If you’ve ever had a fit of rage where you would rip a person’s head off and shit down the hole if you only had the strength, then the deadlift is for you. If you can lift 400 lbs up off the floor, you can rip some one’s arm off and beat them with it.
This lift will turn you into a true power house. It is considered a whole-body exercise because it stresses every muscle. And you will feel it. This is probably the most dangerous exercise too. You can imagine how doing this improperly might mess up your back or knees, but it can also tear your shoulders, biceps, and chest. Hernia? Yes!
Again, don’t be a pussy. Be a Beast and do the damn exercise. This is the king maker. Nobody fucks with this exercise, except serious weight lifters. Start with low weight, focus on proper form, and slowly increase, and you will have nothing to worry about.
With the bar on the floor, and no weight, step up to the bar. Feet at shoulder width. Bend over at the waist, with knees at about a 45 degree angle, and grab the bar.
Most people choose an over/under grip. One hand palm down, one hand palm up. This can help keep the weight balanced throughout the lift. You can go full over or even full under. Whatever is comfortable. Powerlifters often do all.
Shoulders pinched back, chest up, pull the weight up, as if you wanted to go all the way up to your chest, without moving your arms or shoulders. Drag the weight up your shins and thighs. About the last 50℅ of the lift focus on driving your hips forward. Never allow your back to round. If you can’t do the weight without rounding your back, drop the weight lower and retrain yourself to do it right. Never sacrifice form for weight.
Repeat 10-20 times to get warmed up. Just like the squat, find increments to increase at for additional warm up sets, until you reach your working weight. So if you’re doing 405, you would warm up with 135, 225, and 315.
As you learn this exercise, I want you to focus on finding the sweet spot at the beginning of the lift. You want to bend you knees enough to keep your lower back from going above the parallel plane, but not so low that you’re squatting the weight up either. The sweet spot activates your power train (hams, glutes, hips), while still hitting everything else. This is important because your power train can take the stress. Failing to get the sweet spot can lead to lower back injury later.
Beast Life – The Deadlift
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Thank you for these detailed write-ups on specific exercises. I’m looking at squats and deadlifts now because of your posts.
For anyone looking to dive down the rabbit hole, Mark Rippetoe has some extremely detailed books and videos on lifting.
Going into a fit of rage really helps my lifts. Strength and endurance go up, but it makes me look like a retarded red gorilla. Also the recovery period is longer… Do you train in beast mode/beserker mode?
I’m kinda Jekyll and Hyde. Between sets I’m calm. During lifts I’m Mr. Intensity.
If you are over 55, and not previously in the gym habit, let me suggest that you find a trainer of the type than knows how to do assisted stretch, figure out what is tight and what is not and fix it. Form matters, and most of us old guys won’t get to good form without help.
“Never sacrifice form for weight.”
Amen.
Deads are just awesome. There’s nothing to compare to them.
As a guy approaching his mid-50s I wonder whether issues with form aren’t playing a significant role with respect to the series of injuries I’ve been suffering over the past couple of years, rather than simply being part of the aging process. I’ve read Rippetoe’s books and watched his videos, but maybe dropping some coin for a starting strength coach would be a good investment. Has anybody here done this or maybe has other pointers?
If you’ve got the money a certified strength coach is great for some touch up training. Solo training has a tendency to develop bad lifting habits. Most gyms will have certified coaches, but be on the look out for regular lifters who can give the same advice for free. Most often it’s the guy who is dead lifting much more than you.
I had trouble keeping the bar in contact with my shins. Basically my ass was going up faster than my back, thus letting the bar drift forward.
My solution: don’t think about pulling the bar up, think about pushing the planet down. Works.
Also, never force a rep. If you feel your back rounding, stop. De-load to a weight you can do with a straight back. Slow and steady wins the race to heavy deads.
Dragging the bar up your shins is just a starter for basic form. The guy that I go to for advice told me that doing so worked against his body type. Experiment with it at lower weights and if it doesn’t stress your back give it a shot at higher weights.
10-4 on the lower weights. I tweaked something at around 270# (I’m a crappy deadlifter, short arms). Basically it was coming off like a stiff-legged deadlift.
I dropped down to 225# again and have worked my way back up with better form. Feel much stronger. Hope to hit 315# by New Years.
Check out too. And check out mobility wod with Kelly starrett. Both are great resources.
Check out rip