Okay, I am far from an expert on how to do deadlifts. I started lifting in my mid twenties and continued bodybuilding into my thirties. Strange as it may sound, I never performed a deadlift until about 5 months ago. All the gyms I belonged to over the years(I will do a separate post about them), did not have people doing deadlifts. I had a workout partner for quite a few years and we thought we were doing all the right exercises: bench, squats, lat pull downs, etc. Everything except the deadlift!
The Gold’s Gym I belong to now has two platforms specifically for deadlifting and Olympic exercises. So I watched and learned. Then I scoured Youtube for instruction there. I guess I did not want to hire a personal trainer. I started deadlifting with 95lbs for 10 reps, I felt like a kid in a candy store, it was great trying a totally new exercise. I really felt my hamstrings for a couple of days. Deadlifts will help my squat I am sure. A month later 135 for 10 reps, eventually getting to 215 for two reps. I really wanted to take it slow, no injuries!
Now I want to take this to the next level, adding weight to my lifts, and have finally found a couple of videos that will get me there – without injuries.
The first is by Alan Thrall, one of my favorite guys making training videos, love the humor!:
- Line up 1″ away from the barbell
- Bend over and place hands on the barbell – do not move the barbell
- Bring your shins up to the barbell(this will put your hips in the correct position)
- Squeeze your chest out, drive your knees out against your elbows
The second is from another favorite, Joe DeFranco:
- Perform a hiphinge
- make like you have a double chin
- Take the slack out of the bar (use 134lbs of tension with 135, wait until you hear the click
- Force knees out into arms
- Do not over-arch your back – stay strait at top