Do you know deadlift?

Deadlift. Second only to the squat in the amount of weight that can be lifted and amount of total body it works. Deadlifting can actually be more taxing on the body and many people find takes longer to recover after max effort sessions than squatting does. 

Based on the muscles engaged and the movement themselves, there are many accessory exercises that are the same for both squats and deadlifts. These include (but are not limited to) GHRs (cheesegraters), box squats, and good morning. You can refer to “Do you know squat” for details breakdowns on those. 

The following exercises can be helpful for increasing various aspects of your deadlifts. 



Deficit Deadlifts

If you have trouble with your speed off the floor, stand on a slightly elevated platform (start small, around 1-1.5 inches). It is important to make sure you do not let your back round with the extra distance you are reaching to the bar. Performing sets of 3-5 reps, emphasizing your speed off the ground, with full resets in between. This means do not touch and go. While you would still have an increased range of motion, you are not getting the work you need at the bottom of the movement. 


Reverse Hyper  

I do not see enough people on this machine. It is important to make sure that your hamstrings are not tight, as the motion could actually strain your back. It is easiest to get on the machine if you put one foot in the holster, step up and get your body positioned on the pad, then slide your other foot in. Maintaining control and 

Stiff Leg deadlift

The worst thing you can do when deadlift is just bending over and picking up the weight. You want to actively engage your hamstrings, hips, glutes, lower/upper back, core, even quads if you pull conventional. If you have trouble really ‘feeling’ your glutes and hamstrings in the movement, especially off the floor, put some emphasis on stiff legs. 

Perform these with the bar on the ground as you would normally deadlift, bar against your shins. Keeping your legs just short of locking out, move your butt behind you to lower yourself you the bar, not letting your legs bend. You should feel your hamstrings stretch. Now clench your hamstrings and glutes tight to activate them, dragging the bar up your shins, and pull your hips forward into the bar rather than just pulling the weight up. This will help keep a straight bar path and focusing on the posterier chain tightness with translate over you your regular deadlift. These can also be done off of a deficit. 

Rack Deadlift

If you tend to get stuck mid way or around your knees, this may be an exercise to put in your routine. Set the rack just below your knees (or sticking point). When performing your reps, come to a complete stop on the rack before you start again. Touch and go on this exercise also will not be beneficial as you are using momentum by banging the bar off the rack to move the weight. 


Reverse band deadlift

These are a great overload tool. These are usually going to be best used for sets of 1-3. The band lightens the load at the bottom, but should be full weight at the top. It is important not to choke the bands too tight, you do not want them taking away a lot at the top of the motion. It should be the full weigh in your hands. This will allow you to lift more than you actually can straight weight, but is very useful to get your grip, body, and nervous system acclimated to a heavier weight. 



Up and down planks 

These are performed by starting in a standard plank position on your forearms. In a controlled motion, exhale and contract your abs raising your glutes as high as you can go. Pause for just a moment at top, return in a controlled manner and pause slightly at the bottom before performing another rep. You must have a strong trunk, not just back to deadlift (and squat) heavy. This will not only help you progress with the movement and weight, but also help prevent injury.

Paul Emmick