You’re Dead Wrong About the Deadlift

Deadlift Technique and Application Guidelines

The Deadlift is a common exercise used to develop lower body strength and power across multiple sports. There are many different variations of deadlift, such as conventional, sumo, hex bar, romanian, and so on. We are going to focus on all of the variations that begin with the bar and plates on the ground.

The genesis of this post comes from my experience as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach. I’ve put hundreds, if not thousands, of athletes through some form of deadlift. As I grew professionally, I learned more efficient ways to coach the deadlift through my words and my applications from some great mentors along the way.

In simple terms, the deadlift is executed by standing behind the bar, setting hands and feet about shoulder or hip-width apart, squatting and lowering yourself closer to the bar, then lifting it off the ground. As you lift the bar, your shoulders, hips, and the barbell should move at the same time and at the same speed. This movement pattern will allow you to keep the weight distributed to your legs and not solely on your low back.

A good reminder I give athletes is that this is a LOWER BODY exercise, not a LOWER BACK exercise.

Research has done a great job of breaking down the beginning of the deadlift from a biomechanical standpoint. NSCA also has information about how to coach and execute this exercise. (Technique here) (Application here)

Now that we’ve covered the biomechanical aspects of this lift I want to bring attention to something I feel experts have failed to mention.  What happens after the first rep?  This is where I think society (mainly Crossfit) has led many lifters astray. It is named “Deadlift” because the weight is “dead” before lifting it. That being said, you’ve all seen people at your local gym bouncing the bar off the ground, going immediately into the next rep. Albeit, the first rep is a traditional deadlift, however the ensuing reps become a bounce lift or some aptly named exercise where a person can use momentum instead of breaking the inert nature of a resting barbell. 

By going on this continuous rep path, we are missing out on the great force production characteristics that make the deadlift so beneficial in sports. One particular performance benefit is an increase in torque development of the muscles of the knee. (Article here) An increase in total body strength can be gained from utilizing the deadlift and the accelerative properties of the movement have been linked to power development. 

Conversely, a back squat incorporates the benefits of the body’s ability to store energy in the eccentric or downward phase and use that energy to lift the bar back to a standing position. The rate at which you lower can also be beneficial as it changes the intent and demands on the muscle during the exercise.

Using this comparison of back squat and deadlift, let’s talk about continuous reps. During the back squat, the bar and upper body (grip) remain unchanged throughout the set because there isn’t (shouldn’t be) an external force or object to change the movement. However, in a continuous deadlift set, the bar will always contact the ground. It is not guaranteed that the bar will hit the ground at the same time on both sides. This can throw off the bracing and posture of the core, upper body, and potentially the hands. Maintaining these positions in a controlled manner is difficult when fatigued. It should also be noted that in addition to a potential side-to-side imbalance the ground may cause a front-to-back imbalance, which can change how your body feels the load of the bar. The physics of this can put all the weight onto your lower back when the exercise is mainly meant to target the legs. Inserting unstable conditions into the postural stability demands of this lift would be unwise by the coach or professional prescribing and supervising.

What I want coaches and athletes to take away from this discussion is to simply drop the bar at the top of all conventional deadlifts. This exercise is meant to overcome the weight from a dead stop, which derives many benefits as it relates to ground-based sports. The eccentric component of the hamstrings can be achieved through the Romanian Deadlift (RDL). This deadlift is a great tool to build lower body strength and power. It is also a precursor to the Clean and its variations, so you should include the RDL in early off-season training if you will be switching to cleans from the floor later on.

Leave the bouncing reps to those who don’t know better.  Improve your performance by challenging your body in a more efficient manner. 

Just like I tell my athletes, keep this cue in mind: “reset every rep.”