Hi! Now that we all have a fair idea of what is Crossfit? Let’s focus on one of the 9 Foundational Movement’s i.e. Deadlift. Now why Deadlift? This is one of my favourite foundational movement. Since, not everyone is able to get the right form to perform a deadlift, I would like to share my experience. When I was new to this world of Crossfit I had this fear of the deadlift, but this important lift is one of the best for building total-body strength, size, and athleticism.
I consider the barbell deadlift one of the best damned exercises around, period. Whether you want to build muscle, burn fat, increase athleticism, or focus purely on gaining strength, I’d say it’s the one movement every lifter must do.
The trouble is, since I was new to the iron I didn’t know how to approach this beneficial barbell lift and use it effectively. Well, I considered my trouble solved! I’ve been guided by my trainer Siddharth Shah very efficiently, was deadlifting like a pro before I knew it.
WHY DEADLIFT?
It’s always important to start with a Why? Because having a good reason for doing something makes planning easier.
So, why deadlift? Quite simply, the deadlift is one of the most effective exercises for developing the pure strength that’s a precursor to bodily size and athleticism. Since it’s a full-body exercise that recruits a lot of muscle mass, the deadlift also builds total-body muscle.
It’s also one of the few exercises that directly targets the hamstrings, a group of muscles often neglected in the weight room.
The deadlift also improves posture.
In short, deadlifting will support your aesthetic goals, help you build better posture, correct various strength imbalances, help you build total strength, and turn you into a total gym badass. After all, there’s nothing quite like ripping heavy weight from the ground.
Now, you’re probably eager to practice deadlifting in the gym, but hang on a moment. I often work with lifters who want to rocket headfirst into a movement, when in reality it’s important to pump the breaks and master the basics first.
START WITH THE HIP HINGE
The conventional deadlift is a heavily loaded iteration of the hip hinge, which is a basic human movement pattern. The hip hinge is exactly what it sounds like: hinging at the hips. It’s not sitting down, but more like sitting back. The movement comes from your hips, not your knees. It’s like a horizontal thrust; your butt goes back as you sit back, and then you fire it forward as you stand up.
BUTT TO WALL WITH PVC When you perform a good hip hinge, you maintain a neutral spine while loading the hips and
posterior chain, or the muscles along the backside. To try hinging, stand near a wall facing out, softly bend at the knees, don’t arch your lower back, and sit back by hinging at the hips until your butt touches the wall.
Learning to hinge before stepping up to a barbell enhances safety while promoting strength and longevity, so learn to hinge well before you deadlift!
WHEN TO DEADLIFT?
Before we dive into how to deadlift, let’s talk when so you don’t pull the bar willy-nilly and interrupt your other training goals.
Deadlifting requires the body to pay a heavy tax—the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system each contribute. Since the deadlift can drain the nervous system, it’s best for a beginner to train it at the beginning of a workout. A fresh nervous system means productive reps, because the body more efficiently learns movement and better form is attainable. It’s also safer. As fatigue builds, form declines and the potential for injury increases. It’s best to plan deadlift training for the time period directly following your warm-up.
WHAT TO DEADLIFT?
One more step before we talk how, which is what—as in, sets and reps.
I believe the deadlift thrives in the 1-6 rep range. Fatigue sullies form, and a good, productive lift becomes one rep away from a nagging injury. Deadlifts are great for building strength, so keep them in the rep ranges that do so.
Keep the total reps of working sets under 30 and reduce the number of reps performed as you increase intensity. For example, 5 sets of 3 rep max (Rest time of 3 mins between each set). Do a few non-fatiguing warm-ups to work up to your first training weight. Then, you can either continue to increase weight for each subsequent set, or keep the same weight throughout your sets.
Training intensity, or the weight you use relative to your max strength for one rep on the lift, depends on skill. Newbies, should keep the intensity low to moderate: around 50-60 percent 1RM. As skill improves, you’ll add more plates to the bar, but at the beginning, keep the reps relatively light and crisp. No grinding, and no form breakdown.
HOW TO DEADLIFT?
Every time you deadlift, you should be totally focused on good form. Good form’s main purpose is no secret: It reduces injury risk. The risk is never completely eliminated, but good deadlift form distributes the lift’s stress evenly across tissues rather than placing a destructive load on a specific area—the lower back, for example.
“WHEN YOU LIFT WITH GOOD FORM, THE BAR FOLLOWS A PATH THAT ALLOWS FOR EFFICIENT USE OF THE LEGS, HIPS, AND BACK.”
Secondary to limiting injury risk, good form also boosts performance: The right muscles work at the right times to crane the bar from the floor to the lockout position.
What does good deadlift form look like? Your feet should be spaced hip-width apart with your grip just outside your legs. Your back should be flat—neutral spine—from start to finish. The bar should remain in contact with your legs for the entire range of motion. Your hips and knees should move in concert to transfer the bar from the ground to an upper-thigh, locked position.
If you can’t maintain a flat back when setting up to deadlift from the floor, don’t deadlift from the floor! There’s no rule that says you have to. Elevate the bar on squat-rack pins or jerk boxes to a position in which you can flatten your spine. This wonderful deadlift variation is called a “rack pull,” and it’s especially good for those with mobility issues that limit their deadlifting range of motion.
Since many beginners have mobility issues, I recommend you start your deadlifting career with the rack pull and gradually progress to the full-range pull.
HOW TO PROGRESS SAFELY?
How do you know if a weight’s too heavy? For a beginner, the answer is simple: it’s too heavy
when your form breaks down. If your spine rounds or your hips and knees don’t move in unison, the weight is probably too heavy.
The safest way to progress in weight is to hire a qualified coach to monitor your programming and cue your lift performance. Of course, if that option’s not in the cards, it’s best to simply add 5-10 kgs to the bar each week. It sounds slow and monotonous, but you’ll achieve a lot of practice while earning the ability to lift heavy.
WHAT ELSE TO LIFT?
Since the deadlift is a stressful exercise, it’s advisable not to pair it with any aggressive superset, such as with another heavy lift. It pairs best with mobility and core exercises that will improve your deadlift performance and train your strength without the overbearing strain of another heavy lift.
I like to pair mobility exercises that address the thoracic spine (upper back), hips, and ankles, since the deadlift requires sufficient mobility in all of these joints. Choose core exercises that fight spinal motion since they help to reinforce deadlifting’s neutral spine position.
DEADLIFT
Assistance exercises like these are designed to assist a lift’s development. In our current case, assistance training is planned to train the posterior chain and core—the areas we’ve noted that improve deadlift performance. These exercises are categorized into different levels; the most demanding and impactful exercises immediately follow the deadlift, while secondary and tertiary lifts follow after. Here’s a breakdown:
FIRST-LEVEL ASSISTANCE
Rack pull
Romanian deadlift
Good morning
SECOND-LEVEL ASSISTANCE
Glute-ham raise
Kettlebell swing
Leg curl
THIRD-LEVEL ASSISTANCE
Barbell roll-out
Pull-up
Squatting Exercises (focusing on hip extension)
Plan 3-5 sets of first-level assistance exercises in the 4-8 rep range, while secondary exercises should follow for 3-4 sets in the 5-10 rep range. Third-level assistance exercises can land in both rep ranges for 3 sets. They’re categorized as “third level” because they don’t have a direct movement application to the deadlift, but they do train muscles that prepare the body to pull heavily.
LONG LIVE THE DEADLIFT
The deadlift is a powerful strength-training and physique-altering exercise. It’s a must-do for any training goal. Learn to hinge well, progress to the rack pull, and earn your way to the full-range deadlift. When you get there, stick in the prescribed rep ranges and plan your assistance exercises according to my categorized list. You’ll pull successfully and enjoy a lengthy training career!
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