Key points…
• If you struggle with the deadlift, make sure you dedicate a separate day in your weekly training split to this exercise.
• If your goal is to thoroughly work your posterior chain, lifting straps are perfectly acceptable: in many cases, your grip will fatigue before your posterior chain does.
• The best exercise for training the final phase of the deadlift, or “lockout,” is the deadlift from high blocks.
• Deficit deadlifts, performed while standing on a raised platform, are a good way to develop both speed and strength in the initial, lower phase of the lift.
• Paused deadlifts are a good way to increase time under tension for the muscles involved, while wide-grip (snatch-grip) deadlifts increase the movement’s range of motion, training the deadlift through a greater range than usual.
• Conventional deadlifts place more demand on the spinal erectors and biceps femoris muscles, while sumo deadlifts shift more of the load to the legs as a whole and the hip extensors (glutes).
Not built for deadlifting
To be honest, I’m not built for deadlifting either. My arms and fingers are short, and my thighs and knees always seem to get in the way during the final phase, the lockout. Still, instead of complaining, I decided to learn as much as I could and put it all into practice to become a good deadlifter. I think I succeeded.
For a long time, I was stuck at 225 kg. But after learning more and putting certain approaches into practice, I quickly progressed to 275 kg, until I finally pulled 320 kg this summer.
I’ve tried just about everything to improve my deadlift. As a result, I’ve learned a lot about the lift. Here’s what I’ve learned.
1. Dedicate a proper day to deadlifting
This may seem obvious, but many powerlifters don’t set aside a proper day for deadlifting in their programs. Training in the Westside style tends to focus on squats and squat variations. Speed days place a strong emphasis on box squats. Some lifters do speed deadlifts after box squats, but that makes the deadlift the second exercise. Likewise, the deadlift itself is rarely the first exercise on heavy days.
I followed that path too. When our team decided to change our approach and add a dedicated heavy deadlift day to the program, my deadlift started improving rapidly. I soon went from 225 kg to 275 kg, and I wasn’t the only person on our team to reach 275 kg as a result of that change. We now have no fewer than five people on the team who can deadlift 320 kg.
So my first piece of advice is to give the deadlift its own day if you want to improve it. You don’t have to go heavy every time: alternate heavy days with speed deadlift days from time to time, and occasionally do higher-volume work. But you should definitely perform the lift once a week, even if only to practice your technique.
2. Don’t be afraid of lifting straps
Some readers may be thinking, “Did I read that right?”
Yes, you did: use lifting straps too. Look at any good deadlifter. Almost all good deadlifters use straps for deadlifts at some stage of their training. Lifting straps allow you to get the full benefit of the exercise, especially during higher-rep sets. If your goal is to work your posterior chain to the fullest, straps help ensure that your grip doesn’t fatigue before the muscles performing the lift do. Straps also help protect your palms. Higher-rep sets with a roughly knurled barbell can really tear up your palms. When your palms are sore and the skin is torn, your training as a whole can be disrupted for quite some time. So don’t be reluctant to use lifting straps for higher-rep deadlift sets.
Many powerlifters think that using straps weakens their grip and therefore hurts their deadlift overall. But remember that some deadlifters will never be able to tolerate the same training volume and intensity without straps as they can with them. In many cases, that extra training load made possible by straps is precisely what they need to progress.
My recommendation, then, is to leave the straps off for personal record attempts and very low-rep sets. Sets of 1-3 repetitions should be done without lifting straps to maintain both grip strength and technique. Don’t be afraid to use straps for higher-rep volume work.
3. Train both the bottom and the top (“lockout”) phases
To improve your deadlift, it’s important to use separate exercises that emphasize both the bottom and the top phases of the lift. Do these exercises after your main deadlift work. Sets of 5–8 repetitions work well for developing the different phases. On rare occasions, you can also try lower-rep sets in place of your main deadlift work.
Half or quarter deadlifts from blocks are best for training the top, “lockout” phase. Half deadlifts from blocks are better than those performed from the safety bars of a power rack because they more closely resemble deadlifts from the floor. If you don’t have purpose-built blocks, you can use thick weight plates. Pulling from safety bars also allows plenty of ways to cheat. Half deadlifts from safety bars don’t carry over to the full deadlift as well as half deadlifts from blocks do.
Deficit deadlifts, performed while standing on a raised platform, work well for developing speed and strength in the bottom phase. Standing higher makes the start of the lift significantly harder because you have to pull from a lower position. You should emphasize this bottom phase if you struggle to get the weight off the floor. There’s no need to build an excessively high platform: 3–6 cm is enough.
4. Deliberately make your deadlifts harder from time to time
Increasing the range of motion is a good way to build deadlift strength. A greater range of motion, and the resulting increase in time under tension for the working muscles, can help improve your deadlift. Two good deadlift variations put these approaches into practice: paused deadlifts and wide-grip (snatch-grip) deadlifts.
Paused deadlifts: this deadlift variation involves briefly pausing at some point during the lift. You can pause at any point, but the pause is usually taken around mid-shin, below the knees.
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0HwxfglZEU]Video[/url]
Pausing during a deadlift increases the time your muscles spend under tension. This way of performing the deadlift not only develops back strength but also improves your overall deadlift technique.
The point is that if you cannot find the right body position while pausing at a weak point in the lift, you will not be able to finish the lift after the pause. Paused deadlifts therefore teach you to maintain the correct body position at every point in the lift.
Wide-grip deadlifts: widening your grip increases the deadlift’s overall range of motion. A wide grip means you reach lockout in a much higher position than you would with your usual grip. This increases the range of motion of the deadlift. If you want to increase the distance the barbell travels even further, wearing weightlifting shoes with higher heels will help. This variation—wide-grip deadlifts performed in weightlifting shoes—is a tough version of the deadlift, but it thoroughly develops your entire posterior chain.
Feel free to use lifting straps for both deadlift variations to protect your palms and help you progress.
5. Train the opposite of your usual deadlift style too
You should train both deadlift variations: sumo and conventional. Conventional deadlifts place more load on the spinal erectors and hamstrings, while sumo deadlifts place greater emphasis on the glutes and legs as a whole.
Of course, both deadlift variations work the entire posterior chain, but the emphasis differs somewhat between styles. Developing both your sumo and conventional deadlifts is essential to becoming truly strong at the deadlift.
If you usually deadlift with a conventional stance, adding sumo deadlifts helps bring up your hip extensor strength while reducing the load on your lower back and giving it a break. Training and progressing in the sumo deadlift also helps improve your squat by increasing hip extensor strength. You do not need to excel at both deadlift styles at the same time. Simply using a variation that differs slightly from your main style will definitely help you improve your maximum deadlift.
6. Do deep squats
A strong back alone is not enough to deadlift well. You also need strong legs. Deep squats help with the bottom phase of your deadlift, when you break the weight off the floor. Some squat variations also work your entire body in unique ways that greatly benefit your deadlift. Front squats and paused squats, for example, are excellent variations that have a very positive effect on your deadlift. In addition to working your legs, both variations demand a strong back and strong core muscles.
7. Train with people who deadlift more than you
Performing well in the deadlift also requires the right mental preparation and mindset. Surrounding yourself with positive, supportive and motivating people during training is certainly very important for a good deadlift.
Author: Janar Rückenberg (translation)
Come and train! ArtGym
