Why should you deadlift?
The deadlift targets every muscle in your body. It is a functional movement that benefits your day-to-day.
Carrying groceries, playing with your children, or doing household chores – you’ll be amazed how improving your deadlift form and strength carries over into all kinds of daily activities.
Deadlift set-up and movement
As with every big lift, the set-up is crucial. Before you even think about lifting the bar off of the floor, consider these points:
Use bumper plates when loading the weight onto the barbell. This will reduce the impact when the weight hits the floor, which is better for joint health.
Stand in the middle of the bar with your midfoot directly underneath.
With an overhand grip, grip the handles outside hip-width apart.
Bend at the knees and hips and pull yourself down so that you can retract (pull back) and depress (push down) your scapula (shoulder blades). Make sure your spine is in a ‘neutral’ position.
While keeping your arms straight, pull tight on the bar so there is no ‘slack’. You should be able to feel the weight of the bar and brace against it. Squeeze your arms against your sides, imagining your holding something tight in your armpits. This should help keep your shoulder blades in place and help activate your lats.
Tense your triceps to keep your arms straight. This is the start and finish position for each rep.
When performing the deadlift movement, first ensure that you have flat-soled shoes. These are better for stability compared to running shoes with a cushioned sole.
Once you have nailed your set-up, you can begin the deadlift movement:
Stand up by pushing your legs into the floor and pushing the hips forward (‘opening up at the hip crease’).
While keeping the spine locked in a neutral position, focus on pushing through the centre of your feet. When upright, do not lock out your knees – keep them slightly bent.
Return to the start position by bending at the knee and at the hip. Avoid bouncing the weight onto the floor.
Repeat for the desired number of reps.
Now that you understand the basics of a good deadlift set-up and movement, here are 12 tips to help maximise and perfect your deadlift form.
1. Centre the bar before you deadlift
To achieve your biggest deadlift, the bar must stay close to the body and travel the shortest distance possible.
This means that any deviation of the bar from the centre line will result in less weight lifted. To achieve this, the barbell should go through the centre of the foot on set up.
The mistake most people make is that they put the bar in the middle of the forefoot rather than the middle of the whole foot. It should bisect the arches of the feet. When set up correctly, your shins will be very close to the bar, perhaps only an inch or two away before you bend to grab it.
2. Improve your grip before you deadlift
One weak link in the chain will halt progress, and that link is often grip. The stronger your grip, the stronger your lift will be. Your nervous system won’t recruit the maximum amount of muscle mass if you are unsure of your grip.
A quick way to assess if your grip might be the limiting factor for your deadlift is to use lifting straps. Try using straps on a weight you’ve previously failed to lift. If it goes up easy, you know that it wasn’t your total strength that was lacking; it was your grip.
