Deadlift Tips | Deadlifting Techniques

Deadlift Tips and Techniques

Weight Training Advice

The deadlift is one of the most exercises to perform in any weight training routine. Deadlifting will help you build strength in the all important lower back area. If you strengthen the spinal erector muscles of the lower back your body will be able to support more weight on many other weight training exercises. Doing deadlifts will also involve many muscle groups besides the lower back, with the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and even the upper back assisting in lifting the weight. Since you have to hold a lot of weight in your hands when you deadlift you'll also build grip and forearm strength.

How you grip the bar is very important when you're deadlifting. The best way to do it is to use an overhand grip with one hand and an underhand grip with the other. If you try to deadlift with both hands in an overhand grip you won't be able to hold near as much weight and you won't get the full benefits of the exercise.

To deadlift heavy you'll also want to assist your grip with wrist straps or chalk. This will greatly increase the amount of weight you can hold while deadlifting. Using chalk to assist your grip when you deadlift heavy is preferable to using wrist straps because straps may pull too much on your wrists and forearms, which could cause a muscle pull. If you're planning on competing in a powerlifting competition you'll have to use chalk instead of straps anyway, so you're better off training with chalk assisting your grip. If you don't have chalk, go ahead and use wrist straps, but be careful about how much weight you can handle with them. On your first few warm up sets on the deadlift, do them without any grip assistance to help improve your natural grip strength.

When you deadlift you can either place your hands on the bar outside of where your legs are or inside of where they are. Placing your grip outside of the legs is the more popular way of doing the exercise. Some weight trainers prefer to place their grip closer inside with a wide legged stance, which is known as the "sumo style" deadlift. Do the one that feels more comfortable to you.

When you start a deadlift rep you'll want use your leg muscles as much as possible to get the weight off of the floor. Using too much of your lower back to get the weight started upward will force you bend your lower back, which you want to avoid doing too much of. You'll want to keep your lower back arched instead of bending so you'll be less likely to injure it while deadifting heavy. Bend your legs down closer to the bar and use the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves to get the weight off of the floor.

Once you get the weight off the floor when you're deadlifting you'll want to straighten your body as you lift the weight. This is the part of the lift where you'll use your lower back strength. Some powerlifters will put baby powder on their thighs to "slide" the weight up their legs when they are maxing out on the deadlift when they're training for a competition. This can be messy, and you don't really need to do it unless you are a competitive powerlifter to test out your strength before a competition.

At the top of a deadlift you should lean back a bit. If you don't you're probably bending your lower back a bit with a lot of weight in your hands. If you lean back you'll complete the lift and your lower back will still be in an arched position.

Try to not drop the weight or let it fall too fast when you lower it back to the floor. Keep the weight under control as much as possible.

The deadlift is one of the best weight training exercises for the entire body. If you follow these deadlift tips and techniques you'll be able to take full advantage of this great strength building exercise.