Sunday Story…the Whys and Wherefores…the Deadlift

 

 Last week, we talked about jumping rope. Today, we're going to tackle one of the major lifts—the deadlift. Which is lifting something from the ground to a full standing position, and the weight ends at our hips. Every time you pick up a suitcase or a bag of groceries, it comes from where it starts and ends up at your hip.

There are many ways to make a deadlift happen. But certain things should take place before you ever lift anything, whether it's a bag of groceries or your Chihuahua.

1. Keep your back straight, with no rounding. I should be able to put a ruler on your back, and it should be straight from your shoulders to your rear end.
2. The primary movers on the deadlift are your glutes and your hamstrings. Not your back. If your back is doing the work, you are doing the lift somewhat incorrectly, if not completely incorrectly.

Some of the variations for the deadlift:

One of the easiest variations is a kettlebell sumo stance deadlift; my feet are wider than my shoulders, my toes are toed out, and the kettlebell is directly underneath my center. I bend my knees, keep my back straight, grab the handle of the kettlebell (two hands on the handle), and stand up. When I stand up, my hips are open, my knees straight, and my glutes tight. Then, as I begin to lower the kettlebell, I hinge at my hips, and my knees bend, allowing the weight to return to the floor.

·         Another variation of this would be to use two kettlebells, one on either side. Keeping your feet under your hips, reach down with each hand, back straight, stand up, glutes tight, hips open. That completes the lift; bring it back to the ground.

·         The next variation would be using a trap or a hex bar. This position puts your hands outside of your legs. So, instead of your hands being inside your legs, as you would have them on the sumo stance, my hands are on the outside, and I am standing inside the bar (the bar surrounds my legs). Then I stand up, and the same process takes place.

·         The most common deadlift is with a single barbell in front of us. We keep the bar close to our legs, the bar path is straight up and down, the shoulder blades back and down, and the back straight. Grab the bar outside of your legs; the legs are underneath your hips. As I stand up, my knees begin to open as the bar crosses pass my knees on its way up, my hips open as I hinge at my hip. When I lower the bar, I keep it on my thighs like I'm shaving my legs with the bar until it gets just past my knees. At that point, and only that point, do I bend my knees. If we bend our knees too soon, the bar will come away from our legs, and that puts the pressure on the lower part of our back.

      The deadlift is a fundamental exercise for building strength. Not only is it functional exercise, but it is something we will do throughout our lives.

If you're interested in learning how to build muscle and strength, sign up for a free fitness assessment at www.crossfitodyssey.com, or reach out to me directly, and let's get you started on your journey to extraordinary.

John Mariotti

www.sunday-stories.blogspot.com

www.crossfitodyssey.com

775-338-2412