Deadlift (clean grip)
Bodyweight Strength - The standard Deadlift performed with a regular Clean grip is possible the single most important strength exercise in existence...IF PERFORMED PROPERLY. This exercise utilizes the bodyweight and the body's natural motion of picking up objects from the ground and it increases bodyweight strength, functional strength for real life, and your core stability to help you prevent your propensity to back injuries in real life.
At first glance the Deadlift looks so simple that it appears that there is literally no technique involved whatsoever. However, upon closer analysis, the Deadlift is actually one of the most precisely complex exercises you will ever learn. On top of this, many other highly important total body exercises are based off of the Deadlift as their foundation...therefore in order to perform them properly, you must master the Deadlift properly.
Essentially what is so valuable about the Deadlift is its ability to train the body to safely lift objects that are in front of the body by keeping the boy's center of gravity balanced by positioning the hips properly and utilizing the proper muscles for the lift and keeping the spine supported through intra-abdominal (core) pressure/strength/stabilization. the top of half the movement is literally identical to the technique performed for the Stiff Leg Deadlift. All of the factors regarding the positioning of the hips, the activation of the properly muscles, etc, etc is identical. The only difference is that the full Deadlift is actually performed by lifting the bar all the way fro the floor.
However, if the top of half of the Deadlift is properly mastered by mastering the Stiff Leg Deadlift then all that must be added in the bottom portion. Coincidentally enough, if you have mastered the Back Squat and the Split Squat proficiently then you should be able to perform the bottom half of the Deadlift very effectively without much trouble.
The critical aspect of the bottom portion of the Deadlift is that if you do not have enough flexibility to squat down all the way to where your hands can reach the bar (when its loaded with full size standard weight plates) without rounding your lower back, then you cannot perform the Deadlift. These are the crucial prerequisites for the Deadlift:
Once you have established that you in possession of the two primary characteristics, you may begin to attempt the full Deadlift. It is our recommendation however, that you find a highly qualified teacher in person to assist you in mastering this technique perfectly and safely because of it paramount importance.
If you are really close to being flexible enough, but not quite there all the way...you may be ready to begin performing Sumo Deadlifts. Sumo Deadlifts do not require quite as much hamstring and hip flexibility as the traditional clean grip Deadlift so often people can achieve mastery of the Sumo Deadlifts first and allow themselves some more time to further develop their flexibility before moving on to the regular Deadlift.
When you are finally ready to perform the regular traditional clean grip Deadlift, place a bar on the floor with full size olympic plates (if you are not strong enough to use 45lb plates then try to find a gym that has bumper plates so that you can utilize full size plates that are of a lighter weight). Step up to the bar and place you feet at your normal Stiff Leg Deadlift width, squat down to the bar and place you hands in your normal Stiff Leg Deadlift grip, make sure that the bar is so close to you that it is nearly touching your shins, and look in the mirror to confirm that your lower back is perfectly straight (or arched) and not rounded. Take a deep breath in, grip your hands as tightly as you possibly can, pressurize your abdomen (as though someone is about to punch you in the stomach), and then push your feet firmly into the floor so that you begin to slowly stand up with the weight still in your hands. It is critically important that you not try to "lift" the weight, but instead simply stand up with the weight still attached to your hands. If you try to "lift" it you will invariably utilize your lower back muscles to try to lift it. This is both dangerous and ineffective. If you will simply focus on pushing your feet through the floor while keeping your abdominal pressure and hand grip at maximum tightness, your body will lift the weight properly on its own.
The lower portion of the lift will naturally be the portion of the lift in which your knees straighten most of the way out as you "push your feet through the floor". However, right around the rime that the bar passes by your knees, your will begin extending your hips pushing them forwards towards the bar (exactly as you would do during a Stiff Leg Deadlift). If you bump your knees with the bar on a Deadlift it means that you are beginning to push you hips forward too early in the motion before your knees have had a chance to extend first. Again, the top half of the movement is performed exactly as is described in the exercise description for Stiff Leg Deadlifts. Once you have fully extended your hips at the top of the Deadlift, you will begin to lower the bar back again for the next rep. Lower the top portion of the lift exactly how you lower the bar on a Stiff Leg Deadlift but right around the time at which you pass your knees with the bar, you will begin to reach your hamstrings flexibility limit and this is when you will begin to bend your knees and squat the rest of the way down until the bar touches the ground.
It is highly important to learn to control the movement of the bar all the way down to the floor and then begin the next rep smoothly and under control by utilizing your abdominal (core) pressure, grip pressure in the hands, and hamstring and glute muscles in the back of the thighs and butt. Many people will either simply drop the bar from the top of the lift or they will attempt to bounce the bar off of the ground between reps. Dropping the bar from the top of the lift will not injure you if you do it properly BUT it will not help you much with lifting heavy objects in real life. How do you think your buddy will like if he calls you over to help him move his couch and when its time to set the couch down, you just drop your side of the couch onto his wood floor from 3 feet off the ground? He ain't gonna like that too much. On the other hand, if you try to lower his couch under control and yet you've never trained your ability to lower your weights under proper muscular control when deadlifting at the gym, you're gonna have a pretty hard time doing it in real life!
The other common mistake - bouncing the weight off of the ground between reps when performing Deadlifts is dangerous because stability throughout your posture and your joints is of crucial importance when performing the Deadlift because of the positioning of the exercise and the quantity of weight that is possible on the Deadlift because of its potential as a super strong lift. If you bounce the weight off of the ground between reps, there then a moment during the bounce in which the bare is weightless because it is bouncing. This can allow some of your highly important muscles that were previous stabilizing or lifting to temporarily "turn off" because there is no weight for them to be flexing against anymore. But then all of the sudden the bounce ends and your muscles all have to instantaneously jump back on duty in the perfect position with perfect stability. This is a highly dangerous gamble to make and it also prevents the ability to set a weight down under control and your ability to lift it properly from the ground under control. For these reasons, always practice lowering your Deadlift reps all the way to the floor under control and then smoothly beginning the next rep from the floor again. There may be times when you are working with a near max weight (lets say 97% of your maximum weight) and you don't feel that you can lower it under control. In such cases it is common practice, and perfectly permissible to simple drop the weight from the top of the Deadlift (assuming this is not against the gym rules at the gym you workout at).
The Deadlift is really the king of lifts and it will develop truly usable strength for real life if utilized properly because most lifting in real life involves lifting things in front of us off of the ground. Learning how to keep the core tight and stable, the lower back straight, and letting the big strong muscles of the hamstrings and glutes do the lifting are some of the most useful skills and habits that you can develop in your training routine.
Disclaimer - We do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified bodyweight strength professional present with you. This detailed exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before attempting any strength training program or attempting this exercise or any of the other exercises on www.bodyweight-strength.com
At first glance the Deadlift looks so simple that it appears that there is literally no technique involved whatsoever. However, upon closer analysis, the Deadlift is actually one of the most precisely complex exercises you will ever learn. On top of this, many other highly important total body exercises are based off of the Deadlift as their foundation...therefore in order to perform them properly, you must master the Deadlift properly.
Essentially what is so valuable about the Deadlift is its ability to train the body to safely lift objects that are in front of the body by keeping the boy's center of gravity balanced by positioning the hips properly and utilizing the proper muscles for the lift and keeping the spine supported through intra-abdominal (core) pressure/strength/stabilization. the top of half the movement is literally identical to the technique performed for the Stiff Leg Deadlift. All of the factors regarding the positioning of the hips, the activation of the properly muscles, etc, etc is identical. The only difference is that the full Deadlift is actually performed by lifting the bar all the way fro the floor.
However, if the top of half of the Deadlift is properly mastered by mastering the Stiff Leg Deadlift then all that must be added in the bottom portion. Coincidentally enough, if you have mastered the Back Squat and the Split Squat proficiently then you should be able to perform the bottom half of the Deadlift very effectively without much trouble.
The critical aspect of the bottom portion of the Deadlift is that if you do not have enough flexibility to squat down all the way to where your hands can reach the bar (when its loaded with full size standard weight plates) without rounding your lower back, then you cannot perform the Deadlift. These are the crucial prerequisites for the Deadlift:
- Mastery of the proper exercise technique on the Stiff Leg Deadlift
- Sufficient flexibility to squat all the way down to the bar without rounding your back
Once you have established that you in possession of the two primary characteristics, you may begin to attempt the full Deadlift. It is our recommendation however, that you find a highly qualified teacher in person to assist you in mastering this technique perfectly and safely because of it paramount importance.
If you are really close to being flexible enough, but not quite there all the way...you may be ready to begin performing Sumo Deadlifts. Sumo Deadlifts do not require quite as much hamstring and hip flexibility as the traditional clean grip Deadlift so often people can achieve mastery of the Sumo Deadlifts first and allow themselves some more time to further develop their flexibility before moving on to the regular Deadlift.
When you are finally ready to perform the regular traditional clean grip Deadlift, place a bar on the floor with full size olympic plates (if you are not strong enough to use 45lb plates then try to find a gym that has bumper plates so that you can utilize full size plates that are of a lighter weight). Step up to the bar and place you feet at your normal Stiff Leg Deadlift width, squat down to the bar and place you hands in your normal Stiff Leg Deadlift grip, make sure that the bar is so close to you that it is nearly touching your shins, and look in the mirror to confirm that your lower back is perfectly straight (or arched) and not rounded. Take a deep breath in, grip your hands as tightly as you possibly can, pressurize your abdomen (as though someone is about to punch you in the stomach), and then push your feet firmly into the floor so that you begin to slowly stand up with the weight still in your hands. It is critically important that you not try to "lift" the weight, but instead simply stand up with the weight still attached to your hands. If you try to "lift" it you will invariably utilize your lower back muscles to try to lift it. This is both dangerous and ineffective. If you will simply focus on pushing your feet through the floor while keeping your abdominal pressure and hand grip at maximum tightness, your body will lift the weight properly on its own.
The lower portion of the lift will naturally be the portion of the lift in which your knees straighten most of the way out as you "push your feet through the floor". However, right around the rime that the bar passes by your knees, your will begin extending your hips pushing them forwards towards the bar (exactly as you would do during a Stiff Leg Deadlift). If you bump your knees with the bar on a Deadlift it means that you are beginning to push you hips forward too early in the motion before your knees have had a chance to extend first. Again, the top half of the movement is performed exactly as is described in the exercise description for Stiff Leg Deadlifts. Once you have fully extended your hips at the top of the Deadlift, you will begin to lower the bar back again for the next rep. Lower the top portion of the lift exactly how you lower the bar on a Stiff Leg Deadlift but right around the time at which you pass your knees with the bar, you will begin to reach your hamstrings flexibility limit and this is when you will begin to bend your knees and squat the rest of the way down until the bar touches the ground.
It is highly important to learn to control the movement of the bar all the way down to the floor and then begin the next rep smoothly and under control by utilizing your abdominal (core) pressure, grip pressure in the hands, and hamstring and glute muscles in the back of the thighs and butt. Many people will either simply drop the bar from the top of the lift or they will attempt to bounce the bar off of the ground between reps. Dropping the bar from the top of the lift will not injure you if you do it properly BUT it will not help you much with lifting heavy objects in real life. How do you think your buddy will like if he calls you over to help him move his couch and when its time to set the couch down, you just drop your side of the couch onto his wood floor from 3 feet off the ground? He ain't gonna like that too much. On the other hand, if you try to lower his couch under control and yet you've never trained your ability to lower your weights under proper muscular control when deadlifting at the gym, you're gonna have a pretty hard time doing it in real life!
The other common mistake - bouncing the weight off of the ground between reps when performing Deadlifts is dangerous because stability throughout your posture and your joints is of crucial importance when performing the Deadlift because of the positioning of the exercise and the quantity of weight that is possible on the Deadlift because of its potential as a super strong lift. If you bounce the weight off of the ground between reps, there then a moment during the bounce in which the bare is weightless because it is bouncing. This can allow some of your highly important muscles that were previous stabilizing or lifting to temporarily "turn off" because there is no weight for them to be flexing against anymore. But then all of the sudden the bounce ends and your muscles all have to instantaneously jump back on duty in the perfect position with perfect stability. This is a highly dangerous gamble to make and it also prevents the ability to set a weight down under control and your ability to lift it properly from the ground under control. For these reasons, always practice lowering your Deadlift reps all the way to the floor under control and then smoothly beginning the next rep from the floor again. There may be times when you are working with a near max weight (lets say 97% of your maximum weight) and you don't feel that you can lower it under control. In such cases it is common practice, and perfectly permissible to simple drop the weight from the top of the Deadlift (assuming this is not against the gym rules at the gym you workout at).
The Deadlift is really the king of lifts and it will develop truly usable strength for real life if utilized properly because most lifting in real life involves lifting things in front of us off of the ground. Learning how to keep the core tight and stable, the lower back straight, and letting the big strong muscles of the hamstrings and glutes do the lifting are some of the most useful skills and habits that you can develop in your training routine.
Disclaimer - We do not recommend performing any exercise without the supervision of a highly qualified bodyweight strength professional present with you. This detailed exercise description is for informational purposes only. Consult your physician before attempting any strength training program or attempting this exercise or any of the other exercises on www.bodyweight-strength.com