The deadlift is the ultimate test of strength which is why it’s one of the biggest events in the Strongman competition. I’m Adam Bishop, a 7-time World Strongman competitor and Mirafit athlete and I’m here to give you some advice on how to perform the movement and tips for improving your technique.

What is a Deadlift?

The deadlift is a great move and it’s a very simple movement to do. It’s easy to learn and trains a lot of muscles in one go, so if you’re someone like the vast majority of people in the gym that don’t have much time to train then you want to be doing an exercise that gives you the most bang for buck. This is going to be the deadlift because you’re training your quads, hamstrings, calves, glutes, your core muscles, back, shoulders and everything else.

It’s going to be trained all the way up your body, even your grip if you’re not using straps. If you’ve got limited time to train and you’re looking to get some intensity into your training then the deadlift is a fantastic option. It’s one of those movements that is easily transferable to life, we’re picking up dead weight off the floor and it’s something that we have to do a lot of in life. Whether you have to pick up bags of sand or carry mud if you’re landscaping your garden, or if you've got to carry the shopping, these are all various movements that are very transferable to life, so it’s a great movement in my opinion. It doesn’t take much for people to implement it into their program.

How to Perform a Deadlift

• Step your toes underneath the deadlift bar, externally rotate your shoulders and brace your core.

• Lower down by bending your knees and hinging at the hips until you can grab the bar. Your hips should remain higher than your knees.

• Breath in, then on the exhale extend your knees and hips until you come up to a standing position. Keep the bar close to your body and your spine straight.

• With control, return the bar back to the floor and repeat.

Common Deadlift Mistakes

Getting Too Close to the Bar

One of the most common problems I see is people putting their shins against the bar, then when they come down the bar rolls forward. To rectify this, you put your feet under the bar and imagine the bar is a guillotine cutting off your toes. That’s where the bar should rest. Then as you go to grab the bar it will pull closer to the shin.

Bad Starting Position

A lot of the time when I see people failing deadlifts at the top it’s because their start position isn’t in the right place. You need to make sure your spine is locked in tight. You should have a neutral lumbar spine.

Don't Grip and Rip

So many people grip and rip the bar, their hips shoot up and then the back is rounded which isn’t a good pull. Take your time setting up before you pull.

Using a Deadlift Bar

A standard gym barbell is 7ft long, usually 28mm in diameter and is great for everyday use, but then you’ve got a deadlift bar. A Deadlift Bar is a specialist bar, it’s half a foot longer, has no centre knurling, and the knurling it does have is aggressive for your grip. The bar is 27mm in diameter, making it easier to grip.

The idea is, you’ve got longer collars to fit more plates on. With the bend in the bar you get more whip in the lift which in theory makes it easier to get the bar off the floor. Some people struggle with the whip, if they don’t control the movement and pull too fast then you get a double bounce. So, here are some tips for controlling and improving your deadlift.

Top Tips for Improving Your Deadlift

• To make sure your start position is correct, you need to lock in your lats. If they’re tight it will stabilise your spine. Use the cue ‘bend the bar’ and try to turn your elbows to face forwards.

• Your shoulders and hips should rise at the same time, try and get your shoulders to come backwards with your hips.

• Your feet should be flat so either wear socks, or a flat shoe with a thin sole. It will allow you to pull from the midpoint of your foot.

• Pull every single rep as if it’s a heavy weight. It’s important to be consistent with your lifts, so you should be lifting the same with a light or heavy weight.

• If you’re not lifting heavy, the weight increase between your warm up sets should be small. If you’re lifting heavy (300kg plus) then you want to take bigger jumps to conserve your energy.

Written by guest author Eryn Barber.

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Tags: Equipment > Bars and Weight Plates ; Exercise Type > Strength