This extensive video from Jeff will help you fix your Deadlift.
How to Fix your Deadlift
Each section comes with both tips and red flags to avoid.
Grip Strength
“First, we have to look at your grip strength. If you have a weak grip, you are always going to struggle with maxing out your deadlift without a compensation in the form on the exercise.
While there are things you can do to overcome a weak grip (like wearing straps, or using a mixed grip) these don’t come without repercussions long term.
Instead, strengthen your grip using exercises like weighted pullups, weighted hangs or even dumbbell or trap bar carries.”
Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.Ripping the Bar Off the Floor
“Next, you may struggle to rip the bar off the floor. Breaking the bar off the ground is almost always attributed to one’s quad strength.
If you have weak quads, you are going to suffer from red flag #1, an inability to get heavier and heavier weights off the ground, even if you had the strength to keep them moving once you did.
Think of the deadlift as a leg exercise in the first part of the movement, and a back and upper body pulling exercise in the rest of the movement.”
The following advice is also recommended by Andy Bolton and Eddie Hall.
“I like to have people envision the exercise as a standing leg press.”
As you rethink the Deadlift it becomes a new type of exercise.
“Push through the ground using the quads and you will get better at generating the upward movement of the bar.
Exercises like the front squat, bulgarian split squat and barbell reverse lunge are going to be amazing leg exercises that are especially good at building up quad strength and getting you better able to break the ground on the deadlift and eliminate red flag number one.”
Bringing the Bar Past the Knees
“Exercises like the RDL and deficit deadlift are the two best options for strengthening the hamstrings to better handle the loads in this part of the lift. The lower back muscles need to be strong as well and are best trained with something like the weighted hyperextension.”
Fully Extending the Hips
“Getting the hips fully extended at lockout becomes the fourth red flag when you struggle to do so. This is almost always due to glute weakness and of course still a lack of low back strength.
Make sure you train hip extension movements that encourage full lockout of the hips at the top like the glute ham raise, barbell hip thrust and the cable pullthrough.”
Putting Everything Together
The fifth part is to put everything together.
How to Fix your Deadlift – Video
Learn More
Add these Standing Core Exercises or Nordic Curls into your training.
Image Sources
- Tia-Clair Toomey deadlift: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.