air like you would a squat. Something a lot of people do wrong. When you take a big breath you breath into your abdomen, NOT your chest. This means that you shouldn't be shrugging your shoulders up, raising your chest excessively or making a huge noise when you take your air. A good breath into the abdomen will not need to sound loud and your abdomen should expand for a period before your chest begins to and your shoulders have absolutely no need to be moving upwards. Your diaphragm moves down when you breathe in, shrugging your shoulders just counteracts this. Breathing into your abdomen will help brace your lumbar spine. I have also heard complete idiot "personal trainers" advising people to tighten their abs by trying to pull their belly button towards their spine. WTF. What the actual... This is completely counterintuitive. Don't do it.

Belts and breathing - breathe as described above. Your belt should be tight enough that you can slide your hand between it and yourself. When you take a good breath it should then be snug against your abdomen. I don't recommend putting on a belt as tight as possible. How will you breathe in and contract your abs then? Pulling with a belt choking you is asking for an injury

Lats - lats should be tight when you engage with the pull. As you are warming up you should almost be able to screw the bar off the ground with a mixed grip purely by engagement of your lats.

Hip position - this is all about economy of movement so don't keep your hips low if you are only gonna shift them up before you initiate your force on the bar. I see this commonly with olympic lifters trying deadlifting. These guys have phenomenal weightlifting technique, don't get me wrong; but they tend to squat into a deadlift, begin to stand up and don't move the bar until their hips are well on the way up. There are few people that are built to almost begin their deadlift with an efficient hack squat type movement. I'd recommend not pulling like that. When you move your hips the bar should be moving IMO. This is something I have worked on a whole lot over the last few years and my pull has benefited as a result. At the top of the pull focus on tightening your glutes and forcing your hips forward.

Chin - yes, chin. The deadlift is a whole body movement :p Keep your chin down

Arms - keep your arms straight. Pulls have resulted in many unfortunate biceps tears. Just ALWAYS think arms straight. Even on warm ups. Biceps are small muscles and tear easily.

Knees - knees should not come together or swing out. They should be neutral and extend at the top (obviously). Also - do not let your knees drift over the bar. If you pull like this your timing will be sucky and your deadlift fugly.

Hyperextension - do not hyperextend at the top of a deadlift. Totally unnecessary and risks injury.

Shrugging the bar at the top - do not do this. It's a deadlift, not a deadshrug and you will only look stupid

Speed - speed kills on the deadlift. Train to be fast, but don't jerk at the bar and let your technique fall to pieces.

Engage the bar -you should feel everything engage just before you pull. Hamstrings, glutes, forearms, lats etc Everything should be tight and ready to go

Timing - timing is everything on the deadlift. Like I said, a conventional pull should look sharp, fluid and stylish. Your body should not be horribly unfurling like some sort of mangled millipede. There's not much I can say about timing really. Well there is, but it would be really wordy. If you're concerned about it an experienced lifter should spot it a mile off, because your deadlift will look damn awful. They should be able to help you address it

A sexy conventional pull...

Lovely timing and smooth movement despite the astronomical amount of weight

Equipment in the deadlift

- Belt - yes

- Deadlift suit - yes

- Straps - yes if you are a strongman, no if not

- Wrist wraps - no. No need

- Knee wraps - no. They will get in the way

Thanks for reading. There is a good chance I will update this with more guff as it comes to me