Deadlift is one of the most functional exercise. It is a movement that we use daily, when ever you are picking something up you want to make sure you are doing it with proper technique. So you decrease the chances of you throwing out your back.
The Deadlift Targets all these muscles when done correctly:
Gluteus Maximus: (Butt)
Quadriceps: (Upper Front legs)
Adductor Magnus: (Inner Thigh)
Soleus: (the Smaller part of your calf muscle)
Hamstrings: (Upper back of legs)
Gastrocnemius: (the bigger part of your calf muscle)
Erector Spinae: (lower back)
Trapezius, upper: (upper neck muscles)
Trapezius, middle: (middle neck muscles)
Levator Scapulae: (the muscle from your jaw to your shoulder)
Rhomboids: (upper inner back muscles right below your neck)
Rectus Abdominis: (abs)
Obliques: (side abs)
So you can see why its such a great exercise to jump start muscle growth.
Body Prep
You want to make sure you are activating your muscles before your start the deadlift. You want to move your body in the same movement pattern you'll be doing while deadlifting.
- So start of by placing your hands on your thighs and slide them down to the level of your knees by doing nothing but hip hinging.
- Once you get to the level of the knees focusing on maintaining your low back posture as you let you hand drop straight down by bending nothing but the knees.
- Then work on getting back up to the knees to feel that leg press movement
- Then driving through with nothing but the hips
- So the movement goes
- Hip Hinge to the level of the knees
- Drop the arms down bend the knees
- Push through the knees
- Hip Hinge and finish through extension (finish tall)
(use this movement pattern till you fell comfortable to start lifting the bar)
The Approach Feet & Hand Placement
Two questions you want to ask yourself
1. How far under the bar are you feet going to go?
2. How far apart should your feet be?
1. You want to just see your laces on the other side of the bar ( about 1 Inch away from your shine)
2. The width of your feet should be the width of your hip.
Grips (3 option)
- double over hand grip (Helps you with your grip and forces you to stabilize the bar)
- Mix grip (One under One over /similar to how you would grab a baseball bat ) Helps stabilize the bar, but could lead to imbalances.
- Hook Grip (very Uncomfortable grip...build up to this ) ( wrap thumbs around bar then wrap finger around thumb) (advance movement)
Hand Width
- Have your hands just outside of those hip width feet (about a inch) you want enough space beaches you don't want your arms dragging up you legs
- You also don't want your arms to prevent your legs from push out (as your pushing up) which will add a lot of tension on your biceps.
The Setup (At Bottom)
- Drive your chest forward (up and Out)
- Drive your hips downs
- You want the position of you low back to be flat not round
The Push
- The deadlift has to start with a push of your legs off the ground until the hand are at the level of your knee (Now remember back to the warmup when your at the bottom how you pushed up to your knee)
- Your doing a standing leg press straight to your knees (from the bar to the knee) (push your legs into the ground as hard as you possible can)
- 1st MOVE IS PUSH
you want to make sure the bar is dragging up your shine the entire time
- Once you get to the level of your knees you want to drive your hips through
- Keeping the bar dragging on your quads
On The Way Down
- You want to reverse the motion
- Hip hinge hip hinge hip hinge to the level of the knee
- then straight knee bend (which will take the bar to the ground)
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