Mastering the Deadlift

[akito]

Ik post normaal geen hele artikelen maar vond deze wel nuttig ->


Mastering the Deadlift: Part I
by Eric Cressey

Everyone knows how valuable the deadlift can be, but not everyone does it regularly. Yeah, a few people are just plain lazy, but many are simply afraid. They've never been taught to do it safely and are concerned that they'll get hurt if they push the weights without assurance that their form is on-point.
With that in mind, this series was born. Here I'll give you a full-on analysis of a good deadlift, examples of every single deadlift debacle you'll see in the gym, and provide you with plenty of deadlift variations you can incorporate into your training for longstanding success with this fantastic movement.
First, though, we need to cover eight prerequisite issues to set the stage.

Issue #1: Competition Deadlifts
Don't use videos of deadlifts from powerlifting competitions as a standard for teaching exercises. For those who haven't done a powerlifting meet, let's just say that you generally aren't feeling like a million bucks when pulling time comes around.

A meet might start at 9AM, at which time you need to hit three heavy squat attempts after an extensive warm-up. A few hours later, you hit three heavy bench attempts, after which your back is so damn tight from arching that you'd think you'd just left a yoga class. (Fortunately, you're surrounded by strong and predominantly fat guys to convince you otherwise.)
You knock back some caffeine, warm up, chalk up, snort a little ammonia, and then go out and dip, grip, and rip. The less you think, the better. So, logically, you aren't going to see the most picture-perfect form. It's like analyzing running mechanics on the marathoner who has heat stroke and is trying to crawl across the finish line.

Issue #2: Categorizing Deadlift Candidates
When I put deadlifts and their variations into programs, I can easily stratify clients and athletes into one of three categories:
Category 1: Weekend warriors who deadlift to improve functional capacity and correct or prevent imbalances.
Category 2: Athletes who deadlift to improve performance and bulletproof themselves against injury.
Category 3: Powerlifters who deadlift to get better at deadlifting.

Weekend warriors need not apply.

Logically, I'm willing to take more chances in category #3 than I am in #2, and certainly #1. Weekend warriors don't get aggressive loading parameters (singles over 90%). And while athletes might get to pull heavy singles, they only get to do so in a controlled environment (elevated trap bar deadlifts, pulls against chains).
A veteran athlete would blur the line between #1 and #2, and a more resilient up-and-coming athlete would be more of a "true" #2.

Issue #3: The Perfect Deadlift?
There's no one perfect way to deadlift. Sure, there are certain things — lumbar flexion and hyperextension, and flexed-elbow lifting, for instance — that you never want to see on a pull, but that's not to say that there aren't going to be individual biomechanical differences among lifters. Specifically, I'm referring to torso and limb lengths.
Those with longer torsos and shorter legs will tend to pull with the hips slightly lower — basically a bit more of a squat:

Those with longer limbs and shorter torsos will pull with the hips slightly higher:

The important thing is that the spine is neutral in both situations and the elbows are taut.
Injury histories and functional limitations also warrant consideration here. An athlete with very poor ankle mobility (mainly a lack of dorsiflexion ROM or range of motion) will generally try to pull with the hips higher or compensate by externally rotating his feet significantly. Those with a history of anterior knee pain will also gravitate toward the hips-higher set-up because it takes some of the stress off the knee.
I'm not saying that either of these adjustments are correct; I'm just pointing out that previous history of injury and functional limitations can alter someone's "natural" style. You need to address the issue before you can truly determine whether you're better off with the hips higher or lower.

Issue #4: Sumo vs. Conventional
I'm often asked by people whether I think they'd be smarter to switch to sumo-style pulling (or give it up). My personal philosophy is that you should be able to do both safely if you're adequately prepared, although there will often be a substantial difference between your strength on the two. As an example, I might be good for 650 conventional, but only 600 sumo.

The Sumo Deadlift

From a strength versus muscular development standpoint, sumo pulling decreases range of motion, so you theoretically have the potential to move more weight. However, less range of motion isn't necessarily ideal from a hypertrophy standpoint. Still, you're going to get better overall lower body development from doing both.
From an injury prevention standpoint, sumo pulling can really beat up your hips if you aren't careful with how you program. Some people simply aren't ready for wide-stance anything. It's not uncommon to see anterior joint capsule irritation and even strained adductors.
A pair of squat briefs can alleviate some of these problems, but it's really just a band-aid on an open wound. If you're going to squat or deadlift wide, you really need to prioritize hip mobility.
Lastly, and most significantly, sumo pulling tends to be the deadlift of choice for me when working with someone with longer femurs. With conventional pulling, they tend to struggle with "clearing" the knees on both the concentric and eccentric phases simply because the femur is so damn long.
With these individuals, I'll cycle sumo pulling with rack pulls from just above the kneecaps and trap bar deadlifts to ensure that they're developing in both positions and all ranges of motion.

The Trap Bar Deadlift

Sumo pulling can also be a great substitute in those with chronic knee pain, but it really depends on the specific situation, so a generalized recommendation is tough to make.

Issue #5: The Thoracic Rounding Issue
My 635 deadlift video from Are You Doing Stupid Stuff in the Gym? once again stirred up the question of whether rounding is okay. Here's the video one more time:

First, remember that I'm a member of category #3: I deadlift to get better at deadlifting, not basketball, bocce ball, or pocket pinball.
Second, and more importantly, people need to understand the difference between thoracic flexion and lumbar flexion. The secret with respect to rounding on maximal pulls is to get it in the right places. The best pullers get rounding in the thoracic region (if it even occurs), not the lumbar spine.
We buttress against shear stress more effectively at the thoracic spine (designed for more ROM) than we do at the lumbar spine (less ROM). The problem is that beginners don't have the motor control to tell the difference.

If you need proof, take a look at Olexsandr Kutcher (near-800 pound deadlift at 165-181). He's very thin at the lumbar erectors, but thick at the thoracic erectors. This hypertrophy llocalizes because that's where his body is working hardest. My back isn't as big as Kutcher's, but in terms of proportionate structure, it's a complete replica. (My name isn't nearly as cool either, unfortunately.)

Issue #6: Deadlifts Aren't Olympic Lifts
When an Olympic lifter lifts a bar from the floor in preparation for a clean or snatch attempt, his goal is to position the bar in the ideal spot to set up the second pull (above the knees to the catch component). A deadlift is just a first pull with terminal hip extension. The idea is just to get the bar to the hips and stand upright with it.
I've never seen an Olympic lifter miss an attempt on the first pull; it simply isn't the limiting factor in the strength curve. So the lifter is always working with submaximal weights in that portion of the movement.

When you're working with submaximal weights, you have some wiggle room with your set-up. Olympic lifters manipulate this to their advantage by squatting a bit deeper on their first pull.
Deadlifters, on the other hand, need to put everything they've got into the first pull, so it's important to go directly to the most strength-conducive position from the get-go.
Lastly, let's not forget the difference in footwear between the two types of lifters. Olympic lifters wear shoes with marked heel elevation, while deadlifters want to keep their heels as close to the floor as possible. Which brings me to...

Issue #7: Footwear
"Thou shalt not deadlift in cross-trainers" is actually the first commandment in the powerlifter's bible. Rather than list all the shoes that aren't appropriate for pulling, let's just say that you have four options:
1. Go barefoot
2. Wear Chuck Taylors (Converse All-stars)
3. Wear wrestling shoes
4. Wear ballet slippers

The author's favorite pair of Chucks... Okay, just kidding!

I'm a huge proponent of Nike Frees and Reebok Travel Trainers, but I think that both of them still have too much heel lift for deadlifts.

Issue #8: Chalk
You should never miss a deadlift due to sweaty hands. If you don't train at a gym that allows chalk, I'd recommend finding a new gym, or at the very least sneaking some in.

Invisible liquid chalk is available, but I don't like it nearly as much as the real thing. For a list of more hardcore gyms near you that would allow chalk, check outPowerlifting Watch's Gym Database.
I don't recommend straps unless you're using a snatch grip and they're absolutely necessary. Gloves will actually make things worse, but I've found that Lynx Grips can help the cause, especially in females who are concerned about avoiding calluses.

Wrap-up
Ponder these eight prerequisites for a few days. We'll be back with enough deadlift technique videos to satisfy your pulling fixation for years to come!


You'd be hard-pressed to find a single weight-training movement that's more "complete" than the deadlift. It's not just an upper or lower back exercise, or a grip exercise, or a posterior chain exercise, or a core exercise; it's an everything exercise. To that end, it's a must-have in any lifter, athlete, or weekend warrior's training arsenal.
Unfortunately, as with any compound lift, the deadlift can get pretty technical. If you're going to be using big weights in hopes of getting big results, you need to make sure that you're lifting with proper technique.
With that in mind, I'm first going to show the entire (conventional-style) movement in still frames, and then I'll show it to you in video form at regular speed. Finally, I'll come back and list the common errors that people make when deadlifting.

Step 1
Step up to the barbell so that your shins actually touch it.

Step 2
Keep your chest high while pushing your hips back. Imagine someone has a rope tied around your waist and is pulling you backward.

Step 3
As your hips continue back, you'll need to bend your knees a bit to get you down to the barbell. Grasp the barbell with a grip that puts your forearms right up against the sides of your thighs; the further out they are, the harder it'll be for you to maintain neutral spine — and the further the bar will have to travel.
Keep the chest up and drop the hips down a bit. How far will depend on the build of the lifter, as I noted in Part I. You should not look like you're trying to squat the weight up.
The elbows should be completely taut, with your eyes up and weight on your heels. Puff the chest up and tighten your triceps a bit to ensure that you're in the "locked" position.

Step 4
Take a big gasp of air into your stomach to help stabilize your spine, drive the heels into the floor, and push your hips forward as your knees extend. The hips and knees should extend simultaneously, and the shoulders and hips should rise together.
Note: Some lifters prefer to get their gasp of air before they descend to the bar.

Step 5
As you reach lockout, imagine pinching something between your buttcheeks at the top to lock the weight out. This glute activation helps to prevent you from leaning back to finish the movement (lumbar hyperextension) and stopping short (can lead to hamstring dominance and a host of problems). At lockout, your scapulae are back and down (not shrugged up) and you're standing tall.
Here's a bad lockout (stopping short):

Here's another bad lockout (leaning back/hyperextension):

Now, a good lockout (glutes tight and shoulders back; standing tall, but not shrugged up):

Step 6
Initiate the eccentric (lowering) portion of the lift by pushing the butt back to unlock the hips without losing neutral spine. Just imagine putting a stretch on your hamstrings without rounding the back.

Step 7
As the bar is lowered, don't worry about bending the knees until the bar has passed them. Once the bar has passed them, you can bend the knees to get the rest of the way to the floor.

Many individuals will lack the flexibility to pull from the floor initially, so don't force this exercise if you can't pull it without looking like a scared cat! For these individuals, substitute the rack pull (partial deadlift). The bar can be elevated on pins in a power rack, or aerobic steps, or plates on the floor. Gradually move the bar down to the floor as your mobility improves.

Rack Pull (Partial Deadlift)

The Shin Scraper
This is the guy who sets up too low and far away from the bar on his pull. He has too much dorsiflexion going on, so the knees are actually in front of the bar as he initiates the pull. As the bar comes up, it catches on the shins and makes for a bloody deadlift and some good battle scars.
These individuals also have a tendency to pull with flexed elbows (from dropping too low and creating slack) and a rounded lower back (need to find range of motion wherever they can in order to get the bar around the knees).
Conveniently, as I was writing this article, a new athlete showed up and displayed this form, so I scored a video:


Sumo Deadlifts
Why use them?
1. Many powerlifters choose them because they actually decrease range of motion by 14%, so it clearly has some benefits for those who are built for it.
2. Generally speaking, a wider stance will carry over better to a squat than a conventional stance — especially if you squat with a wide stance.
3. Sumo pulls are aided more by deadlift and squat suits, which provide more "pop" in the bottom position — where most sumo pullers tend to miss.
4. Many heavier lifters opt to pull sumo because their bellies get in the way of pulling from the ground conventionally. This "shift" generally takes place during the jump from the 242 to 275-pound weight classes, at least in my experience.
5. Sumo pulls tend to be better in the short-term for those with flexibility limitations and in the long-term for those with longer femurs.
6. The wider stance increases recruitment of the adductors and more medial hamstrings, so they offer variety in a bodybuilding context.

Notes:
1. Sumo deadlifting can really beat up on your hips; anterior hip pain is very common in sumo-style pullers. Make sure you're finishing with your glutes on each rep (prevents anterior glide of the femoral head, which can irritate the joint capsule), and be sure to never go longer than four straight weeks pulling sumo-style without a break from it. Many powerlifters will wear squat briefs when pulling sumo just to protect their hips.
2. Stance-width is a very individual thing. In the video above, my stance is out wider. Tony Gentilcore, on the other hand, tends to pull with a narrower stance:

Experiment and find what works best for you.

Speed Deadlifts
Why use them?
1. With every heavy deadlift, there's going to be that miserable, awkward moment when you're pulling like crazy and the bar isn't moving — yet it does eventually break the floor. Speed pulls help to shorten the duration of this agony by improving rate of force development (RFD).
2. My experience has been that many athletes with an Olympic lifting background — especially those who only clean and snatch from the hang position — struggle with being fast from the bottom position. From an athletic development standpoint, you want to have great RFD from all joint angles.
3. The faster you develop force, the more likely you are to make the lift.
4. They're a great way to practice technique with submaximal loads, yet you can make up the reduced tension by accelerating the bar fast.

This video is of a triple at roughly 68% of my 1RM.
Notes:
1. Stick with sets of 3 and below. Most powerlifters go with sets of 1-rep only, whereas I'll use more doubles and triples with my athletes.
2. Regardless, these SHOULD feel fast; anything over 65-70% isn't really speed work.
3. Don't overthink this. It's a deadlift done REALLY FAST with a controlled eccentric.

Rack Pulls
Why use them?
1. Rack pulls are a good option for those with flexibility deficits, and therefore serve as an excellent teaching tool as part of an overall deadlift progression.
2. They're also a great way to use a lot of weight and overload the muscles of the posterior chain, grip, and upper back

Notes:
1. As I noted in Deadlift Diagnosis, I don't think rack pulls are a particularly great way to train the lockout portion of the deadlift, but they're sure to make people pack on muscle fast, and it's always fun to make a bar bend. As a little frame of reference for what you can probably do, this was 705 for a set of 5 at the kneecaps back when my best deadlift was about 617.

2. Play around with different starting positions: mid-shin, just below the kneecap, and just above the kneecap.

Snatch Grip Deadlifts
Why use them?
1. Strict postural control is needed to do them perfectly, so performing them is both a good test and corrective exercise modality for those with crappy upper back posture.
2. Like rack pulls, they're a fantastic upper back movement involving the lats, upper traps, and mid-back musculature extensively.
3. Bringing your hands out wider increases the distance the bar must travel, which makes the snatch grip deadlift a great hypertrophy exercise (work = force times distance).

Notes:
1. Watch out for the family jewels; bringing your hands out wider will typically bring the bar up a bit higher than normal...
2. My experience has been that one's best snatch grip deadlift is roughly 85-90% of his 1RM conventional deadlift.
3. Feel free to use straps.
4. The index finger should be on the rings.

Snatch Grip Rack Pulls
Why use them?
1. You get the best of both worlds with rack pulls and the snatch grip. These will wallop loads of meat on your upper back.
2. I often use them in Month 2 or 3 with a beginner as a progression from rack pulls if that individual still isn't quite ready to deadlift from the floor.

Notes:
1. Feel free to use straps.
2. The index finger should be on the rings.

Deadlifts Against Bands
Why use them?
1. Pulling against bands is a fantastic way to overload the lockout without changing the starting position of the lift.
2. Bands tend to develop supportive grip strength better than regular ol' bar weight, as evidenced by the fact that I always tear up my calluses doing these.

Notes:
1. Jump stretch platforms are great for these. We, however, use band pegs in an EliteFTS rack and stand on a small step:

Notes:
1. You can use these for heavier pulling, but speed work is generally a more appropriate way to implement them.
2. Rigging this up might take some creativity if you don't have the right equipment. Don't lose any sleep over it.

Trap Bar Deadlifts
Why use them?
1. Trap bar deadlifts are a pretty good teaching tool with beginners.
2. They're a bit more quad dominant, so from a bodybuilding standpoint, they give you some variety. You also get the variety of pulling with a neutral grip instead of a double overhand or alternate grip.
3. Speaking anecdotally, they take a lot less out of me than straight-bar pulling. I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing; it's just a "thing."
• Generally, they're a "safer" means of testing with athletes.
• Like sumo deadlifts, they're a good choice for those with long femurs.

Notes:
1. This is not a squat, people. If I see one more guy do a trap bar deadlift like this, I'm going to puke in my mouth.

The object is NOT to stay as upright as you can; it's still a pull, so you need a bit of forward lean — which actually helps to keep the spine neutral instead of a position of flexion.
2. Some trap bars have two handles, enabling you to pull from a slightly elevated position if you lack the flexibility to pull from the floor.
3. Some trap bars have great knurling and destroy your hands, while others have no knurling and are a pain in the butt to grip. Be prepared for both by bringing your chalk, and potentially even a pair of straps.
4. Trap bars can be a pain in the ass once you're a good deadlifter. If you don't have 100-pound plates, you're going to have a hell of a time trying to get anything more than 585 on there — and even 495 is tight on most models.

Pulls from a Deficit
Why use them?
1. Pulling from a deficit improves strength off the floor, a common deficit in sumo pullers, in particular.

Notes:
1. Only elevate as much as you can without losing neutral spine. More than 4-6 inches isn't going to happen.
2. Try this with a snatch grip and chains draped over the bar and you'll likely be bedridden with soreness for a few days.

Pulls from Blocks
Why use them?
1. Deadlifting from blocks is a happy medium between rack pulls and pulls from the floor.
2. These also serve as a good substitute for rack pulls for those who don't have an actual power rack.

Notes:
1. Depending on the starting position, these can actually be more difficult than pulling from the floor. Mid-shin is REALLY tough, especially if you toss in accommodating resistance in the form of bands, chains, or weight-releasers.

Pulling it All Together
Terrible pun, I know, but I couldn't resist.
If I had to leave you with one closing thought, it would be that there is an inherent risk to any sort of physical activity, be it whiffle ball, yoga, or deadlifting.
One of my aims in this series was to show you that deadlifting isn't necessarily for everyone. If you'd like, call it different strokes (techniques, variations, and loading parameters) for different folks (powerlifters vs. athletes vs. weekend warriors, healthy vs. injured individuals).
Regardless, always err on the side of caution and be honest in your assessment of your own situation.

(link1, link2, link3)

Ander interessant artikel van dezelfde auteur: link

[kojak]

perfecte techniek!

Mark Rippetoe: Deadlift Set-Up - YouTube

[Teddek]

Er is geen prefecte techniek.

[kojak]

[akito]

Er is geen prefecte techniek.

Hij probeert een grapje te maken