Since the beginning of powerlifting in its early forms the deadlift has been the trade mark as the true test of strength. Compared to the other two lifts, the deadlift begins with dead weight. There is no rebound or stretch reflex to aid in lifting the weight off the floor, just plain grip and rip and hopefully you break floor level…or is that all there is to it? Like the squat and bench press, it all depends on what leverages you have to work with. In the best of situations you’re blessed with having a short torso, long arms, and lower limps, giving you the greatest leverage. There are two styles to deadlift; the conventional and sumo style. The conventional way will primarily use the hamstrings and glutes in contrast to the sumo will place more emphasis on the lower back, inner thighs, and glutes. Either or is primarily based preference and success can be witnessed in one or both. Typically you will see the bigger lifters (because they have bigger bellies) will use the sumo style to be able to reach the bar. For the benefit of explaining the form and how the mechanics work I will go into detail using the conventional style. Many lifters are successful by using this style because it allows the feeling of driving the feet through the floor as one is actually “pressing” the Earth down, unlike the other school of thought “pulling” the weight up. The positioning starts with the feet and aligning the bar anywhere from the mid foot and back (Rippetoe, 2011). An imaginary line can be drawn from the bar straight up under the scapulae when in position. Have the scapulae directly over the bar will help close any horizontal displacement because if the bar were to start further away from the body would increase the difficulty of the lift and chance of injury will increase (American Psychological Assoc.). When lowering yourself to the bar you must not mimic a motion as if you were going to squat the bar up. You must lower yourself down enough to where you can grip the bar and literally pull your body down dropping the hips and stopping above parallel. Anymore lowering of the hips will bring them to far back and one can lose their balance at the beginning of the lift. The body is in position and next you must arch the lumbar just slightly so that you may pull in an optimal position with the spine almost in straight alignment. Before beginning the lift fill the abdomen full of air not the lungs. This will enhance your leverage in the lift by keeping the back short and not completely extended. Remember a short back is desirable not a long back. After the inhale of air you perform the Valsalva maneuver to keep the air trapped during the entire pull. Last but not least we contract every muscle so that our body may be like compressed spring ready to explode and extend. An important note must be taken, the lats are especially contrasting not to keep the scapulae in place but to protect them from over adduction when pulling the bar. Beginning the lift you must push the feet through the floor and continue to follow through until the bar has reached the hips. Then hips must be extended forward optimizing the glutes full potential. When the hips are fully extended the lift has finished, return the bar with a slow and controlled descent to avoid injury. That is the whole deadlift and it takes time to develop a strong one but using the right mechanics and leverages will help lift heavier weight with ease.
References
Hancock, S., Wyatt, F., & Kilgore, L. (2012). Variation in Barbell Position Relative to Shoulder and Foot Anatomical Landmarks Alters Movement Efficiency. International Journal Of Exercise Science, 5(3), 183-195.
Rippetoe, M. (2011). Starting strength. (3 ed.). Witchita, Texas: The Aasgaard Company.
Author info- Ian Soderqvist, iansoderqvist_3@hotmail.com
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