After despairing about the ability of our
elected leaders to make even the simplest apparently rational decisions (see
imminent Grexit -or not- and future Brexit) and deepening my understanding of what makes
organizations tick, let’s get back to the one realm of rationality and agency
that remains, where we can keep things resolutely under our control: doing
intelligently programmed exercises with a barbell.
In my latest post on this issue I argued for complementing the all important squats with another staple exercise, for which I gave the basic safety rules: the deadlift. Today, I’ll be reviewing the required equipment and, if that doesn’t take too long, I’ll provide the essential tips to become a better deadlifter.
Regarding the material you use, it is really
simpler than the one needed for squatting, as the bar starts from the floor and
ends in the same place. All you really need is the aforementioned bar, a
helluva lot of plates (again, this move allows to displace an ungodly amount of
weight, so cast iron is the most sensible option here, buying so many pounds in
bumpers can be prohibitively expensive) and a flat, even surface from where to
pull (horse stall mats are a preferred option, as they are rough as hell, can
last a lifetime, are not too expensive, require almost no installation and
absorb the noise nicely).
Now, as to what you should wear, just use some comfy clothing that allows you to bend freely at the hips, and consider the following:
·
Shoes:
the lower the heel the better, as the shorter will be the distance the bar has
to travel between the floor and the lockout position. A lot of lifters deadlift
barefoot, and some specialists (like Andy Bolton) use something disturbingly similar
to ballet slippers. Don’t get me wrong, Andy is a beast and I admire him a lot,
but I wouldn’t be caught dead with what he wore when he broke the barrier of
1,000 pounds for the first time. As with the squat, anything squishy or
compressible at the heel is to be avoided, and Chuck Taylor (or similar rip-offs)
are a frequent choice
·
Belt:
the same recommendations I made for the squat apply: use a wide (same in front
& back), solid, thick powerlifting belt for your heavy lifts, and remember
it works by having something to push the abs into. Many people (me included)
wear it a tad higher to deadlift than to squat. Some people wear it much
higher, almost touching the sternum (so they can adopt a lower hip position to
grab the bar with better leverage). To make things more confusing, in a recent article
at T-Nation my much respected Mark Rippetoe advocated using thinner belts for
deadlifting (3’ wide, instead of the traditional 4’), so they were not so
detrimental to adopt a correct starting position… do not get too carried away
by the details, use the belt you already have and wear it the way you
instinctively find more comfortable (after tightening it I get into
the starting position without actually pulling and stand up again, that
normally adjusts it in the right place)
·
Chalk:
an absolute must. Doesn’t matter how you grab the bar (both hands pronated,
with or without hook grip, mixed grip –one hand pronated and the other
supinated), sweaty palms are a surefire way to loose some kilograms, and miss
lifts you are strong enough to complete. If you have ever been around a
commercial gym you may have noticed that some lifters wear gloves (that
fingerless type that complete noobs and outsiders think actually serve to
identify somebody as a practitioner of the generic sport known as “recreational
lifting”) to improve their grip and avoid the slippage of the bar. Do not be
like them. A true lifter would rather be seen wearing ballet slippers (at least
he could argue he got the idea from none other than Andy Bolton) than
fingerless gloves. The way a lifter avoids the bar from slipping is by
conscientiously training his or her grip, and by using chalk. Not enormous
quantities of chalk, mind you (another sign of noobishness), just enough to
avoid any trace of sweat or grease in the palms. Yes, it will be uncomfortable
at the beginning. Yes, some calluses will form in the base of the fingers and
just below the inner folds (but lifters wear their calluses as badges of honor).
Yes, when doing long, close to the limit sets (specially at the beginning) some
of those calluses will tear, and it will be painful and messy. Just man up (or
woman up) and get on with your life. And consign the gloves to the bottom of
your locker, never to wear them again.
·
Straps:
like with drugs, just say no (for deadlifting, they have their place in an
Olympic lifting oriented routine)
So if you had a little corner of
your house already set up for squatting, nothing prevents you from putting a
couple stall mats in there and start deadlifting. No great technical
difficulties about it, just remember to do what feels natural, start light, keep
the low back flat and do not jerk the far off the floor. Add weight judiciously
but relentlessly, and in no time you will find yourself moving some respectable
numbers. To accelerate the progression, follow these tips:
·
Tip #1 progressive overload: really? Progressive overload
again? Got nothing more exciting and groundbreaking? Nope, this is still the
bread and butter of any program. Add a little bit to the bar each session, and
once you are not able to add more weight, add reps and start waving total volume
and intensity
·
Tip #2 perform full, heavy DL seldom: As Paul Carter frequently says,
the deadlift is a very taxing exercise when done heavy (close to a 1RM) that
can take more than what it gives. It is easy to stop progressing (and even
regress) when going near to a max every day, or even every week, whilst it is a
move that, when done in the range of 70% to 80% admits of a very linear, very
constant improvement. Of course, if you are starting you can add a bit to the
bar every session, as you just become stronger and recover from session to
session and what was previously your 1RM has stopped being so the next time you
grab the bar, but that lovely state of affairs can only last for so long (a
couple months or until approaching 1,5 BW, whichever comes first), and after it
ends it is wiser to go 1RM heavy (or anywhere above 90% of that) once a month,
or even less frequently
·
Tip #3 strengthen the grip: As is commonly said, “the back and
the legs won’t lift what the hands can’t hold on to”. The strongest hamstrings,
glutes and erectors in the world are close to useless if the puny flexors can’t
keep the fingers wrapped around the bar, and the moment they start letting it
go the powerful posterior chain will shut off. Most of the times, the grip is
the weakest link and thus the impediment to keep progressing in the deadlift.
When that is the case, there is no way around it, it has to be strengthened,
even if that means training it separately (a case can be made for actual
deadlifting being the most productive way to strengthen the grip, but if it is
substantially below par it can consistently hamper the ability of the rest of
the body to grow stronger for a long time). There are four ways to get the grip
up to par:
o
Dedicated
grip sessions in the gym, that involve mostly plate pinching and are one of the
most boring things that can be done (but produce great results fast)
o
Dedicated
grip activity outside the gym, mostly with a specific tool designed for that
purpose (“grippers”) which have the advantage of being usable anytime anywhere,
even while you do some other thing at the same time (which has the paradoxical
effect of making it less likely that you will actually ever do it). Its
effectiveness depends on how disciplined you can be about it (hint: most people
are not much), and if you are going to go down that road, I suggest using a
whole set of grippers of increasing resistance (like the very famous “Captains
of Crush”, of which I own a few) so you can apply the same principle of
progressive overload we already know is so useful
o
Farmers’
walks, just grab a pair of heavy implements, from dumbbells to specially
designed farmer’s walk handles, and walk around carrying them until your grip
gives way and they fall to the ground; massage your fingers, curse a bit,
ignore the lacerating pain and repeat. Next day do the same thing, only with a
bit more weight… you get the idea
o
Sneak
some extra grip training in your existing program (in the gym). For example,
hold the last rep of each set of deadlifts for 20-30 extra seconds (or until
the grip gives way) after lockout; hold the top of each chin up or pull up for
an extra 5-10 secs; hold the top of each row… just extend the time under
tension of the flexors in every exercise that requires holding a bar, so the
grip does that extra work and is forced to grow stronger in the process
·
Tip #4 engage the lats: the more efficient pull ends up
being a stronger pull, where more reps are done with more weight. And for the
pull to be more efficient it has to move as vertically as possible. To keep the
bar in a vertical path the lats have to stay in tension during all the pull, as
the tendency of the bar the moment it separates from the floor will be to swing
slightly forward. Think of moving it slightly brushing the shins until it
passes the knees, and resolutely brushing the thighs thereafter. Since the
moment the hands grab the bar, contract the alts hard to create a solid block,
and do not relax them until fully locked out
·
Tip #5 wrap fingers around bar: when you start moving serious
weights, for multiple reps, there is no way around it: the bar is going to hurt
where it presses the hand. Now, accepting that fact, it doesn’t have to hurt
like hell (well, it actually does, but that level of pain should be limited to
AMRAP sets above 80%, and you shouldn’t try to get near there until you are
quite knowledgeable about your own body and your physical and mental limits).
The first step to reduce the discomfort is to learn to properly grab the bar.
As gravity is going to pull it to the nook between the fingers and the palm, rather
than let it get there dragging a big fold of skin underneath, which is what
causes most of the pain, let it sit firmly there before wrapping the fingers
around it, so it starts already in the place it will eventually end (and thus
will not form that excessive skin fold). A doddle may help explain it:
·
Tip #6 activate the glutes: The quadriceps are the main contributors to
take the bar off the floor; the hamstrings then kick in to take it from below
the knees to mid thigh, and the glutes finally complete the lockout, ensuring
the bar goes up those final 1-2 inches that are the most difficult (actually, a
final valid lockout receives a major contribution from the oft neglected
rhomboids in the middle of the back, but the glutes need to have taken it to
the right height before the rhomboids can finish arching the back in position).
Of all those muscle groups, the gluteus enter last, but are the most decisive,
as if they allow for the slightest relaxation they will have a much harder time
completing the lift (as they will a) let some of the power being exerted by the
hammies and quads leak and b) have more difficulties to start contracting at
the right moment, once those have finished their contribution). So remember to
clench them hard since the very beginning, when you take the slack out of the
bar. A little trick that has worked well for me is to turn the knees slightly
outwards just before starting the pull, to have the gluteus medius (and
adductor of the legs) already shortened and tense since the beginning.
·
Tip #7 choose the right assistance
exercises: as we
already said in the 2nd tip, the Deadlift doesn’t lend itself to
frequently maxing. But maxing is one of the most effective tools to speed up
gains. What are we to do if we want those sweet gains to keep coming without
burning up? Hit the supplementary exercises hard, that’s what. Now they are
called supplementary for a reason, as they can not entirely substitute for the
main lift (as it was widely circulated some years ago, how to get better at DL
without actually DL’ing… which was a big piece of BS, of course), but can keep
it improving at a lesser cost. There are two main kinds of assistance for
deadlifting:
o
Stiff
legged Deadlift (SLDL)/ Romanian DL, in which you keep the legs more extended
(you bend less at the knees) and the hip higher, so you essentially take the
quads off the equation and put additional stress on hammies and glutes. As they
have to be done with lesser weight they are less taxing, and can be done for
more reps, and with higher frequency. They are the right solution for lack of
strength off the floor, so if your competition DL’s fail in the first 3-5
inches, that’s what you should do to improve
o
Partial
DL’s/ rack pulls/ block pulls, in which you position the bar higher than normal
(be it in the safeties of a rack, a pair of boxes, or even stacked plates),
which allow for more eight being used but without the most stressful part of
the lift (the initial one) being done. They correct the lack of strength in the
upper part of the lift, so it is the go to solution if you tend to fail
anywhere above the knees. They can be more or less dynamic (to qualify as pulls
they should be followed by some shrug after reaching the lockout position) and
have different range of motion, most coaches agree than for them to have some
transfer to the complete move they should start at least below the knees
(although lifting the bar just a couple of inches with a monstrous weight is a superb
exercise for the grip)
·
Tip #8 keep weight on heels: The most stable position of the human body is achieved when the center
of mass (of the system formed by the body plus the barbell) is right above the
center of the feet (between the balls of the feet and the heel). To ensure the trajectory of the barbell does
not deviate the center of mass from that vertical line, it is helpful to think
in keeping the weight on the heels (not let it drift towards the ball of the
feet or, even worse, towards the toes –the cue of wiggling the toes before
pulling is as helpful here as it was in the squat). As I mentioned in the
safety rules, when you start the pull think of it as pushing the floor away
with the heels rather than lifting the bar with the back and hips, to ensure
the main thrust doesn’t take you off balance (typically by leaning too fast
forward, in some sense what you are trying to do is pull the bar a bit
backwards, towards you –hence the previous tip of engaging the lats, to
counteract the spontaneous tendency to lean too much)
·
Tip #9 look up! Not up to the ceiling, mind you,
just a little higher than what you are doing right now. This will enhance your
back alignment and make it easier to puff out the chest and keep the shoulders
slightly externally rotated so you can pull safely and effectively. Some
lifters (me included, it took me a while to get rid off that bad habit) use to
look slightly down before starting to pull, as if they fear the bar may be in a
wrong position (or may get into one) if they don’t check it visually. Do not
worry, bars loaded w 400 pounds have a tendency not to jump around, and stay
firmly within the hands that move them. Just look ahead (a tad higher than what
is your natural stance, that for most people tends to be a tad too slouching)
and trust mean ol’ mr. gravity (in Rippetoe’s words) to keep the bar in its
place
·
Tip #10 speed is king: this coming from a not very
explosive lifter (remember, my power clean only recently reached a 50% of my
deadlift), who has had his share of utra-slow grinding, bone on bone lifts. The
moment you start actually pulling (not counting the 1-2 seconds you spend
taking the slack off the bar, closing the glottis and bracing the core) commit
100% to the lift and use all your might to take the bar to lockout as fast as
humanly possible. In the words of Donny Shankle, “as if you were ripping off
the head of a goddamn lion”: if you do not pull fast enough and powerfully
enough the lion will keep the head in its shoulders and, being royally pissed
off by the jerk, will probably maul you to death. There are a number of ways to
work on your speed, the most direct is to do power cleans, you just can’t do
them slowly. If power cleans are technically too difficult (there is people
awfully uncoordinated and/ or stiff) I recommend introducing in the program some
speed deads, performed with 50%-60% of the 1RM and with very little rest
between them, and done as fast and explosively as possible. A variant I have
used (which can be very humbling) is standing in front of the bar and try to
perform 20 singles, every half minute on the half minute (so 20 reps in a total
time of 10 minutes). You just look at the clock (or your watch) and when the
hand gets to 25 or 55 you bend, grab the bar, stand up and put it down as
quickly as you can. After 5’ you stand in a puddle of sweat, hands shredded to
pieces, and your weakest link trembling and shaking uncontrollably (so you find
very fast what weakest link may be holding you back). When you reach the 20th
rep you normally faint, but you thank God it’s over
·
Tip #11 don’t overthink it: Dave Tate has a very famous article
on the deadlift that runs something like 10,000 words long, and Mark Rippetoe
devotes almost 90 pages of Starting
Strength to its countless subtleties and nuances. You can endlessly discuss
some aspects (is it better to do it sumo ro conventional? Mixed grip or hook
grip? Roll it a bit towards you before starting the pull or move it from a
complete stop?) but it is truly the most basic of human movements that can be
performed with a barbell. Just grip it & rip it. Repeat enough times as to
engrave the neuromuscular pattern, and progress slowly, as it allows for an
almost infinite progression (it just progresses at a slower and slower pace).
If you do what feels more natural you will do it right 99 out of 100 times. As
long as you don’t attempt foolish jumps in weight (especially when you already
move heavy enough amounts) it is one of the safest movements: if at some point
in the lift you come to the conclusion that you can not complete it, you just
let it go, and it will fall to the floor harmlessly (contrary to what happens
in the squat and the bench press, no part of yourself ever gets in the way of
the falling plates). But (just a suggestion) before letting it go just try a
bit harder, some of my best lifts were completed past the point where I had
almost given up and thought they were beyond salvation…
So there you are, ten plus one tips
to keep you happily deadlifting until you get to that 2,5 BW pull (after which,
of course, you just keep going towards 3 BW). The Deadlift has a primal purity,
a no frills and no bullshit aura around it that makes it extremely attractive for
just gaining strength. It doesn’t do much for your physical appearance, it
would be the most dumbheaded thing to improve your endurance, or your rate of
force development, but if you are looking for some anchor that makes your
training more tilted towards the acquisition and maintenance of brute strength,
few things are more appropriate than deadlifting heavy regularly.
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