Why it’s Functional

The deadlift is a simple yet unrivaled movement that will increase your strength from head to toe. It doesn’t matter what your goals are: increasing metabolism, build strength or muscle tissue, or improve over all athletic performance, the deadlift will help you reach that end all the while helping to maintain functional independence as you age.

Fun Fact: The Deadlift was initially named the Healthlift – which may be a better-suited name for it.

The deadlift is fundamental prerequisite to the ‘worlds fastest lift’ The Snatch, and the ‘worlds most powerful lift’ The Clean, but more importantly the safest approach to lifting any object off the ground.

Points of Performance

1. Natural stance with feet under hips/shoulders.
2. Symmetrical grip (whether parallel, alternating or hook).
3. Bar starts above knots in shoelaces.
4. Shoulders slightly over the bar.
5. Inside of elbow facing one another.
6. Midline stable – with chest up.
7. Arms locked and not pulling.
8. Shoulders pinned back and down.
9. Set your lats, pinning your arms down.
10. Weight on heels of feet.
11. Bar travels in a straight line, up and down – does not bump around the knees.
12. Angle of torso stays constant while the bar is below the knees – shoulders and hips rise at the same time.
13. Gaze is forward – straight ahead, or at the floor 10-12 feet in front of you.

Deadlift

• Determine grip: alternating, parallel and hook grip – it’s good practice to vary this up from exercise to exercise in order to maintain the ability to function using each grip.
• Arms remain perpendicular to the ground until lock out.
• Look straight ahead towards the floor about 10-12 feet in front of you.
• Maintain natural arch in back / neutral spine.
• Arms do not pull; they are just straps.
• Bar travels along legs.
• Push through the heels
• Come to full extension, squeezing the gluteals at the top.

Sumo Deadlift & (High Pull)

• The Sumo deadlift is performed as the regular deadlift, except with a wide stance and hands gripping the bar inside the legs. The Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) builds on this, using momentum to pull the bar up to weightlessness at chest level.
• Start with bar mid-shin.
• Take wide (sumo) stance & narrow grip on the bar.
• Look straight ahead.
• Stabilize core / maintain neutral spine.
• Pull with hips and legs (not arms) until you reach full extension. (Sumo Deadlift here. Continue for full SDHP instructions)
• Aggressively open the hips, then shrug powerfully & pull with the arms, using momentum to raise the bar.
• Keep the elbows high and outside (not under the bar)
• Aim to bring the bar as close to the chin as possible.
• Lower bar to the hang position, then the mid-shin.

Straight Legged / Stiff / Romanian Deadlift

• Performed using the regular deadlift stance, by raising the hips first to a straight-legged position (allowing only a slight bend in the knees), before extending the torso to full extension. This becomes more of a hamstring strengthening exercise.
• Snatch Grip Deadlift
• Performed exactly like the regular deadlift, using a snatch grip.