If you could only choose one exercise for the rest of your life, I bet most people would choose the deadlift. It’s a huge compound movement that hits so many muscle groups you’re close to getting a full body workout with just one exercise. And let’s not forget how strong you feel lifting something heavy off the floor. You could write an infinite list of the deadlift benefits.

The deadlift is a technical lift and therefore it takes a lot of practice to get it right. Fortunately for you (and us) we’ve got Powerlifting world record holder Bobbie Butters to talk us through the key components of the deadlift -

• Start position.

• Pulling the slack out of the bar.

• An effective lockout.

Plus, she shares a few extra technique tips to help you master your own deadlifts.

Deadlift Benefits

If we haven’t already made it clear, there are so many deadlift benefits we can’t fit them all into this article, but here are some of the key benefits, whether you’re an everyday gym-goer or an aspiring athlete -

• It builds a strong posterior chain.

• It improves grip strength.

• It increases lower body strength.

• It allows core activation.

What are the Components of a Deadlift?

Deadlift Barbell Start Position

Ultimately, everyone’s start position might look slightly different depending on how you’re built and where you’re strongest. Typically, start with your feet set underneath the bar, hands just outside of the knees and when you lower your hips towards the bar, your shins should be lightly touching the bar before lifting.

Hip height is where things get a little complicated as this is different for different people. Hip height can be dictated by how long your femurs are, some people have a naturally higher or lower hip position. As long as the bar stays close to your body and there isn’t too much knee bend with your knees going over the bar your position should be correct.

Pulling the Slack Out of the Bar

The next part of the deadlift to cover is ‘pulling the slack out of the bar’. All this means is that there’s going to be tension when you set yourself up before you start lifting the bar. When you pull on the bar you hear the Barbell hitting against the plates. As you lower your hips you should already be pulling on the bar and creating tension. When you pull before lifting, you should hear the bar touch the Weight Plates, then when you lift it’s silent off the floor. You want to lower your hips so that you’re in a good position and the tension in your body is like a spring ready to go before you lift.

Pulling the slack out of the bar means creating more tension in your body and as a result, you have more control when lifting the weight. If you don’t do this before the lift, you’re more likely to lose form during the movement and potentially fail the lift. This is especially true as the load gets heavier, and you need to focus even more on technique.

Deadlift Lockout

The final point is an effective lockout. Ideally everything needs to lockout at the same time. When the weight reaches the top of the movement (mid to upper thigh) you want your knees, hips and shoulders to lockout at the same time.

Bobbie Butters' Deadlift Tips

Although everyone deadlifts differently and the way it looks will depend on limb length ratios and anthropometrics, try to ensure you’re keeping a constant back angle from the start position. Making sure this remains constant until you reach the lockout phase. This can help stop you from being pulled forward by the bar or your hips rising too quickly as you’re coming out of the start position.

Through Bobbie’s experience as an athlete and a coach she finds that some people naturally have more of a rounded thoracic spine, and that’s okay as long as it’s not accentuated throughout the lift. You need to make sure it doesn’t become so detrimental to the point that you end up in a really rounded position and you’re having to pull your shoulders back a lot. It’s useful to have the intention to keep your spine in a neutral position. Also make sure the rounding isn’t coming from the lumbar spine. You want to keep the lumbar spine extended throughout the movement.

• Make sure the start position is correct for you so you can maintain a good torso position and a vertical shin when setting up with the bar.

• Pull the slack out of the deadlift bar so that you’ve got tension there before you start pulling the bar off the floor.

• Ensure you’ve got an effective lockout, locking out at the knees, hips and shoulders simultaneously.

Deadlifts benefit everyone, regardless of your training goal. It’s all about ensuring that you’re using the right technique for you so that they can become an effective part of your workout. To get started, all you need is a barbell and bumper plates. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this deadlift masterclass and you've got some tips and tricks that you can use to facilitate your own deadlifts.

Written by guest author Eryn Barber.

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