Top Tips for Deadlifting
As a trainer, I have encountered a lot of fear around deadlifting. People are worried if they don’t deadlift with perfect form they are going to destroy their back. So then they choose to avoid the movement pattern all together.
It’s sad and scary because deadlifting is a necessary part of life. Have you ever moved a heavy piece of furniture? Picked a heavy kid up off the ground? You get the point.
Let’s get comfortable training a deadlift during exercise so we can be prepared when life demands the movement from us.
Deadlifting is also incredibly important for lengthening and strengthening the glutes, which make for happy hips and a pelvic floor. Women need to deadlift!
I want to help you feel strong and confident in hinging/deadlifting exercises, so this blog post has a few of my top tips and a YouTube traditional deadlift explainer video.
Tip 1 - Look at the Floor, Not Up
When you get set up at the bottom of the deadlift, look at a spot on the ground 3-4 feet in front of you. Don’t crane your head up trying to look straight in front of you or at the ceiling. Looking down slightly will help prevent you from arching through the low back.
Tip 2 - Exhale to Set Your Ribcage
When you’re at the bottom of the deadlift, take a deep breath, expanding your rib cage. Then exhale while engaging your abdominals and thinking about letting your rib cage move up towards the ceiling. You’re not rounding your back, you’re just setting the position of your ribs relative to your pelvis in a stacked position.
Tip 3 - Engage Your Lats Before you Lift
When the bar is on the ground and you’re about to start your lift, actively pull up on the bar and engage your lats (think about drawing your shoulder blades towards your spine slightly). This will help take slack out of the bar so you can drive from the hips as you stand.
Tip 4 - Your Knees Can Come Forward a Touch at the Bottom
At the bottom of a traditional deadlift, it’s expected that your knees come forward a little. If you try to keep your knees perfectly straight, you will be performing more of a “straight leg deadlift” - which is a type of exercise - but may put more strain on the lower back at higher loads.
All of these elements are broken down in the YouTube explainer video below, where I walk you through a traditional deadlift. Give it a watch and try it out. I hope some of these tips help you feel more confident!
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