The deadlift is by far my favorite of all the strength training movements. You get so much bang for your buck! If you want to strengthen and sculpt your legs…do deadlifts. If you want to develop awesome core and low back strength….do deadlifts. If you want to add lean muscle to your upper back and arms…..do deadlifts! If you want to scorch fat off your body…..do high rep deadlifts!
Many people don’t know this, but deadlifts are actually the reason I met my wife! I was competing in a powerlifting competition and I did a successful deadlift at 688lbs, but I strained my groin in the process. There was this cute Athletic Trainer that worked out at the Iron Pit Gym and I asked her if she could help me get healed up……… and then we eventually got married! So if you need to make a love connection…….do deadlifts……haha!
I’m excited to see that many of our clients are really fired up about deadlifts too. So with this article I wanted to give you three tips to strengthen your deadlifts if you are new to doing them.
Check out this video and then read through the tips below:
Tip #1 for a stronger deadlift: Do hamstring and glute work with the TRX, Valslide, and/or Swiss Ball. These three things are all great for posterior chain work. The glutes, hammys, and lower back region are all usually pretty weak when people first start their fitness journey and these movements are a great place to start. Your form will be important. You really want to drive your hips HIGH like I do in the video. It should feel like something jumped up and bit you in the butt at the peak contraction! I like doing high reps with these ones. Start off doing sets of 10-20 reps for 4-5 rounds.
Tip #2 for a stronger deadlift: Do extended range deadlifts. You extend the range of motion by standing on a plate. In the video I am standing on a 45lb bumper plate so I’ve added a good 3 or 4 inches to the movement. This puts you at a mechanical disadvantage and your posterior chain muscles have to work extra hard. Form is critical on this one! If you tend to round your low back with regular deadlifts you will have to be very careful with this variation. Keep that low back tight, abs engaged, and shoulders back throughout the movement. If you attend one of our classes and deadlifts are an option just grab a plate and try out this variation. Once you get your form down on these you can start going heavy with some low reps. The first time you try them do 4-5 sets of 8-10 reps. See how that goes and then try dropping the reps to around 5 and go heavy!
Tip #3 for a stronger deadlift: Do Good Mornings. Again, form is critical with this movement. You should think about making a #7 shape with your body on this one. You need to start off light and build up. You should feel a really nice stretch in your hamstrings when you do these correctly. Start off with higher reps around 10-12 for this one and once you get the hang of it drop the reps and increase weight.
You are going to be SORE from these movements and you will need some body work. Check out our lower body foam rolling and stretching videos below for some helpful ideas.
I hope you enjoy these new ideas to strengthen your deadlift! Keep us posted on your progress!
