Deadlift, Conventional

The conventional deadlift is one of the best exercises for building full body strength. Deadlift are also a great exercise for increasing back strength when performed correctly. The deadlift targets the posterior chain and activates nearly every muscle in the body.

Stand with the feet hip-width apart and the shins lightly touching the bar. Hinge at the hips to take the shoulders slightly forward of the bar before bending the knees and gripping the bar slightly outside shoulder-width. The deadlift is not a squat, in the starting position the hips must be above the horizontal hight off the knees and below the horizontal line of the shoulders. Think about keeping the shoulders slightly forward of the bar and pushing the knees back to find tension in the hamstrings and glutes. The shins should be perpendicular to the floor.

Grip the bar nice and tight and then actively try to snap the bar by twisting the hand into the bar towards the pinky fingers. The eye of the elbow pit should face forward, to lock the arms, and the shoulder blades will natural be depressed. Contract the muscle of the back and feel the tension.

The cervical spine must be in a neutral position to create create the highest strength potential. Do not arch the cervical spine and look up, imagine you are holding a tennis ball under the chin and you are not allowed to drop the tennis ball during the deadlift. Keep the chin tucked.

It is important to keep the barbell nice and close to the body during the deadlift, the bar lightly touches the shins and thighs as it is lifted up and down. The close the bar is to the body the lighter it will feel. Take a nice deep breath in through the nose and deep into the belly, think about pushing the belly out to increase the diameter of the midline and create tension.

From the starting position the torso angle must not change as the bar is lifted off the floor. Think about pushing the floor away and extending the knees to initiate the deadlift. Keep the shoulder slightly forward off the bar and use the lats to pull the bar in towards the body.

Once the bar is about is above the height of the knees, start to extend the hips and stand up straight. Do not lean back. Focus on pushing the feet into the floor and contracting the glute muscles.

From the top positions, take a deep breath in through the nose and deep into the belly. Again, think about pushing the belly out to increase midline tension. Allow the knees to soften so that are just off lock. Hinge at the hips by pushing the butt back and taking the shoulder forward off the bar. Keep the knees off lock, but do not allow them to bend until the bar is below knee height.

Once the bar is below knee heigh, stop hingeing at the hips and start to bent the knees to take the bar to the floor. The shins should be perpendicular to the floor and the angle of the torso should not change as the bar is lowered from knee height to the floor.

When the bar reaches the floor the hips will be above the horizontal height of the knees and below the height of the shoulders, just like they were in the starting position.

At no point should the back round during the deadlift. Allow form to dictate the load and not the other way around. The first rep is often the hardest because the muscles are not preloaded with tension, we must learn to build tension in the body on the first repetition. Try to lift the bar slowly off the floor, do not grip it and rip it. Feel the weight and the tension in the muscles as you slowly increase the force being pushed into the floor. If you feel the back round, do not lift the bar. If you can maintain a flat back as the bar lifts off the floor you can then start to accelerate the speed of the lift.

Perform the prescribed number of receptions at the specified tempo.

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