How to Make Your Deadlifts Instantly Stronger With Just One Adjustment
Despite its ability to build full-body power and strength, the deadlift often finds itself in the hot seat as a controversial exercise. While dedicated powerlifters see it as a pillar of strength training, physical therapists caution its frequency due to anecdotal instances of back pain and injury. Our hot take: When done correctly, no exercise builds functional strength quite like the conventional deadlift. The keyword there? When done correctly.
Whether you’ve been lifting for years or are new to the weight room, there’s a right and wrong way to perform this powerhouse move. There’s one common issue that keeps novice lifters from getting the most out of deadlifts, says Jordan Feigenbaum, MD, MS, an experienced strength coach and founder of Barbell Medicine.
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“The biggest problem is they want to [deadlift] with their hips way too low,” Feigenbaum says. “I think it comes from this idea that if you load the spine in any sort of fashion, it increases injury risk—particularly risk of low back pain, which is unfortunate because you can’t really deadlift like that.”
But despite the relatively common idea that deadlifts and strength training in general “may be a risky proposition, lifting weights is actually one of the safest forms of exercise available, with an average injury rate of about two to four injuries per 1,000 participation hours for all resistance-training modalities,” Feigenbaum says.
So, what exactly does it mean to deadlift with your hips too low? Despite what fitness influencers might say, your deadlift shouldn’t resemble a squat. If you begin the lift with your hips positioned lower than they should, you run the risk of the bar sitting too far forward, which in turn makes the pull less productive.
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When working with clients, especially those who are new to the deadlift, Feigenbaum states “there are a handful of checkpoints someone could use to reassure themselves they’re in a good position.”
- Walk up to the barbell using a hip-width stance for a conventional deadlift so your legs are inside the knurling and about an inch away from the bar.
- Grab the bar just outside of your legs so your hands don’t interfere on the way up.
- Push your shins toward the bar and keep shoulders in front of the bar (not behind or directly over it).
- Position knees toward your elbows, sitting in the crook. “If your knees are behind your elbows, your hips are too high and if your knees are in front of your elbows, your hips are too low.”
Related: How to Do the Clean Exercise, Olympic Weightlifters’ Go-To for Explosive Power