articles.elitefts.

col
http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/powerlifting-articles/elitefts-fr
ee-deadlift-manuall
Mastering the Deadlifc
This is a 15-part article that would be better thought of as a manual on deadlif
ting. This is no_
something you will sit down and read in one setting. I suggest you read this in
sections and bookmaro
to reference later. I have never seen the need in using manuals as bait to get peo
ple to sign up fo^
our mailing list. As a business owner I am part of hundreds if not a thousand ma
iling lists. They providb
quick insight of what is going on in the industry (and others I follow) and insp
ire ideas. Almost everyonb
in the strength, fitness and conditioning industry uses this bait to get you to si
gn up for their list so i_
must work right? Maybe maybe not but I still like the elitefts way betterGive you
to the content firs_
and let you decide if you want to revisit the site, subscribe to our newsletter
(strength club), or suppor_
us with your business. Maybe it doesnt work as well but you wont have to keep clos
ing annoying po]
up screens so that has to be worth something. Enjoy this manual on The Deadlift.
X
- Dave Tate founder Elitefts.com In`
Part 1: Why I Hate the Deadlifc
By Dave Tatr
.
The Deadlifc
The first and simple reason why I hate the deadlift is that Ive always sucked at
it and making gains on it was thr
slowest process in the world. Actually the only real time I made decent gains wa
s when I stopped doing thew
altogethert
I never hurt myself (seriously) doing the deadlift and was scared to do them (ho
w can you be scared pickiny
something up?) and they really arent that hard to do. Sure, if you do 20-rep sets
they will kick your ass, but so will 2
reps sets on just about any compound movement. My point is that there really isnt
any real reason why I hate thr
deadlift so much, but I dot
Seriouslx
To me, the deadlift was just that thing you had to do in a meet before you could
go to dinner. I was NOT one of thosr
the meet doesnt start until the bar hits the floor guys. To me, most meets NEVER st
arted on time and it sure as helq
wasnt when the deadlift began. To regress, deadlifting in a meet wasnt that bad, i
t still sucked, but it was a means tv
a total and I thought that was always the most important thing. What I pulled wa
s always more determined by what .
wanted to total than by breaking a deadlift PR. Toward the later years of my car
eer, I knew I could pull between 700z
740 pounds on any given day, if I trained the lift or if I didnt. What I ended up
pulling was based on how I finished thr
squat and bencht
Training the deadlift was much worse. The BEST thing about when I trained at Wes
tside was that we didnt deadlifi
often (many times not once for months). We did pin pulls, close stand yoke bar l
ow box squat, TONS ou
goodmornings, and special movements, such as reverse hypers and glute ham raises
. Not only did these increasr
my squat (and deadlift), they also provided a means to NOT deadlift and that was
AWESOME6
No Morg
Now that Im retired from the sport, I dont care if I ever pull another deadlift in
my life. I dont write my own programs
but I will admit if I see the deadlift or pin pull in the program I WILL replace
it even if I have to do three extrm
movements for 12 extra sets, I would much rater do that then a few sets of deadl
iftingt
I CANT stand the deadlift6
That ONE dax
There was ONE day where I almost liked the deadlift, but as usual with the deadl
ift, that got shot down. I have no idem
why, but at a local Ohio meet back in 2002, I pulled my 650-pound opener and it
was easy (it always was). I thex
jumped to 720 pounds for a PR total. Normally I would call it a day and pass the
third, but the 720 was really easyt
This isnt powerlifer talk it was seriously really easy. I called for 770 pounds on
my third attempt for a 30 pound PRt
The bar flew up and right before lockout without even slowing down, my right han
d popped open and the bar hit thr
floort
At this point, I did the infamous hand stare. Youve seen it. You may have actually
done it. This is when you drop m
pull and look at your hands like W.
just happenedt
I was totally confused and did the hand stare for what seemed to be 20 minutes u
ntil Louie finally walked over an|
said, Your pulls looked really good. I asked him what the hell happened to my grip
. His answer, while classic Louie
just made me hate the deadlift more, You were never strong enough to have a grip
problem before.r
.
Whx
At this point you may be asking why Im writing this article. Here is the honest a
nswer: we are having a Day of thb
Deadlift Sale the same day this article is launching, so it cant help to have thi
s extra promotion. Since Im writiny
about something I cant stand, the least you can do is check out the sale. Hahaha
wait! Im serioust
I also figured if Im going to do this, I want to write something that will actual
ly help you all. Ive been in the sport for m
very long time and taught hundreds (if not thousands) of people how to deadlift.
.
or many people it is really as simplr
as just bending over and picking it up, for others it is a real struggle to teac
h them how to pull effectively and correctlyt
Unlike the squat and bench where deep detailed instruction seems to work best, d
eadlift instruction seems to wor.
best with very simple verbal cuest
This gave me the idea to send an e-mail to Team elitefts and ask them for their t
op three verbal cues when teachiny
the deadlift. At the end of their tips, I posted mine with a couple videos that
I think might help you outt
These tips are listed as Sumo or Conventional. Some of the team provided just ho
w they pull, while others provide|
tips for eacht
Mike Robertson
Sumd
Get your heels underneath the ban
Sit down, push your knees out to keep shoulders over the ban
Tight lats/pull the bar BAC.
Zane Gettino
Sumd
Arch har|
Get your hips lo{
Take the slack out of the bar and get your whole body tighi
Spread your knees har|
Spread the floon
.
Vincent Dizenzk
BotU
or any style-deadlift, flex your triceps while pulling (this helps prevent bicep
tears.
The hook grip is an excellent way to protect your biceps and back. However, you
need to condition your hands
for this, especially your thumbs. It gets better every week. Be patientt
If you are riddled with injuries and still want to pull, try a trap bart
Sumd
Get and keep your hips flexiblet
.
.
.
Marc Bartlex
BotU
This applies to either doing 75 to 80 percent work. Ease the weight off the floo
r. Once it leaves the floor, aboui
two to three inches, then apply as much speed as possiblet
Overextend at the top by trying to get the shoulders behind your waist as fast a
s you can. The bar will ride thr
legs and distribute the load better. Squeeze the UPPER glutes at the top to lock
the quads in and limit bentz
knee lockoutst
Sumd
Going back to easing it off the floor, a way to know if youre getting the legs an
d glutes in it, once it comes ofu
the floor, if you are holding the best leverages, you literally.
EEL the weights drop into the legs, hips and glutest
.
Molly Edwardh
BotU
Setup is ke
Get one big breath before grabbing the bar. So many of us lose our airt
Use your ass from the floon
.
Clint Darden
Conventionaa
Disclaimer: Im such a non-technical lifter and still learning, so my thoughts may
be completely wrongl
Push your abs out as far as you can to take up as much space as they can vertica
lly. When my abs push out
they also force my chest up and keep my lower back from rounding, which is impor
tant under heavy loads. Thr
stronger your abs, are the more weight they can hold. I think of it as a turtle
shell that runs from my nipples tv
my nadst
DO NOT STOP PULLING! A lot of amateur lifters miss their pull because they thoug
ht that it was hard an|
mentally decided to quit pulling. Lifts CAN be finished! Its just like every grip
event, you have to tell yourselu
that you will NOT quit. The only way that I will stop is if it simply falls out
of my hands or drags me back down tv
the floort
.
Al Caslog
BotU
Spread your knees out to get your crotch close to ban
Arch hard and pull your chest uj
Spread the floon
Start pulling your head bac.
Be patient while driving off the floon
.
.
Matt Rhodeh
Conventionaa
Pull the slack out of the ban
Dont jerk the bar off the floon
Push your feet through the floor and drive your head uj
Set your feet in the most powerful position for your bod
.
David Kirschen
Sumd
Pull yourself into your arch before breaking the bar off the floon
Keep your lower back tight, but your upper beck relaxe|
Keep your arms straight, do not bend your elbows
Lean back to the point that you would fall if the weight was not there to counte
r balance yo}
Harry Selkog
Conventionaa
Keep your head in the neutral position. Neither up nor down, but straight aheadt

Keep the spine organizedLean
back into the heels and add tension to the glutes and hamstrings
Scrape the shins and then throw the hips into the bar like you mean to do on a S
aturday Nighi
Sumd
Like in those ballet classes you got kicked out of, Plo
. Push your knees out along the bart
Arch har|
Sink back into the heels
Put tension in your hamstrings and glutes and GO6
Dij
Grij
Rip the skin from the shins
or a great deadlift, you have to have skin in the gym, for the win..
Josh Bryanc
BotU
Visualize yourself completing the lift ahead of time. The lift is done before yo
u approach the platformt
Speed is your cue as you approach the ban
Commit to the pull6
.
.
Julia Ladewskd
BotU
Pull the slack out of the ban
Sumd
Arch your lower back, but dont shrug your shoulderst
Keep your hips down, but dont sit too low..
ind the point where youre in a good position, but still get some poj
off the floort
.
Jo Jordan
Sumd
Drive down through your heels
Pull up and bac.
Drive your head back as you pulq
.
Matt Kroe
Sumd
Try to push out to the sides with your feet versus down, spread the floor.Open
your groin as much as possible to keep your hips in close and improve your lever
aget
Conventionaa
At the start of the pull, use your quads and try to squat the bar off the floor
to get it moving quickly, which wilq
keep you in a good position leverage-wise for the lockoutt
Keep your ass down and head uj
After taking the slack out of the bar, rip it off the floort
Grip the bar with your hands directly under your shoulders to get the maximum le
ngth from your arms and tv
decrease the distance you have to pull the bart
.
CJ Murphx
BotU
lex your lats and tris when taking slack out (tri -lat tuck.
Put your weight on your heels/big toe uj
Drive your hips into bar once it passes the kneesfuck the bar.all
back at lockoui
.
.
Steve Gogginh
BotU
Get your head up at the beginning and keep it there the entire time until you fi
nish the liftt
Make your arms long and relax your shoulderst
Pull on your heels, but keep your feet flat and toes downt
Explode but dont jerk6
Conventionaa
Pull the bar into your legs as close and as hard as you can. Try to drag the ski
n off your legst
.
Matt Ladewskd
BotU
If youre having grip issues at lockout, you may be pushing the bar out in front o
f you when your hand is againsi
your leg. Try widening your hand spacingt
Dont be afraid to use straps in training. It will allow you to focus on the pull
without the worry of your grip failingt
It will also allow you to work your back evenlyt
Conventionaa
If you dont have a problem with lockout and miss off the floor, open your feet up
and push your knees out tv
the sidet
When you pull, drive your heels into the ground as if youre pulling yourself into
the groundt
Dont try to lift the bar straight up! Try to pull the bar back into yout
Sumd
When setting your grip, use your elbows to push out your knees before you pullt
.
Adam Driggerh
BotU
Have a training partner flatten the bar before you pull. When the bar is loaded,
sometimes its left with a bo{
when it is let down from loading. If that bow is there when you begin the pull,
it can cause an unusual recoilt
Keep your head up, your chest bowed out and your shoulder blades togethert
At the top, when the weight slows, squeeze your glutes like its your first night
in prison. This really helps thr
last few inches to lockoutt
Buy a Metal Pro Deadlift suit. Im sorry, sometimes I pander.
.
Hannah Johnson
BotU
Squat the weight upThrust
your hips forward and squeeze your glutes at the toj
Keep shoulder blades tighi
.
Steve Pulcinella
BotU
Always think of your start as a PUSH with the legs, not a PULL with the backt
.
Dave Tatg
Sumd
When you set up, keep your crotch over the bar the entire time you sit dowx
Arch your lower bac.
Round your upper bac.
Conventionaa
Begin the pull by flexing your abs
Keep your arms straighi
Keep your head U2
Try to fall over backwards
.
.
Part 2: Biomechanical Analysis of the Deadlifc
By Martyn Girvax
Introductionv
The deadlift can be considered as one of the best tests of overall body strength
(Groves, 2000). It is a multi joini
movement that in simple terms involves picking up a barbell from the floor and s
tanding to the erect position. Thr
movement includes the recruitment of the muscles of the hip, lower back, upper b
ack, quadriceps, hamstrings an|
abdominals. If used correctly, it can be an excellent exercise to use in the dev
elopment of strength, speed and powert
During this analysis, the objective was to compare and contrast the biomechanica
l efficiency of two types of deadlifi
styles and determine which type should be used for certain body typest
Methodk
Procedurev
The participant was given instructions on both conventional and semi round back
deadlift techniques. The videv
recording equipment was set up at ninety degrees to the demonstration at a dista
nce of approximately five metres
away. This was to ensure parallax and perspective errors were each accounted for
. Recordings were then made for m
series of conventional and rounded back deadlifts. Multiple repetitions were per
formed in each style at approximatel
80 percent of the lifters one repetition maximum. One repetition from each style
was then analysedt
Participantsv
The participant for this study was one elite level power lifter who has been com
peting at national level for two yearst
Apparatusv
The equipment used was a Sony digital handicam 120x zoom video camera set up on
a tripod to record thr
observations. A weights belt was used for back support, as well as an Olympic st
yle barbell in conjunction with weighi
plates. All observations were conducted at Apollo.
itness Centret
.
Literature reviewv
In competitive powerlifting, the deadlift is the third lift in order following t
he squat and bench press. It often comes
down to performance in the deadlift to decide the difference between winning and
losing a competition. There is m
saying in powerlifting circles that the competition does not start until the bar
hits the floor, meaning that a strony
deadlift will often lead to a good competition resultt
Much of the research that involves the deadlift has looked at sumo and conventio
nal styles. Sumo style is used with m
wider stance in which the lifter grips the bar with the arms placed on the insid
e of the legs. Conventional stylr
deadlifting involves foot placement at approximately shoulder width apart and gr
ipping the bar on the outside of thr
legs (McGuigan & Wilson, 1996)t
Both techniques have been used effectively in elite power lifting competition. C
onventional style places a largr
emphasis on the use of the erector spinae muscles because in this position the t
runk is normally flexed forward. Sumv
style is performed with a more erect and upright back alignment that allows for
greater recruitment of the hip muscles
to perform the lift (Piper & Waller, 2001)t
The sumo lift is considered to be the more biomechanical efficient lift of the b
oth techniques (McGuigan & Wilson
1996). It is suggested that bar travel is minimized with a shorter stroke and ai
ds the ability to recruit a greater numben
of muscle fibres from the posterior chain. Studies have indicated that sumo styl
e deadlifting can reduce bar travel b
nineteen percent (McGuigan & Wilson, 1996)t
Studies by McGuigan & Wilson (1996) have indicated that in elite competitive pow
erlifting the majority of worl|
records are held by lifters using the conventional style. Sumo style deadlifting
has not produced as many worl|
records but has performed greater lifts in terms of relative body weight. This g
ives rise to the suggestion thai
conventional style deadlifting may be suited to lifters of larger body mass with
longer arm length and sumo suited tv
those of smaller body masst
The conventional style involves the use of the erector spinae, trapezius, quadri
ceps and hamstring muscles (Stone %
OBryant, 1987)..
urther analysis of the conventional deadlift indicates that the gluteal, latissi
mus dorsi, teres minon
subscapularis, infraspinatus, supraspinatus and biceps brachii all assist with t
he lift to some degree .
arley, 1995)t
The kinesiology of the conventional style involves setting up with the feet spac
ed shoulder width apart. Commox
practise is to use an alternating grip which involves one hand pronated and the
other hand supinated to assist with
grip strength. Common practise to set up for the initial pull involves aligning
the shins close to the bar .
arley, 1995)t
Keeping the load as close to the body as possible should assist with increasing
the mechanical advantage for greaten
force production (Stone & OBryant, 1987). In contrast to this, some literature ha
s suggested that keeping the load tov
close to the body may cause excessive drag and friction against the body that ma
y decrease the efficiency of the liftt
Correct starting position indicated by many texts suggests that the pelvic girdl
e is in line with or slightly below thr
knees. The back should remain flat and at an angle of forty five degrees to the
floort
Additional support for this method put forth by Daniels (2003) indicates keeping
the back flat and placing the hips
below the half squat position. This position is said to put the initial load of
the pull on to the quadriceps muscles witho}
placing undue stress on the lumbar region of the spine (Groves, 2000)t
.
.
Discussion/ Conclusionv
Choosing a style of deadlifting can best be suited to a persons individual body m
echanics. Many variables come intv
play that may affect the efficiency of the lift. These factors include torso, le
g and arm length (Stone & OBryant, 1987)t
Movements are governed by physical laws. Understanding and applying biomechanica
l principles to deadliftiny
technique can result in the lift being more energy efficient and allowing greate
r peak performance. In contrast , poon
body mechanics become less efficient and may cause injury (Stone & OBryant, 1987)
t
Mechanical work can be described as force exerted on an object over a distance i
t is dislaced (Siff, 2000)..
or efficieni
use of force, the displacement should be along the same line and in opposite dir
ection to the resisting force of the loa|
(Stone & OBryant, 1987). This gives additional support to keeping the bar close t
o the body while deadlifting which
will assist with a more efficient movement and less wasted effort. This may be d
ue to the reduced moment arm ou
forcet
In contrast to much of the research put forth, I suggest a different starting po
sition to the conventional deadlift thai
may assist those lifters who tend to be of taller stature with longer arm length
. Both sumo and conventional styles
have been studied extensively but minimal research has been done in what I call
a semi round back style which ma
contra-indicate some previous research with regards to lumbar spine loadingt
The semi round back style involves a similar initial set up to the conventional
style but the hip girdle is set at a highen
start position for the initial pull. This position would be almost a quarter squ
at position with the upper back kept flat an|
at a ten degree lean to the floor, as opposed to forty five degrees lean suggest
ed in many textst
Previous research has suggested that a person maybe more biomechanical efficient
in the quarter squat position thax
in the half squat position. Studies have indicated that greater loads can be use
d in the partial quarter squat movemeni
than the half squat (Siff, 2000)t
The semi round method also allows for the bar to travel in a straight line. The
shortest distance between two points is
a straight line, therefore this can decrease the distance of travel. The convent
ional method causes the lifters lowen
limbs to shift forward in the starting position. This will cause the bar to trav
el in a S type motion with the load moviny
away from the body and then moving back towards the body once the load has clear
ed the kneest
This gives rise to the idea of trying to turn the deadlift into the quarter squa
t motion but the load being off the floor..
on
this to occur, the lifter must have an extremely strong upper and lower back. Th
e higher starting position can reducr
the displacement of the load and therefore in turn reduce the amount of work per
formedt
Studies by Horn (1988) suggest that electromyographic activity in the spinal ere
ctor muscles were twice as active ix
conventional lifters when compared with sumo technique. Cholewicki et al (1991)
studied the lumbar spine load ou
both sumo and conventional technique. No significant difference was found in dis
c compression force at L4/L=
regions using both techniques. There were significantly greater L4/L5 moments an
d load shear forces in thr
conventional technique. This may suggest that the greater forward lean of round
back technique may further increasr
L4/L5 moments and shear forces indicating that much caution must be taken when c
onsidering this method fon
athletes as for the increased risk of injury to the lower back regiont
This type of lifting conflicts with much of the research that suggests correct d
eadlift form. In the absence of previous
research, experiential evidence has indicated that using the semi round back met
hod has resulted in three athletes
breaking world deadlift records in WPC and W
PL federations. Other competition results include a further five lifters
who have broken Victorian state and Australian national records. This may be due
to reduced bar displacement an|
therefore reducing the amount of work performed. This technique has only worked
for taller type lifters, which may br
more biomechanical efficient for those with longer type leverst
Much assistance work must be employed to strengthen the abdominal, spinal erecto
r, hamstring, gluteal and uppen
back muscles for this method to be effective. Care and patience must be exercise
d if considering using the round bac.
method as a preferred stylet
urther research in this area is needed to investigate differential leverages and
the muscles responsible for effectivr
motion. When considering various techniques, individual body leverages need to b
e taken into account along with thr
assessment of the individuals muscle strengths and weaknesses. Caution should be
used before considering this
technique due to the increased risk of injury. If employed correctly, the semi r
ound back method may lead to greaten
competition totals for the powerliftert
.
Referenceh
Cholewicki, J., McGill, S. and Norman, R. (1991). Lumbar Spine Loads During the
Lifting of Extremely Heavy Weightst
Medical Science Journal of Sports Exercise. Vol 23, pp1179- 1186.Daniels, D. (20
03). Deadlift 101, Part 1. Powerliftiny
USA. Vol 26. No.8t
Groves, B. (2000). Powerlifting: Technique and Training for Athletic Muscular De
velopment. Champaign: Humax
Kineticst
arley,K. (1995). Analysis if the Conventional Deadlift. Strength and Conditionin
g Journal. Vol 15, No. 2, pp 55-58t
McGuigan, R.M. & Wilson, B.D. (1996). Biomechanical Analysis of the Deadlift. Jo
urnal of Strength and Conditioniny
Research. 10(4), 250-255t
Piper, T.J. & Waller, M.A. (2001). Variations of the Deadlift. Strength and Cond
itioning Journal. Vol 23, No. 3, pp 66-73t
Stone, M. & OBryant, H. (1987). Weight Training: A Scientific Approach. (2nd ed.)
. Edina: Burgess Internationalt
.
Part 3 Deconstructing the Deadlifc
By Dave Tatr
I hate deadlifting. Going the rest of my life without doing another pull would b
e fine by me. The reason for this is thai
since my first competition back in 1983, my deadlift has been a struggle. It was
nothing like the squat and bench
press, which are my strong lifts, and Ive tried everything to fix it..
rom deadlifting three times per week, to twice pen
week, to once a week, to once a month, and (my favorite) not deadlifting at all.
However, I never gave up an|
eventually I was able to build my pull to a point where it became my means to a t
otal, and I still look for new ways tv
build bigger deadlifts today. The difference is now I really dont care about my o
wn pull but do care about how I cax
help others pull more. This article is about helping you improve your deadlift.
The deadlift is surprisingly complext
While its cool to say just walk up to the fucking bar and lift thats not enoughI laug
h every time I hear that. If only ii
was that simple. It certainly wont cut it if youre stuck in a plateauand a deadlift
ing plateau can be the worst youlq
ever come acrosst
3 Things p
Like the bench press and squat, a deadlift plateau is due to one of three issues
k
1..
Physical programming, flexibility, strengthening weaker muscles and movementst
2..
Mental level of arousal/over-arousalt
3..
Technical exercise technique and executiont
Most lifters think their deadlifting slump is due to physical issues. So they as
k, What exercises should I do? or Ho{
do I tweak my programming? Do I pull every four days or every five? They got it a
ll wrong. In my experience, onl
20% of deadlifting slumps are due to physical issues or programming flaws. Techn
ical or technique problems
represent a full 70% of lifters challenges, with mental issues making up the fina
l 10%t
Note: These tips are based around increasing maximal strength in the deadlift, m
y particular area of expertise. Its noi
about tweaking the pull for a bigger back or programming for a greater hypertrop
hic response. To accomplish that, I|
defer to a true expert in that realm, namely someone like John Meadowst
Mental: 10% p
The deadlift is getting popular. Its weird, considering its such a shitty experien
ce, at least in my opinion. While noi
nearing the fan appeal of the squat or bench press, the gap is definitely closin
g, which Ill concede is a good thing. As
a result, you now hear guys spouting that the deadlift is the true measure of stre
ngth. I must be in bizarro world. Tex
years ago the argument was the squat or the bench press was the true measure or
strength, as too many otherwisr
weak people can sport above average deadlifts just by having the right leverages
. Heres the thing. Whatever a liften
is strongest at will always influence the best strength indicator debate. So every
600-pound raw bencher is going tv
say that the bench press is the true measure of strength, just as every 1000-pou
nd squatter will say the same thiny
about the squat. The fact is, its what youre shitty at that really measures abili
ty. So in my case, perhaps the deadlift is
the true measure of strength. Lucky met
Most mental issues in the deadlift pertain to arousalabout 50% of lifters need to
be extremely aroused to pull a lot ou
weight. Youve seen themthey pace around, smack heads with their training partners,
scare old ladies, etc. Thr
other half is the opposite. Like me, they need to be more relaxed. When I got to
o aroused all hell broke loose. .
screwed up either the setup or execution. So for mental issues, the first thing
you need to do is identify the type of liften
you are. If you arent a hyper-arousal type, dont chase those methods. Youll just ma
ke any other underlying issues
worse. The nature of the deadlift also contributes to its potential for mental f
uck-ups. Unlike the squat or bench press
in the deadlift theres no pre-load. You cant unrack the weight and feel it out and a
djust your mental statr
accordingly, whereas in the squat or bench you can tell right away if the lift i
s going to be cake or if you need to gei
your shit correct..
urthermore, in the deadlift theres no eccentric loading and therefore no stretch
reflex to takr
advantage of. So unlike the squat or bench, you go in blind and completely on yo
ur ownt
Note: There are some ways to get some stretch reflex but thats beyond the scope o
f this articlet
All that adds up to guys showing up on meet day and failing to budge their 3RM w
eightst
They mentally fuc.
themselves out of the lift before they even get up there. Lets not forget all the
cues. Coaches use different cues tv
accomplish basically the same thingKeep the shoulders in line with the bar versus Ch
est up for example)
however, depending on the lifter, one may be too much information and the other
not enough. This is true with all lifts
and all sport skills for that matter. So if you have doubt, ask what the end res
ult should be, or look for it in the cuiny
being used. Dont let a confusing cue knock you out of your most natural lifting p
atternt
Technical: 70% p
Setup p
The keys of proper deadlift setup are things I learned as a young lifter from Bo
b Wahl, Louie, Ricky Crane, Stevr
Goggins, and Ed Coan. Honestly, I cant remember whom I learned what aspect from,
so I want to make sure they alq
get credit. Thats a pretty esteemed list of teachers, and its for a reasonmy deadli
ft sucked so I consulted with thr
bestt
Feec
oot position is much ado about nothing. Heres how you figure out your ideal width
: Hang from a chin-up bar an|
drop to the floor. Note your foot position when you land. Thats the right convent
ional deadlifting stance for you. I thin.
I first learned this from.
red Hatfield, but have used it many times over the years with lifters, as well a
s with run of thr
mill personal training clientst
Shinh
This can vary from right against the bar to six inches or more away from it. I t
hink mid-foot distance is an optimaq
starting point but it really depends on quad size. Someone with huge quads will
need the bar further away so ii
doesnt ride up and hit the quadsmeaning if you have Meadows-like quads the bar wil
l be stuck under them an|
youll have to pull over and around themwhile someone with skinny quads and no tear
drop can start much closert
Again, mid-foot is a great starting place. Some lifters like to lift the toes to
get the weight moving backwards whilr
others find twisting the feet (meaning the action of doing this, your actual foo
t doesnt move) helps activate the glutest
I like the most natural position to start. This lets me keep an ace in the hole so
if I find it sticking mid-lift, I can turx
my toes (twist). This will further contract my glutes, which may be enough to ke
ep the weight moving. If I did this frow
the start, the glutes would already be firing all-out at the sticking point and
as such couldnt be called in to assist. This
is what I mean by always keeping something in the tankt
Back p
I prefer a slight, not extreme, arch in the lower back. The upper back should be
rounded and somewhat relaxed, thr
shoulders slightly slumped. This improves leverage and shortens the distance of
the pull. At no point during the pulq
should you allow the spine to enter into over-flexiont
Hands p
To set up, I normally coach guys to just drop the arms straight down and grab th
e bar, although a bigger, heavier gu
with broad shoulders will need to be a bit wider. Keep the arms straight but rel
axed. Theres no need to flex the triceps
unless in extreme situations. If the hand position is correct then the hips shou
ld be where they need to be. We doni
want the hips to be in the squat position (too low) or in a Romanian deadlift po
sition (too high). The best descripton
would be like a quarter squat. This allows for the ideal hinge and posterior cha
in recruitment. Also, theres knurling ox
the bar for a reason so if you need to grip one finger wider to use it then do s
o. The biggest mistakes I see with grij
are holding the bar way too close on a sumo deadlift and too wide with a convent
ional. Of course there will always br
deviations from the norm, but if you shoot for keeping the arms in a straight li
ne youll probably end up in a goo|
positiont
Note: If youre a powerlifter, I suggest using a mixed grip as this is how youll co
mpete. If you arent a competitivr
lifter I normally suggest not using a mixed grip (and if you need straps then use
them) but this depends on whai
youre training for and what the deadlift has been put into the program to enhance
t
Heas
The idea is to drive the head back into the traps, not just look up. The excessi
ve head cranked up towards the ceiliny
thing you see today is completely unnecessary. Its also counterproductive. The he
ad follows the body, so you want tv
drive the head back, not up..
or the same reason, looking down is a surefire way to miss a lift..
ind a spot on the walq
that requires you to keep your head up and back into the traps and begin the pul
l from there. Another head positiox
issue I find (working with powerlifters) is their traps and upper backs get so t
hick that they have a hard time keepiny
their heads up in the first place. Ive seen guys so thick they can barely turn th
eir heads to the side without having tv
rotate their torso. Telling them to look up will get you about as far as asking
them to pick up a nickel they dropped ox
the floor. You can scream at them all day to get their heads up but if the struc
ture wont allow it theyll just tune yo}
out. However, they can and should drive their heads back into their traps and th
is is what you need to look fort
Pull The Slac~
The first thing to do after the setup is to pull the slack out of the bar. Reach
down and grab a loaded barbell. Hear thai
clicking sound? Thats the sleeve of the barbell connecting with the collars. You
want to remove that play before yo}
initiate your pull. Thats what guys mean when they say to pull the slack out of t
he bar. Doing this initial pre-pullallows
the hips to drop down slightly. Although this step is subtle, if skipped, the hi
ps will slide out of position once yo}
really start to pull, which is when the weights break from the floort
Air p
Wear your belt as tight as you can. I always cinch mine at least 1 or 2 holes ti
ghter than where I have it when I squai
or bench. Its so tight I basically cant breathe, meaning I can only draw in about
50% of the air I can normally draw int
Less air in the lungs helps keep everythingthe lungs, the chestlower, making it ea
sier to hit the lockout position. Iu
you dont wear a belt, just remember to draw in 50% of your lung capacity, brace y
our torso, and keep everything tightt
Notes on Sumo Setun
Sumo is obviously a wider setup, with the hips closer to the bar..
rom the side, a good sumo deadlift should loo.
almost like a leg press in that the torso doesnt move much. The rules for pulling
sumo really arent much differeni
from whats been presented above except for how you get into the start position. Y
our stance will be based (again) ofu
what you feel works best. Sumo can go from modified to ultra widewhatever allows fo
r the best pulling position an|
bar path is the one to use. Once this is determined, you want to drive your feet
apart (spreading the floor) while tryiny
to keep your knees in line with the ankles. This keeps the hips closer to the ba
r. When I teach the sumo pull I telq
people to get their starting position so their crotch is over the bar i.e., Balls
over Bar..
or some the easiest way to dv
this is to start in a standing position and squat down. Others find it easier to
bend over, get the grip, and then pull thr
chest up to bring the hips forward. Go with what works best, but I will say that
from teaching hundreds if not thousands
of lifters its easier to teach them to get the position by squatting down. Even i
f they change later theyll get the feeq
what the start should feel liket
Sticking Pointh
Weak off the floob
If youre weak off the floor, its typically one of two thingsk
1..
The weight is too heavy. Duh. Take some weight off the bart
2..
Youre overtrained. Look back in your log. How often have you been deadlifting? Th
e deadlift, especially heav
deadlifting, is extremely taxing. You may need a two-week break followed by a fe
w weeks of lighter pulliny
sessions performed multiple times a week. This can help build work capacityt
If that doesnt help and youre still weak off the floor, here are your fixesk
Deficit Deadlifth
The key here is not to use too much of a deficittwo or three quarter-inch rubber
mats is plenty. An excessive deficii
turns the lift into a quad-dominant movement and takes stress off the posterior
chaint
Upper Back Wor~
Chest supported rows are ideal. Barbell rows are the hardcore choice but they in
volve too much erectors for my tastet
Were training the upper back here. If you want to train the lower back, do Romani
an deadliftst
Hamstringh
Do a variety of movements that work both origin and insertiont
Weak at the Shin
This is due to a lack of acceleration, or not pulling fast enough once the bar h
as broken the floor. Your fixes arek
Speed deadlifth
Do these at 55-60% of 1RM for 8-10 singles. Do them on squat day, either before
or after you squat, depending ox
your priorities. The trick is to do two single reps in a row with a distinct pau
se in between. No bouncing. If you do m
double with a bounce, the second rep has benefited from momentum. Youll know caus
e the second rep will loo.
better than the first. The goal is to eliminate the bounce, reset properly, and
make the first rep look better than thr
secondt
Weak at the Kneg
irst, make sure the glutes are fully engaged. Now this is not glute activation t
hat you read so much about. I thin.
much of that is bullshit. If you can perform the range of motion, your muscles w
ill be activated. Ive torn both my glutr
and my hamstring on separate occasionstrust me, you know theyre not involved. They
can however, not br
contributing as much as you need. To remedy this from occurring at the top end,
I recommend pin pulls ans
deadlifts off blocks. I prefer pulling off blocks. Pin pulls are brutal to recov
er from as the arms are forced to absor.
much of the force from the barbell smashing into the pins. Too much grip-intensi
ve work is hard enough to recoven
form; pin pulls magnify this. Pulling off blocks, while a pain to set up, is a f
ar more natural pull. And unlike pin pulls
they reinforce all the good things youre trying to do in a perfect deadlift. I do
nt hate pin pulls (provided youre noi
doing them in my gym with 800 pounds loaded on a $1000 dollar competition bar).
Just do them less frequently. Also
with either pin pulls or pulls off blocks, dont pull from too high. Too high will
affect your hinge and turn the movemeni
into a quad exercise..
inally, any pin or pull off a block should be done conventional. Sumo versions o
f these arr
uselesst
Should I Pull Sumo Or Conventional? p
The answer is whichever version makes you feel stronger. If the beautiful simpli
city of that response isnt enough
detail for you (imagine that) here are some general rules of thumbt
Torso Lengtq
Short torso You can pull conventional or sumot
Average torso Pull sumot
Long torso Pull sumot
In other words, the longer your trunk, the more better off youll be pulling sumo
t
Arm Length p
Guys with short, T-Rex arms should pull sumo. Those with longer arms should pull
conventional. How do you know iu
you have short arms? I get asked that all the time and it never fails to make me
laugh. Do you have to roll youn
sleeves up all the time? Then you probably have short arms. Go try on a fucking
dress shirt. If the sleeves are tov
long, congratulations, you just determined you have short arms. How do you know
if you have long arms? Lets br
honest. If you have long arms youll know. Does it seem to take you twice as long
to bench press when compariny
yourself to your partner who happens to be built like a fire hydrant? Keep in mi
nd, this is all based on an average buil|
When a lifter gains weight, things can change dramatically..
or example, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound lifter might havr
comparatively long arms. But if he gains weight and gets up to 280 pounds, he su
ddenly might have average-length
arms. Thats because as someone gets bigger and wider, their proportions often cha
nge. So, when someone contacts
me saying they always pulled a certain way but are noticing their lifts have gone
to shit since bulking up, I usually telq
them to switch styles. It often works. When I was 180 pounds I pulled convention
al. As I got bigger and my deadlifi
started to suck, Ed Coan suggested I switch to sumo. It worked, and I stuck with
sumo from 190 pounds up to 22
pounds and beyond. Once I reached 275 pounds, however, I had to go back to conve
ntional. Obviously I didnt gei
taller, just thicker and wider. As such, my proportions changed, meaning my dead
lift had to change toot
Grin
Grip is tricky. Many guys screw it up. In terms of placement, your thumb should
overlap the first one or two fingerst
Your thumb shouldnt be crushing all your fingers, just these two. But you should
squeeze the shit out of themt
Typically, when a grip fails, the little finger fails first. Ed Coan used to say
you want to keep that finger breaking first
which meant strengthening the pinkie finger and ring finger. To accomplish this,
buy one of those heavy black papen
clips from an office supply store and do pinches against the thumb, first with t
he pinkie finger and then with the riny
finger. I never had a grip issue. Louie would say its because I never pulled enou
gh to develop a grip issue. Chuc.
Vogelpohl, however, is someone who did have one. Hed often lose pulls due to fail
ing grip, which drove him crazyt
What finally fixed it for him was single dumbbell holds using a hex dumbbell. Be
careful not to let the fingers rest in thr
grooves where the numbers are stamped int
The Overall Pull p
A key point that often gets overlooked is that a deadlift, be it sumo or convent
ional, is less about pulling up and morr
about pulling back. You know youre setting up right when the only thing preventin
g you from falling backward on youn
ass is the weight of the barbell. To understand why, think of the deadlift as a
teeter-totter. Say you weigh 250 pounds
you want to get as much of your bodyweight helping you pull that weight as possib
le. This means less pulling uj
and more falling back. So, if you had 250 pounds on the barbell, your bodyweight
alone should be enough to move thr
weightwithout you exerting an ounce of force. Youll know youre doing this correctly
when your warm-up sets seew
to fly up from the floor like you were using a broomstick instead of a loaded ba
rbellt
Dead to Rights p
You dont have to like every exercise you perform. And you wont get any grief from
me if you say you hate thr
deadlift. However, like it or not, you need to respect it. And if something is s
o important that you force yourself to do ii
despite hating it with every fiber of your being, then you might as well do it r
ight. Give these tips a run and make youn
pull a thing of beautyt
Photos courtesy of Kenneth Richardson
Part 4: Sumo Deadlift: EliteFTS Roundtable Discussion
By Team elitefts
p
James Smith: Elite level lifters who pull sumo, what have you found to be the mo
st effective means of increasing youn
pulling strength off the floor? My technique is solid so Im looking for insights
on any special exercises that havr
yielded you significant results in the low end/off the floor strength componentt

Dave Tate: The best thing Ive found is getting stronger. This sounds very simple
but has worked for so many lifterst
What I mean by this is that you have to increase your overall body strength. Thi
s would be quads, hamstrings, lo{
back, abs, etc. This is really basic stuff, but something that people may forget
. The start depends on position. If youn
hips are off, they move too far back and you lose your force. If you can film th
e pull, let me see it. I have to see whats
going on to make any type of assessmentt
J.L. Holdsworth: I used to suck at these, but then I started pulling my sumo dea
dlifts off of mats and it seemed tv
make a big difference. You can try three inches or so (three mats). You can also
get a similar training effect by usiny
35-pound plates on the bar rather than 45-pound plates. The 35-pound plates are
obviously smaller and will requirr
larger ROM. Or you can just put on more equipment like Dave doest
Dave Tate: I dont even take that as an insultt
J.L. Holdsworth: Its not. I admire that in yout
James Smith: I actually tried pulling sumo off of elevated surfaces. I just didnt
keep it around long enough tv
experience any significant training effect. My dumb ass fault. I think Ill perfor
m a cycle of those for my next traininy
blockt
Thats also my logic for increasing pulling strength off the floor increasing the
ROM. I just didnt know if maybe I ha|
overlooked or was unaware of another means of strengthening the bottom end such
as using a cambered bar bench
press..
or strengthening the low end press, Ive also thought of performing low wide stanc
e squats (although thesr
are hell on the hips) and perhaps even a repetition version of partial deadlifts
such as dumbbell presses an|
suspended push-upst
Jim Wendler: I agree with Dave on this one. Sometimes were too busy looking for t
he magical exercise rather thax
doing the ones that we know work and doing them hard and with purpose. My deadli
ft went up simply because I quii
screwing around with the light weights on my assistance work and did movements a
nd weights that were challenginy
and had a great carryover. Remember, there is a difference between training with
exercises to get stronger an|
training to rehab a muscle group. I think these lines get crossed too mucht
Ive also found that sumo deadlifting is more technique than conventional pulling.
You have little room for error whex
pulling sumo. A conventional deadlift is more of a grunt, caveman lift. So if yo
ur technique is even slightly off, an eas
pull can turn into a max effort. Unfortunately, most people think they are going
to be great sumo pullers when they dv
their speed deadlift work. This is because its easy. Its only when you start pulli
ng around 85 percent does the forw
start really making a big differencet
J.L. Holdsworth: Never forget that the special exercises are for refining proble
ms. Nothing fixes getting a sumo dea|
off the floor like getting stronger hips and legs (if youre in the position). All
of your basic accessories are still the besi
ways to increase the deadlift. I think so many times we get caught up in being s
o smart about training we forget thai
grabbing a heavy ass deadlift and pulling is a great way to get stronger. Even t
he simple things like shooting hoops
helps with the basic conditioning and muscle coordination. The bottom line is th
at you shouldnt leave your glutr
hams, reverse hypers, and other basic accessories for the magic bullet exerciset

Jim Wendler: Isnt that what I just said.
J.L. Holdsworth: Sort of but differentt
Jim Wendler: And when did you start shooting hoops.
J.L. Holdsworth: When you started losing weightt
Jim Wendler: Toucht
James Smith: JL, good stuff. I appreciate your comment regarding the role of spe
cial exercises. I really need to makr
a trip to see you guys at WSB/.
S. All this time Ive developed my technique by studying videos and illustrations.
.
was fortunate to have lifted with some very strong elite lifters when I was in S
an Diego, but for the last year, Ivr
trained alone. The good thing is Ive gotten stronger. The bad thing is I have no
one to watch my form. I video stuff bui
as you guys know its not even close to having an elite or stronger lifter coach y
our asst
Brian Schwab: I pull sumo and there are a couple exercises that have really help
ed me..
irst, is training my abst
These exercises made my mid-section extremely strongk
sit-ups with a plate behind your hea|
spread eagle sit-ups
medicine ball throws
incline sit-ups
hanging leg raises
pull-down abs
sit-ups on the glute ham raisr
For your hips, I think people need to try these exercisesv
1..
Band abduction and adduction: Try not to make this more complicated than it is.
To do this, there are severaq
ways you can rig the bands up with a power rack, bench, or jump strength platfor
m. Just pick one for each
muscle group and a do a couple sets for eacht
2..
Light sumo pulls standing on blocks: This is done exactly as it sounds. Keep the
weight light and work ox
keeping a tight arch and working the range of motiont
3..
Pull thrus with a wide stance: This is great for the hip drive needed to finish
the sumo deadliftt
4..
Duck under: This is a great/mobility movement. Set a power bar up in the power r
ack so that its chest levelt
Stand off to the side and squat down, side step and duck under the bar while kee
ping the chest up. This is greai
for hip mobility. As you get better, lower the bart
James Smith: Thanks, Brian. Im going to have to try some of those exercisest
Jim Wendler: You can do something other than train heavy.
J.L. Holdsworth: I can see the light bulb flickering over your headt
Tim Harold: Damn it! I saw this thread, and my eyes lit up. Why is Dave the only
one who said anything about form.
Special exercises are great, but you can throw that into the water if your techn
ique isnt up to par and youre unable tv
use the strength youve worked so hard to develop. If your form is off because of
a weakness somewhere in youn
body, thats another story. Make sure your form is correct before you start trying
all these cool exercises. Otherwise
youll end up with a great good morning but your deadlift will still suck because
you cant do it right. Once your form is
correct then we can talk about exercises to make you strong and raise your deadl
iftt
Whats good form? Well, I dont necessarily think that I have the best sumo form in
the world. However, I dont thin.
there are too many people who can rip big weights off the floor with the speed t
hat I do. How do I do it? Before ever
deadlift attempt, I have Joe Bayles and Bob Coe shove a grenade up my ass. Its si
mple. I see all these people whv
want to ease a sumo deadlift off the floor because somewhere along the timeline
of weightlifting some fucking jerkofu
said that sumo is hard off the floor and easy at lockout. Also, they said that c
onventional is the opposite easy off thr
floor and hard lockout. BULL.
UCKING SHIT! Maybe thats why there are only a few people who have pulled 90
pounds with sumo style. Im really rambling but hopefully youll learn something to
take to the gym with you. Thr
deadlift, whether youre pulling sumo or conventional, is about attitude. Every ti
me you pull a deadlift, snap it off thr
ground! But to do that, you have to have perfect formt
When I pull, this is what I dov
1..
I set my feet. ALWAYS have your toes pointed outwards, never straight on the sum
o deadlift. You cant get youn
knees out wide enough to get your hips as close to the bar as possible if theyre
pointed straight aheadt
2..
Take a breath into your gut..
lail your arms if you do that faggot shit and whatever other tai chi-like dancr
moves some people do before they grab the bart
3..
Bend over and grab the bar semi straight-legged. Dont squat down. If you do, youll
defeat the purpose of wh
I pull this way. While youre grabbing the bar, start tightening up your lats, ere
ctors, etct
4..
This is the secret right here. Take another very quick breath into your belly if
you can and the sit back an|
SNAP. Push your knees and feet out as hard as you can while sitting back and pus
hing your hips to the bar
staying back on your heelst
If you do this right and in one seamless motion, which will take time, the weigh
ts will jump off the floor. You shoul|
wear gear for this for sure. Im kind of weird, but I like the Metal deadlifter fo
r this and maybe a thin pair of briefs
underneath. You need tons of tightness in your hips. Because of the way the Meta
l deadlifter is cut with the straps an|
that groin shit, it will help push your hips forward, and if youre lucky, castrat
e yout
Im going to post more if you guys want to ask questions. This just popped into my
head, but I have to run. I have m
date with a girl who has TMJ. I think she might come down with a serious case of
lockjaw by the morningt
I forgot one tidbit about why I pull that way.
The bending over and then sitting back is kind of like levering yourself off the
floor. It reminds me of school when wr
learned about fulcrums. I dont remember what that means but just go with it. When
you have your belly full of air an|
youre leaning and sitting back, a tremendous amount of force against the bar is c
reated before you snap off thr
ground if youre wearing enough gear and youve even started to use your strength ye
t. If you can get the timing dowx
by practicing with moderate to heavy weights (never light weights because I dont
believe in light weights for masteriny
form), then youre well on your way to leaning how to have a much bigger sumo dead
liftt
I dont pull every week. I think that would be too stressful on the body. I do thi
nk that pulling heavy twice per month is
okay though. If you need to work on your sumo technique, focus on a few keys eve
ry time you pull. Record some ou
your sumo deadlifts and post them on your myspace page or somewhere I can see th
em. Maybe Ill be able to givr
you some key points to focus on while youre pulling. I think you can deadlift eve
ry week if you really want to, but yo}
shouldnt do it for too long. Youll also need a decent deload period. Typically, I
have only pulled when I felt like itt
But for seniors, Im going to try a few ideas that Ive gathered from conversations
with other lifters. Im going to appl
them to deadlift training and see if can pull three times per month without affe
cting my overall training too much. .
would like to get two good pulling sessions on DE day per month. I want to work
up to a moderately heavy weight for m
few singles, and then take another good jump for a big single and stop. Nothing
too hard. But when Im fully jacke|
and ready for seniors, Id like my last pull workout to be 800 lbs for 3-4 singles
and then 845-865 for a single. This
wont be necessarily be a full bore max workout, but if its heavy enough, I think I
can get some good form work int
(Also, for WIW, I dont think youll need to do speed pulls at all. I really havent d
one them in a long time. I believe thai
if youre training your squat properly and not squatting on too high of a box, for
ce development will transfer to thr
deadlift..
I also hope to get in one pulling sessions on ME day per month where Ill do somet
hing fun like reverse band deadlifts
of a box deadlift for an absolute max. This might also be the only max effort wo
rk I do at all leading up the seniors toot
The rest of the ME days will be rest pause workouts on the back attack. Ill talk
more about the rest pause later, but its
a training method that I picked up from Dante Trudel (who owns Truepreotein.com)
. I can tell you its the real deal, an|
its fucking hard. Its working so far, and I believe it will be rewarding on meet d
ay. Its also the perfect compliment tv
the Westside style do training, although some may disagree. I think it used prop
erly it will make you brutally strony
and BIG. This stuff is the best of both worlds. Powerlifters make fun of bodybui
lders and vice versa, but there arr
many things we can learn from each othert
Dave Tate: I agree 100 percent with Tim, and Im actually kind of proud of him for
his great advice. Tim has come m
long way since I first met him, which proves that you need to keep learning to g
et stronger. Very few get as strong as
he is without figuring some shit out along the wayt
The only thing I would add is that with speed work, you should reinforce your te
chnique with each and every rept
Make damn sure that they are all dead on. If you ever pull for one more rep, let
go of the bar and reset each rep. This
way youll learn to pull one rep. Also, when you do speed pulls, you should use 40
-60 percent weights to work ox
technique..
or most, this will be okay, but some will need to work up to heavier pulls to th
e get the full effect. In othen
words, some will look great with sub-maximal weights while others will look like
crap with bigger weightst
There are two ways to avoid this. One, you can always pull in a slightly fatigue
d state (same as meet) such as after m
speed squat session. If you pull on ME day, do more warm up sets then you do now
(double them). Second, you cax
work up the weights on the days that your speed pulls feel great. Most of the ti
me, they feel great because your form is
on. Work up to see if it will transfer to bigger weights. If it does, thats great
. If not, analyze the breakdown and youlq
discover your muscular weak points. When you find your weak points, add in some
special exercises to bring them upt
This is why its useful to see training videos. You can look for the breakdowns to
see if theyre technical or musculart
When you do post them, post some speed sets and also some heavy sets. Dont post a
ny reverse band or againsi
band stuff. They will only alter this to a certain degree. Its hard to see from v
ideo because you cant determine ho{
much the tension is affecting you without seeing every warm up sett
Heres another tip that I picked up from Louie. Take your Chucks to a shoe repair
shop. Have them build the front uj
two inches higher in the back (on the slope). This helped me to pull back better
t
Tim Harold: Here are some of the common sumo pulling problems I see.Id like to se
e a lot of sumo lifters point youn
toes outward and think about a slightly wider stance. Their hips can be much clo
ser to the bar during the pull. Theyrr
pulling straight up and slightly forward. Id like to see them pulling up and back
instead. A wider stance as well as
getting their hips closer to the bar and pointing their toes outward more should
help thist
Also, lifters often spend way too much time bent over trying to position themsel
f..
or fucks sake, they look like one ou
those cats that has to step on the pillow for an hour before it decides to lie d
own. Shit or get off the pot. You doni
realize how much energy youre wasting by taking so much time to get to the bar an
d set your grip. Without gear, this
takes a lot out of you and even more when youre in tight gear. Get your feet set,
grab the bar, and got
Another thing to consider is the angle of your shins. They should be perpendicul
ar to the bar when you break groundt
By not doing this, youre not taking advantage of those leverages and youre hinderi
ng your pull a great deal. If youn
knees are over the bar, that means that youre leaning forward. And that means you
r back is hunched over, youre noi
arching enough, and youre on your toes. Basically, youre fucked from the get-got
Lets recap some things for you to work onv
1..
eet pointed outwards, wider stance: This will get your knees out more and your h
ips closer to the bar, which
makes it easier to keep your shoulders behind the bar. This really takes advanta
ge of the strong back, ass, an|
hamstrings that we spend most of our time developing. This also helps with getti
ng back on your heels and noi
up on your toest
2..
Sit back more before you break the ground: This should feel very tight (while si
tting back, youre pulling thr
slack out of the bar). This will get your shins perpendicular, and improve your
arch and hip position (which
should still be as high as possible without leaning over or losing your arch)t
3..
Get your fucking head up: We all know this, and we all still need to be told abo
ut it from time to time..
ucking dv
itt
This is going to be a process, but eventually, youll start feeling how everything
works together and your deadlift wilq
improve a great deal. I think when seniors come around you should be able to rea
lly grasp my concept on sumv
pulling and hit a big PR. Thats if your fat hands can hold on to as much weight a
s youll be able to pullt
Mark OShea: Tim, ages ago you posted the routine you used when you switched from
regular to sumo. Im not sure iu
you remember it, but it was something like thisk
DE cyclr
ultra-wide, 70 perceni
feet raised on platform, 70 perceni
bands, 70 perceni
sumo, 90 percent before beginning circa ma9
How did this go, and what changes have you made.
Tim Harold: As far as the post I made about training sumo deadlift some time ago
, dont pay attention to it. I doni
even remember whats in the post. I dont remember what the reasoning behind what I
was doing at the time was on
whether or not it would work now. Every time I train for a meet or talk to lifte
rs from around the country, I learn ne{
things. My training is CONSTANTLY evolving. I take what works and keep it in and
throw away what isnt cutting it. As
my training evolves, so does my philosophy on training. What I said 1-2 years ag
o may not jive with what I would telq
you today. Scrap that article or read it and try some of it out to see what work
s for you! Evolving as a powerliften
involves immeasurable amounts of trial and error. You will and should try everyt
hing that Louie, Dave, or the othen
great minds of the sport have already said is retarded and dont work or will get
you hurt, especially the hurt partt
Daves crippled ass has a PHD in fucking yourself upt
The ultra-wide speed pulls are gold. Do them as a special exercise or do them ha
rdcore for a month or two until yo}
start getting strong on them. After youve done them for 1-2 sessions and your pro
gress stagnates (or youre just flai
bored with them), drop them completely for a while. When you come back to them,
you probably wont be right wherr
you left off you may only be at 90 percent from where you stopped but youll surpa
ss that easily when you train thr
ultra-wide hard again. I.
IRMLY believe in the saying, One step back to take two steps forward.In
other words, look at it like this. As a lineman in high school, we used a techni
que when we were down blockiny
called the drop step. You take one step with your outside leg (whichever way your
e going). This gives a little groun|
but youve positioned yourself to get on that guys outside shoulder more quickly so
that you can take him out of thr
play. Give to take. Enough rambling. I do that too much sometimest
Jim Wendler: Spud, you had some tips on the Q&A about sumo deadlifting. And sinc
e you have perfected your style
what are some tips? I know you have some unique views on thist
Marc Bartleyv
1..
Speed deadlift work. This was a tremendous help. I went up to 500 lbs and did fi
ve sets of triples for five or si9
weeks. I didnt squat on this day. I did wide-stance leg press with a dead stop in
the bottom. Sometimes, .
would mix in conventional speed pulls with the sumos. Check out my Saturday logs
t
2..
The sumo is mostly a pinch off the bottom and then you slam the speed to it. So
dont worry about speed out ou
the hole..
orm must be first. Drive the head and back up the whole time so that when you ge
t to the suit, it woni
pull you over. The sumo is basically a wide-stance squat so you have to treat it
as such. Take your suit straps
and put them right over your delt, not the traps. When you go to pull, lift your
arms over your head. This wilq
cause an erector shirt type effect to help hold your shoulders back even moret
3..
Line your feet up pigeon toe if possible. Or, in other words, try to line up you
r feet parallel to the bar as much as
you can stand it. Youll have to practice this. Its very uncomfortable, but it will
keep you in line better to lockoui
the bar. When you put the suit on and line up on the bar, spread the knees out t
owards the plates and push
back. This will eliminate the tail tuck caused by the suit. I like the Metal dea
dlifter or one ply squatter suit for this
type of pullingt
4..
Over exaggerate the top of the movement. I learned this by watching the European
s in.
inland. Right abovr
the knees, they throw the shoulders back as hard as possible so that the upper b
ody is slightly behind the hipst
Its old-school deadlifting like the Strongmen do on car deadlifts. This shortens
the lockout distance and puts
your hips and lower body into a better position to lockout (squat-like). Do lots
of rack lockouts for threes righi
above the knees on ME day and remember to over exaggeratet
Jim Wendler: What about people who get stuck the last couple of inches.
Marc Bartley: I would say the tightness is hip flexor related. There are a coupl
e of dudes at the compound with thr
same thing. You might try some good hip flexor stretches before and after squat/
pull. Dont do too much during but dv
a lot after. I had the same problem with the ducking feet. Its very hard to over
pull at the top. I pull my toes in slightl
so that I can get more overextension at the top. I wouldnt say that youre weaker w
ith the extra weight but less
coordinated. Work on speed deadlifts on DE day first to cement the form and lock
out. Im also deficit pulling speed ofu
a three-inch box for three-week waves. This seems to help on both endst
Jim Wendler: I know you have sausage fingers. What are some grip exercises that
you do to help you when pulling.
Marc Bartley: I would do rack pulls just below the knees. This will help with th
e lockout and holding weight. Do triples
without straps until you cant hold anymore, and then go to the straps and continu
e doing threes. This is what Stevr
Goggins suggested to me, and it seemed to help me out. Another thing is to do so
ap swings one-handed sumo stylr
with heavy kettlebells. Go outside somewhere and out of the way, soap your hands
thoroughly, and do 8-10 violeni
swings on each hand or until the weight pops out of your hand. My grip has alway
s been an issue because of my shori
arms and fat fingers, which I do believe limited my lockouts. If I could use str
aps in a contest, I know I could pull welq
into the 800s so this tells me the grip is limiting met
.
Part 5: Conventional Pulling for the Sumo Deadlifteb
By Zane Geetiny
Are you a sumo deadlifter? Have you ever pulled a PR attempt to your knees and s
talled completely.
If you answered yes to one or both of the above questions, I have a sure-fire wa
y to add pounds to your deadlift an|
help you blow past your current PRt
There was a time in my lifting career when I was stuck at a 620-pound deadlift f
or over a year. I pulled against bands
chains, and combos of both. I pulled triples, double, singles, changed suits, et
c. Still, no matter what I did, I couldni
crack that barrier. The bar would break the floor and stop dead at my knees. Tha
t was, however, until my good frien|
Brian Carroll suggested that I incorporate conventional pulling into my training
. After just a few months, I pulled 71:
pounds in a meet. Thats rightover a 90-pound PR in just a few monthst
The sumo deadlift is a funny thingits as hard as hell to learn, but once you do, i
ts so easy to use that you neven
want to go back to the harder conventional style again. Its a very technical lift
, but its a shorter, more efficient strokr
executed in a much stronger position (for most people). This makes many of us su
mo deadlifters steer clear of thr
harder workbut this couldnt be a bigger mistaket
As I said above, just like most sumo deadlifters, I would stall out as the bar r
eached my knees. I never attributed it tv
the fact that my lower back just wasnt strong enough to hold the positionbut thats
exactly what it was. I continue|
having the same problem until I finally listened to Brian Carroll and added in t
he conventional pulling. I say pulling an|
not deadlifting because I was doing several variations of the pullt
The main variation was block pulls with the weights elevated to four and six inc
hes. I established rep PRs on thesr
lifts in the conventional stance while wearing a belt and gym shorts. These beca
me part of my rotation, and I woul|
shoot for a new PR every time I did them. Since I was so weak at them, my streng
th built very fast and I was able tv
PR in a very short time-frame..
or instance, the first time I pulled off of the six-inch blocks, I hit a top dou
ble of 52=
pounds. Within two months, I was in the high 500s. This wasnt bad considering I w
as only trying for a PR on thai
height/rep range every four to six weekst
During this period in time, I was also pulling sumo from the floor for sets of t
wo to five reps. So, a training sessiox
would include both styles. (Usually, the sumo pulls were my main movement and th
e conventional block pulls were m
secondary movement). As time went on, I began pulling conventional from the floo
r. It even became my maix
movement at one point, with sumo pulls being done for form/speed every three to
four weeks. The more progress .
made on the conventional pulls, the more my sumo pull rose. My first meet after
switching to this style was the 201
A2
MI State meet where I pulled 711 pounds at 220. This was the same weight class t
hat I had missed 650 pounds
so many times beforet
Now, Ill be the first to tell you that conventional pulling for a sumo guy who ha
s developed a weakness is.
no fun. .
hated it at firstabsolutely dreaded it. But over time, and after experiencing the
rewards that came with it, I grew tv
love it. I promise you that if you give this a run, you wont be disappointed. Jus
t keep in mind that you need to stari
slow and you need to stick with it. The only way this wont work is if you push it
too hard too fast and hurt yourself, or iu
you give up on it because it sucks to use 100 pounds less than you do in the oth
er stance. And trust me, it sucks, bui
the reward is the opposite of suckt
Let me know how it goes6
.
.
Part 6: Finnish Deadlift Secreth
By Sakari Selkainahv
Through out the years, the deadlift has been our national sport here in.
inland. World records has been brokex
since early 70s. What makes.
inns pull so much, what is their secret .
I took a look and after collecting training information of many new and former g
reats, here is some background an|
informationt
# 1 Genetich
To be able to lift a lot, you have to be talented athlete. Most of the guys had
long arms and legs. You could ser
middleweights pulling over 200 kilos the first time they saw a power bar. But th
ats only a good start. The besi
deadlifters in the late 70`s and early 80s had two things in common. Most of them
had a background of hard labor
like lumberjacks, construction workers, farmers or something similar. They carri
ed, lifted and dragged for their livingt
That laid a perfect background for deadlift training and very often ensured a ha
rd grip too. The second thing was
Olympic lifting background, they had pulled alot before their powerlifting caree
r. Raimo Vlineva held Scandinaviax
records in Olympic lifting and was able to clean 330 pounds with straight legs.
He had World records of 688 in 148s
and 716 in 165s in early 80`s. When weightlifting had the press it was more a pur
e strength sport as now whex
speed and technique more criticalt
Many of the new lifters have some type of athletic background from other sports.
Ismo Lappi, 338,5 kg deadlifter ix
165s, has thrown javelin over 75 yards and ran 100 meters in under 11 seconds in
his teens. He is fast and explosivr
enough to deadlift bigt
# 2 Squatting for the deadlifc
All of the former record holders and many of todays too, squatted with a narrow s
tance. This had two advantagest
irst, it served as an excellent special exercise for deadlift. Many trained the
squat three times a week. Twice bac.
squatting and once front squatting. The other back squat could be a high bar ses
siont
Other squat exercises were something like lunges, or step squats, using bar on b
ack. These were done sometimes m
box under front or back feet, varying how it hits glutes and hamstrings. A 8-12
inch box under back feet hits the uppen
part of glutes quite hardt
Many used different stances. The narrow stance high bar was the most common but
many, like Taito Haara, Reijv
Kiviranta and Hannu Saarelainen, squatted with 3-4 stancest
During the last years, the box squat has become very popular in.
inland. Janne Toivanen put it in practice by hauliny
up 804 in `96 I2
Worlds in Austria. Many have followed. Ano Turtiainen started using the box and n
ow pulls over 85&
in every meet he enters. Ismo Lappi, the new WR holder in 165s in I2
, does box squats as assistance. Velo
Kumpuniemi stated that if would have known how to use a box in his prime he woul
d have lifted a lot more. How much
more? He tore his hamstring while trying 804 in the 181s back in 1981. He hit 822
( 373 kilos ) in a national beforr
that weighing under 190 pounds. All his hamstrings could handle he hauled up. He
never really recovered but wante|
to send his compliments to Louie Simmons for this excellent exerciset
# 3 Deadlift varietx
Many still train the deadlift two times a week. In the early days, it was not ra
re to deadlift three times a week. Velo
Kumpuniemi, the only man we call Mr Deadlift in.
inland, trained deadlift sometimes four times a week. Heres somr
pulls to usek
Deadlift standing on the block. Many used 2-6 inch block and pulled standing on
it. That has been a pull used ver
often. Many did these for 3-5 reps using conventional style even if they pulled
sumo in meetst
Straigth leg deadlifts. These were done off floor or using a block under feet. T
here were two styles. Some pulle|
with a bent over style, rounding the lower back. Some, like Janne Toivanen, Ismo
Lappi and Ano Turtiainen, pulled in m
romanian style with arched back and pushing glutes to rear. With a round back, m
ost used only 40-50% for high reps
like 10s or so..
or the romanian style, some go quite heavy. Janne Toivanen hauled up 4661 from an
4 inch box an|
Ano Turtiainen has done 5727 off floort
Olympic pulls. These were done many times as a warm-up or speed work before the
deadlifting. High pulls, ra{
cleans, raw snatches were the most common. The old school did some pulls with st
raight legs like Russianst
Pulls with a snatch grip. This has two variations too. Some pulled the weight al
l the way up and some just up to pasi
knees. These developed technique by forcing you to keep shoulders in line and its
a good one correct techniquet
Partials. Hannu Saarelainen did partials on knee level, just moving the bar from
below to above the knee. The ban
traveled 8-10 inches in the area where the leverages were the poorest. He did hi
gh reps with rather light weight. Hr
tried to get speed too to overcome the sticking point as fast as possible. By co
ncentrating on weakness enable|
Hannu to pull 765 in 242s with quite poor leverages for deadlift. Rack pulls and
pulls where the bar is on blocks arr
common, although they do not benefit as many as you could imaginet
Hack deadlifts. Many long armed lifters were able to pull with the bar behind th
eir back. This form of deadlifi
developed the leg drive and helped to get the bar off floort
# 4 Techniqug
Veli Kumpuniemi stated that if his foot stance was half inch off, the bar stayed
on floor. And Veli was ranked rather m
power puller than a technique expert which he was too. The conventional deadlift
was always mostly back work. Bui
the sumo pullers were sort of split in two categories. People like Raimo Vlineva
and Hannu Malinen, the 1988 I2
World champion, used the hips alot. Raimo Vlineva was the developer of the style
maximized hip drive in sumv
deadlift. Lifters with extreme tecnique had quite a difference between sumo and
conventional deadlift. Ari Virtanen
the little brother of Jarmo had one of the best technique I have ever seen. Ever
y weight he got off floor he finished toot
Aris best conventional was around 570-580 and he pulled 677 with sumo in `91 Worl
ds. Pirjo Savola, the Europeax
Record holder in 123s with 446 said she has a best conventional of 360-370 ranget

Sumo lifters with a strong back, like Veli Kumpuniemi, Janne Toivanen and Aarre
Kpyl locked out their legs wa
before extending their torso. Aarre Kpyl, who pulled 10661 via conventional too, go
t the most out of his hips b
keeping his legs almost straight. Jarmo Virtanen, an eight time I2
World champ, used the techniquet
People used to think that Jarmo Virtanen was just very talented and had good lev
erages. They couldnt be morr
wrong. He had many things on perfecting the technique. Once he demonstrated the
difference between relaxed an|
flexed shoulders. By dropping shoulders and using sumo, the distance was 12 inch
es shorter than using conventionaq
with flexed upper body. He stressed the importance of being relaxed while deadli
fting t
You should climb to tree from bottom. Most advised to learn to pull conventional
first, then switch to sumo. Reijv
Kiviranta, Kullervo Lampela and other conventional style greats stressed two key
points. The is to push your knees
over the bar in the start position. This brings the hips closer to bar and makes
the leverages better. The other thiny
was to turn feet out. This helped the lockout and enabled specially the bigger l
ifters to use their hip musclest
.
# 5 Basic strength and GPt
Like mentioned in beginning, many early day deadlifters did physical labor which
laid good background for traininy
heavy and often. Olympic lifting was an aid toot
Many of todays lifters dont do any other physical work than train with weights. S
o the GPP has to come frow
somewhere else. Janne Toivanen did an extra workout six times a week, early in t
he morning. He did abs, side wor.
and sometimes lower back work together with some aerobic training and streching.
His training program would kilq
most people, but he found a way to back it up. Ismo Lappi does the same type of
workouts too. It keeps the bodyfai
low and aids recoveryt
At the moment five or six our strongmen pull 800 pounds or more. They have long
competitive season when thein
weight training is mostly for conditioning and recovery. Their training is one f
orm of conjugate method. They carry
drag, lift stones and flip tires and cars using the same muscles that are import
ant in deadlifting. Jukka Laine did 804 ix
September 98 and had deadlifted twice during the summer. All he did was the event
training and many meets. Joukv
Aholas deadlift stayed in the same range with no deadlift training at all. He us
ed a short cycle to peak and succeede|
with 853 in meet. Janne Virtanen and Juha Rsnen both pull over 800 too, 837 is the
ir best in training but either ou
them havent attended in any meets so fart
# 6 Assistance wor~
Most supplemented their training with wide variety of assistance exercises. Two
key muscle groups were upper bac.
and lats and the abst
As you noticed, I ranked Mr Deadlift, Veli Kumpuniemi as a strenght puller. Heres
why. What do think about chins with
up to 200 pounds for 5-6 reps, bent over rows using 400+ pounds or doing one arm
rows with 185 pound dumbbell fon
8-10 reps ? It was usual stuff for him and it was assistance work, not something
he shot fort
Weighted chins are quite common still but the variety is wide. Ano Turtiainen li
kes to do lat pulls with different handles
and low pulley rows. He does chest supported and bent over rows too. Many do shr
ugs every now and thent
The lifters in the early 80`s or late 70`s trained abs with flat or incline sit-
ups using weight many times. Side work was
done using a short bar or dumbbell. One other thing they did was one arm deadlif
ts. They stressed the stabiliziny
muscles a lot too. Today a variety of leg raises, pull down abs in lat machine a
nd abs done in a ab machine add thr
number of exercises alot. One thing that has become popular last years is the ab
wheel. Most lifters do it on thein
knees using plate on their back, it targets the abs more instead of hip flexorst

As you see, the low back was trained pretty much with the main exercises, squats
and pulls. The older school did alsv
good mornings, mostly after squatting for 5-10 rep sets. Then they became a forg
otten exercise until last years. Anv
Turtiainen went way over 700 pounds using bands and two sets of chains as an ext
ra resistance during his
preparation for WPO semis. The other thing many did and still do is back extensio
ns. These are usually done with m
bar on back. Rauno Rinne used these regularly and pulled 799 in 220st
# 7 Jarmo Virtanens deadlift secreth
Jarmo Virtanen, who many consider the best powerlifter ever in Europe, was great
in the deadlift. He was an excelleni
squatter too. Heres some things behind his successt
In his youth he trained both power lifting and weightlifting at the same time. H
e also trained other sports like footbalq
and has always done some sort of physical labor. His GPP has always been high. A
lot of different squats an|
deadlifts insured a high SPP level. A nine time I2
World Champ did lifts like high bar, front and squats with differeni
stances. He deadlifted with both conventional and sumo, he estimated that he may
have done little more conventionaq
work than sumo. Sometimes he used the snatch grip too. One of his deadlift varia
tions was sumo off an 1 inch blockst
He sometimes went quite high on these, 694 was his bestt
He pulled conventional sets where he stopped the bar before it hit the floor to
develop static strength and tightness ix
the start position. When using sumo, he always did every rep as the first one. J
armo said that bouncing the bar off is m
waste specially in the sumo style. He developed speed by high pulls. He did not
extend his hips in the weightliftiny
style. He continued the pull with upper back and traps to the navel levelt
He had a picture perfect technique, specially in the 80s when he hasnt hurt hips t
high. He developed that b
squatting with an ultra wide stance, sometimes he used a Smith-machine to be abl
e to squat as upright as possiblet
He practiced technique with no weights in front of mirror. It was his routine ev
ery day for six months. As far as
assistance go, he did a lot of ab work but has never done good mornings. He felt
they make you too stiff. He stresse|
the importance of being relaxed, specially in the upper body area and felt it wa
s crucial for getting better leverages ix
the deadlift and squat toot
Jarmo never really maxed out in the gym and usually stayed under 300 kilos in tr
aining. He was great competitor. Ix
1988, in our national record breakers in the biggest ice hockey venue at the tim
e, he hauled up 358 kilos twice bui
dropped it just before down signal. With torn hand, he came back and pulled it a
gain just to loose the grip again beforr
the down command. Year before, when lifting in 75 kilo class he was on a roll. In
the Worlds in Norway he opene|
with 677 and went to WR 333 and pulled it nicely. Then he attacked twice to 340,
5 kilos ( 750 pounds ) but the grij
was his nemesis. Before he got the grip problem fixed, he hurt his outer thigh.
There was, and still is, some scar tissur
that is pressing to nerves. With the grip he had in `90s and the better techniqu
e and flexibility of `80s he would havr
gone a lot more. Many times I have wondered why his squat went up 20 kilos but t
he deadlift stayed the samet
Believe it or not, he never got the best out of him in the deadlift. A 815-826 d
eadlift and 900 kilo ( 1984 pound ) totaq
where something he capable of but never achievedt
We have had lots of great pullers and power lifters and we had Jarmo Virtanen. H
e is one of a kind. One sign of his
true sportsmanship was this interview. He has always willing to help anyone whet
her it is training, coaching or giviny
seminarst
Being a no class deadlifter myself, I have given this a lot of thought. Reijo Ki
viranta, the 1981 World Champ in 242s
put it together nicely by saying that the one who lifts the most has trained the
most. After reading this article, you cax
get a picture what he meant. There is no secrets at all, just pure hard work. Its
the cold hard truth. If you want to finish
on top you have to be a good deadllifter. So its time for some deadlift labor, go
od luck6
.
Part 7: 14 Deadlift Tips and Trickh
By Dave Tatr
1. Starting with the Hips Too Log
This is the king of all mistakes I see. Too many times lifters try to squat the
weight up rather than pull the weight. Thin.
back to the number of times that youve seen a big deadlift and thought to yoursel
f how much more the lifter couldvr
pulled if he didnt damn near stiff-leg it? I see it all the time. Someone will sa
y, Did you see his deadlift? Then thr
other guy will comment, Yeah, and he stiff-legged the thing. Am I telling you to s
tiff-leg your deadlifts? No, not at allt
All I want you to do is look at your hip position at the start of the lift when
you pull, and watch how much your hips mo.
up before the weight begins to break the floor. This is wasted movement and does
nothing except wear you out beforr
the pull. The closer you can keep your hips to the bar when you pull, the better
the leverages are going to be. Oncr
again, next time you see a great deadlifter, stand off to the side and watch how
close his or her hips stay to the ban
throughout the pull. If youre putting your ass to the floor before you pull, your
hips are about a mile from the bart
Youre setting yourself up for disaster when the lever arm is this long. Consequen
tly, this is the second most commox
reason why lifters cant get the bar off the floor. (The first reason is very simp
le: the bar is too heavy!.
You need to find that perfect spotwhere your hips are close to the bar, your shou
lders are behind the bar, your lowen
back is arched, your upper back is rounded, your belly is full of air, and you c
an pull toward your body. Nobody even
said it was going to be easy, but then again, what is? Definitely not training i
n a commercial health club.
2. Where to Look When You Pulf
Your body will always follow your head. If youre looking down, then the bar is go
ing to want to travel forward. At thr
same time, you dont want to look at the ceiling..
ocus on an area that keeps your head in a straight, up and bac.
position with the eyes focusing on an upper area of the wallt
3. Dimel Deadlifth
This exercise helped Matt Dimel increase his squat from the mid-800s to over 100
0 pounds in a two-year period. Tv
perform this exercise, grab a barbell with an overhand grip, hands about shoulde
r-width apart. Pull the bar up to m
standing positiont
At this point, arch your back and get your abs tight. Keep your back as arched a
s possible, push the glutes out, an|
keep the knees slightly bent. Lower the bar by pushing your body weight back ont
o your heals while pushing youn
glutes out. Try to lower the barbell to a position just past the knees. At this
point, you should feel a tremendous stretch
in the glutes and hamstringst
Raise the bar back up by contracting your glutes first. At the top of the moveme
nt, contract the glutes as hard as
possible. Perform the exercise in a ballistic fashion. You want to drop to the m
id- point position and explode back tv
the starting position. This is best trained with moderate weight for sets of 15-
20 repst
Training Mistakes
Going too low. Make sure to keep the tension on the hamstringst
Not pushing the hips and glutes back. This is also to keep the stress on the ham
stringst
Rounding the back. Keep your back arched to help keep the stress on the hamstrin
gst
Using a slow tempo. This movement is designed to be trained fast. Youll begin wit
h a slow tempo and build thr
speed up with each additional repetitiont
Applications
One of the best ways Ive seen this implemented is when it is used as a finisher m
ovement (using two sets ou
15-20 reps). Do this at the end of three to four workouts during the week for th
ree to four weekst
The most popular way to implement this is to just toss them in once a week on yo
ur squat or deadt
4. Dumbbell Holdh
There are very few things that Ive found to work when it comes to helping with dr
opped deadlifts due to gript
Dumbbell holds, however, are one movement thats shown great resultst
Grab the top of a hex dumbbell, making sure that you dont touch the numbers. Grab
, stand, and hold for as long as
you can. If you can go over 20 seconds, then up the weightt
5. Binder Cliph
One easy thing that will help your grip for pulling is to use binder clips. Thes
e are the big paper clips that have a blac.
end on them (and other colors). Use these like you would use grippers, but only
use your thumb and little finger. Yo}
can work all fingers, but the little guy is the first to got
Ed Coan told me this one a few years ago at the SWIS conferencet
6. Get Strong(er
If you drop your pulls, one solution is very simpleget stronger! Lets say you alwa
ys drop 700 pounds, but you cax
pull 650 pounds easy and pulling 700 pounds with straps is no problem. Well, get
strong enough to pull 750 pounds
with straps. Then, 700 pounds will feel like 650 poundst
7. Get Your Head Righc
Get your head right. Training isnt easy and wont always be a walk-in-the-park. The
res more to getting strong thax
just lifting the weights. You have to get an attitude with the weights and bust
your ass. Louie once told me that hr
would NEVER train with anyone who didnt scare him in one way or another. This is
some of the best advice Ive even
heard. Im not saying that you should be a dick, but theres a HUGE difference betwe
en training and working out.
8. Multiple-Rep Deadlifth
Next time you see someone doing multiple reps on the deadlift, take note of the
form of each rep. Youll notice that thr
later reps look nothing like the first. In competition, you only have to pull on
ce, so you need to learn how to develoj
whats known as starting strength for the deadlift. This is the strength that is n
eeded to get the bar off the floor withoui
an eccentric (negative) action before the startt
In other words, you dont lower the bar first and then lift the weight as you do w
ith the squat and bench press. Whex
you train with multiple reps, youre beginning to develop reversal strength, which
isnt needed with the deadlift. Thesr
two reasons are enough to keep the deadlift training to singles. If youre using m
ultiple reps with the deadlift, thex
stand up in between each rep and restart the lift. This way youll be teaching you
rself the proper form and developiny
the right kind of strengtht
9. Not Pulling the Bar Bac~
The deadlift is all about leverage and positioning. Visualize a teeter-totter. W
hat happens when the weight on one en|
is coming down? The other end goes up. So if your body is falling backward, what
happens to the bar? It goes up! Iu
your weight is falling forward, the bar will want to stay down. So if you weigh
250 pounds and you can get your bod
weight to work for you, it would be much like taking 250 pounds off the bar..
or many natural deadlifters, this is a ver
instinctive action..
or others, it has to be trainedt
Proper positioning is important here. If youre standing too close to the bar, itll
have to come over the knee before yo}
can pull backthus, going forward before it goes backward. If your shoulders are i
n front of the bar at the start of thr
pull, then the bar will want to go forward, not backward. If your back isnt arche
d, the bar will also want to drift forwardt
or some lifters, not being able to pull back can be a muscular thing. If youre li
ke myself, I tend to end up with thr
weight on the front of my feet instead of my heels. This is a function of my qua
ds trying to overpower the glutes an|
hamstrings, or the glutes and hamstrings not being able to finish the weight and
shifting to the quads to complete thr
lift. What will happen many times is that youll begin shaking or miss the weight.
To fix this problem, you need to add ix
more glute ham raises, pull-throughs, and reverse hyperst
10. Shin Placemenc
Im not too sure where this started, but I have a pretty good idea. Many times the
taller, thinner lifters are the besi
pullers, and they do start with the bar very close to their shins. But if you lo
ok at them from the side, they still have theo
shoulders behind the bar when they pull. This is just not possible to achieve wi
th a thicker liftert
If a thicker lifter with a large amount of body massbe it muscle or fatwere to lin
e the bar up with his shins, you|
see he would have an impossible time getting the shoulders behind the bar. Remem
ber, you need to pull the bar bac.
toward you, not out and away from you. So what I believe happens is that many li
fters look to those who have greai
deadlifts to see how they pull, then try to do the same themselves. However, wha
t they really need to do is look tv
those who have great deadlifts and who have similar builds as them and follow th
eir leadt
11. Pulling with Big Aib
As with most exercises, you must learn how to breathe. Stand in front of a mirro
r and take a deep breath. Do youn
shoulders rise? If so, then you need to learn how to breathe. Learn to pull your
air into your diaphragm. In other words
use your belly! Pull as much air into your belly as possible, then when you thin
k you have all you can get, pull moret
The deadlift isnt started by driving your feet into the floor; its started by driv
ing your belly into your belt and hips
flexorst
One note on holding air while you pull: You do need to try and hold your air as
long as possible, but this can only lasi
for a few seconds while under strain because you will pass out. So for a long pu
ll, youre going to have to breathe on
youll hit the floor and people will stare. While there are several people out ther
e who may think this is a cool thing, .
disagree. Its much cooler to make the lift6
So when you reach the point where you begin to really have to fight with the wei
ght, let out small bursts of air. Dont lei
all of it out at one time or youll lose torso tightness and that will cause the b
ar to drop down. By letting out smalq
bursts, you can keep your tightness, continue to pull, and lock out the weightt
12. Rounding the Lower Back when Deadliftino
This is another mistake I see all the time, and most lifters know better. It hap
pens most of the time because of a wea.
lower back or a bad starting position. Even though your shoulders should be roun
ded, you must keep your lower bac.
arched. This will keep the shin straight and the shoulders behind the bar, allow
ing your body to be in the propen
position to pull big while keeping the back under minimal stresst
If you pull with a rounded back, the bar is going to drift forward away from the
legsputting your back in a ver
difficult position from which to recover. When the bar drifts forward, the weigh
t of it will begin to work against youn
leverages and cause you to have a sticking point just below the knees or mid-shi
n level. When you pull, you can eithen
arch your back in the beginning standing position before you crouch down to pull
or once you grab the bar. Either way
its important to keep the lower back arched and tightt
There are many ways to strengthen the lower back for this. Good mornings, revers
e hypers, and arched back goo|
mornings are a few. You can also use a band around your traps and feet for simul
ated good mornings. With this
technique, you only use the bands and train for higher reps (in the 20 to 30 rep
range) for local muscular endurancet
13. Pulling Your Shoulder Blades Together when You Deadlifc
This is a mistake I made for years. Stand in a deadlift stance and pull your sho
ulder blades together. Take a look ai
where your fingertips are. Now if you let your shoulders relax and even round fo
rward a little, youll see your fingertips
are much lower. This is why we teach a rounding of the upper back..
irst, the bar has to travel a shorter distancet
Second, theres less stress on the shoulder region. Itll also help keep your should
er blades behind the bart
14. Pull the slack out of the bab
Even if you are not using a texas deadlift bar, you still want to make an effort
to pull the slack out of the bar beforr
accelerating the bar to lockout. What this basically means is to begin pulling u
ntil you feel the bar get tight against thr
plates and begin to bend. Once you reach that pointwhere you feel the bar bendingT
HEN begin the pull off thr
floor, thinking of accelerating the speed more and more with every inch the bar
movest
.
Part 8: Lightning Deadlifth
By Josh Bryani
Until recently, the deadlift was the bastard child of the strength and condition
ing community! Many lifters have shie|
away from deadlifts due to their immense difficulty, only to walk away with subo
ptimal strength gains and bac.
development. Lately a contingent of the games top trainers have covered the deadl
ift, seemingly from every angle, ix
attempts of resurrecting it as the cornerstone lift in ones programt
With all of this new interest in deadlifting, one would think a casual YouTube s
earch would net beneficial techniqur
cues for your deadlift. However, further examination reveals that many of these
techniques look like they werr
designed by Barnum & Bailey and would be of more benefit to a Coney Island side
show than your deadlift6
The Evolution of the Deadlifc
Picking up a heavy object from the ground is a plain and simple primordial insti
nct. The deadlift is the most basic lifi
there is. Over the years, my deadlift philosophy has evolved, as everyones philos
ophy should. The key is the righi
kind of evolution! In biology, macro evolution involves major evolutionary chang
es at, or above, the level of speciest
Unfortunately, in many gyms throughout the country, the deadlift has morphed int
o a rendition of Cirque de la Souq
with a barbell its form butchered as its executed without much purpose by misguid
ed trainees. It is contrasted with
microevolution, which is mainly concerned with the small-scale patterns of evolu
tion within a species or populationt
An example in biology would be Darwins finches; the finches with the longest beak
s would survive because of naturaq
selection, meaning because of their beaks, they could eat food that the shorter
beaked finches could not. This is thr
survival of the fittest! This is my training micro evolutionary training philoso
phy in a nutshell. Im excited to share m
technique with you that has survived training natural selection and helped prope
l some of my lifters deadlifts to ne{
heights; the exercise is the lightning deadlift6
Explode Through Deadlift Plateauh
The deadlift epitomizes an assessment of limit strength, but if you can lift a w
eight fast enough, sticking points arr
systematically by passed! Explosive power is crucial to deadlifting bigt
Louie Simmons bluntly puts it, It is essential that explosive strength play a lar
ge role in training, as it is not only m
means of developing absolute strength, but also a method of raising physical fit
ness that is directed towards solving m
sport-specific task. In laymans terms, becoming more explosive means lifting more
weightt
Its widely known that if you want to develop more explosive power in the deadlift
s, youd turn to a combination ou
plyometrics, accentuated medicine ball throws, compensatory acceleration deadlif
ts and of course, speed deadlifts
against accommodated resistance. These methods are tried and true, but one techn
ique is missing from the listt
Try this ouc
Go ahead and try to deadlift 50 percent of your 1 rep max (RM) slowly, then atte
mpt it with maximum velocity. Thr
maximum velocity deadlift will feel much lighter. Besides the obvious physiologi
cal benefits of deadlifting explosively, ii
yields a wonderful psychological benefit. Weight that feels light is light6
.
Enter the Lightning Deadlifc
The lightning deadlift was inspired by the late Bob Peoples of Tennessee, the fi
rst man to deadlift over 700 poundst
Bob would lift a weight out of a jack at lockout height. Bob would then lower th
e weight to the floor and lift it back up
taking advantage of the stretch reflex. Im not sure if Bob knew why it worked, bu
t he knew it did! I wanted tv
acknowledge Bob for inspiring food for thought6
Lets take a look at what a lightning deadlifts is. I have recently implemented th
is method with some of my lifters. I aw
not claiming to have invented this technique, but I have never seen anyone else
use this lift. A lightning deadlift is ver
similar to using a weight releaser in the bench press or squat. Because of the i
ncreased weight on the eccentric, thr
concentric is effectively sped up. I thought there was no true eccentric in the
deadlift? With lightning deadlifts, yo}
can circumvent this obstacle and use the stretch-shortening cycle to develop max
imum explosive powert
Develop Force Production with the Lightning Deadlifc
Every athletic endeavor will be enhanced by an increased rate of force developme
nt6
0
D is more important for the deadlift than the bench press or squat. Here is why
both the squat and the bench press
have a true eccentric phase and true concentric phase. Even with a one second pa
use at the amortization phase
approximately half of the original stored elastic energy is available to aid in
the concentric portion of the lift. Thr
deadlift, at best, has a pseudo-eccentric phase you can choose to create. Some s
tudies show eccentric contractions
are able to handle as much as 160 percent the amount of weight as their concentr
ic counterparts. Truly your limitiny
factor in completing a lift is your level of concentric strength. Studies show t
hat the force produced at the beginning ou
a concentric contraction that followed an eccentric contraction, is much greater
than force at the beginning of m
concentric contraction that was not preceded by an eccentric contractiont
.
Programming Considerationh
Lightning Deadlifts are performed for doubles. The first rep is performed with a
chain on the bar, generally for speedt
These are done with 40-50 percent of ones maximum deadlift and the chains are an
additional 10-20 percent adde|
on the bar. The first rep is performed with the chains on the bar. Immediately w
hen the bar touches the ground, havr
the two people on the sides pull the chains off the bar. Then, pull the weight a
s explosively as possible to lockoui
without chains. This will be the most explosive deadlift you have ever pulled yo
u will literally feel like you are going tv
fall over backward. Why? Simple, because you have intensified the effect of elas
tic energy that aids you in the lift. Yo}
have created an eccentric portion to a lift that does not have one. Lightning de
adlifts will teach you new meaning tv
pull explosively it will train your CNS to learn and adapt to that explosive mot
or pattern, resulting in bigger pulls an|
if youre a powerlifter bigger totals6
Some Guidelines to Remember with Lightning Deadlifth
Have two component helpers
Do not pull the second rep until you hear go from the designated helpen
Pull each rep as explosively as possiblr
Do 3-6 sets
Do doubles any more or any less will eliminate the benefits
Part 9: Steve Goggins: Deadlift Training Tin
By Steve Goggins
The deadlift is the one exercise that allows you to relax your muscles in betwee
n each repunlike the bench press
and the squat when youre doing them for reps. Most believe that its best to let th
e weight down fast and concentratr
more on the positive upward motion of the lift. And I agree with the fast, posit
ive upward motion; however, you cax
also train the negative downward movement to be stronger overall, and this will
improve speed off the floor and helj
with a strong lockoutt
In the squat and bench, we perform a negative movement at some time or another.
Some of us attempt to use spee|
in the negative motion, yet even then we never release the tension on the bar. W
e remain tight and controlledt
Back to the deadliftI see some lifters attempt to do what they consider a touch an
d go. However, its more like m
bounce lift as they bang the weights on the floor and spring up. Thats not what we
want at ala
. One needs to be ver
disciplined when performing the negative movement of the deadlift. Youre only che
ating yourself if you bounce it ofu
the floort
What we do want is to lower the bar with control, and we want to attempt to touc
h it lightly or set it down while keepiny
constant tension on the bar. This can be beneficial for building strength and fo
r helping ones balance and control
whether you pull sumo or conventional. I also found this to be effective in buil
ding up the hamstrings. In turn, it is
important to note that riding the bar hard to the floor is not good on your elbo
ws and joints. This can cause elbo{
tendinitis, which can affect your squat and bencht
The only time I recommend letting the bar down hard is in competition, and even
then it has to be under control an|
done without releasing the bar until it is back on the floor. I, myself, have a
bad habit of dropping the last rep ix
training. However, I have never dropped a bar in competition unless I lost my gr
ipt
A good practice to help with this would be to lower all of your last reps (in tr
aining) slower and under control. Not onl
will this keep you in good practice for meets, but you will also reap all of the
benefits in terms of your technique. This
principle can and should also be used when performing rack pulls, block pulls, a
nd stiff leg deadst
So, as you can see, I recommend keeping the bar loaded until you are finished wi
th the set. It is my belief that m
loaded bar under constant tension builds more power and muscle. This also will k
eep you in the game a lot longert
NO JERKING! BOUNCING! DROPPING AND RESETTING
.
Please take notice on the 750-pound set. As I pull the weight up on the first re
p, I control the weight back to the floon
and lightly touch, while at the same time keeping constant tension on bar. On th
e second rep, I set the weight all thr
way down while keeping constant tension on the bart
.
.
Part 10: Real Training Video: What you need to know about deadlifts off pinh
and blockh
By Dave Tatr
p
Pins vs Boxeh
My program called for pin-pulls, but considering Im doing these for hypertrophy i
nstead of pure strength, I went witU
pulls off blocks instead. Theres a BIG difference between pin pulls and pulls off
blocks in how the bar and movemen_
acts. For example&
1. When pulling off blocks, the bar will flex exactly the same as if you were pu
lling off of the floor. The first point ou
contact when pulling on the bar is the platet
2. When pulling off pins, the first point of contact is the pin youre pulling off
, so there will be less flex in the bar. Thr
flex will not be the same as if pulling from the floor and the bar flex is exten
ded to the plate instead of the pinst
3. Pulling off blocks makes it easier to get the bar where you want it to be whe
n you pull. The bar rolls the same as if ii
was on the floort
4. If pulling off pins, you have to make sure your body is positioned correctly
because the bar doesnt roll well on thr
pins (it slides). This usually means you need to step back off the bar somet
5. Pulling off blocks is also easier on your bar, than being slammed against pin
st
There are advantages and disadvantages to each based on what youre trying to buil
d, where your sticking point is
and what you have to work with. I have the option of both, and the safer alterna
tive for me is to pull off blocks an|
allow the bar to have a more natural flex when pulling especially when pulling f
or repst
If I was working with a lifter who was dealing with a specific sticking point, Id
rather have them work off pins to make ii
harder to pull through. If its for hypertrophy, high reps or technical work, Id ha
ve them pull off blockst
The chains made this even better because it took much of the stress off the lowe
r back, but pounded my upper bac.
at the top. This is exactly what I was looking fort
elitefts Pulling Standsp
Deadlift Mats.
Deadlift Rubber Blocks.
Multi-Purpose Jump Box.
Pulling Stands
My personal favorite out of all of these, is the Multi-Purpose Jump Box. The box
es work great for pulling stands, bo9
squat risers, step-ups and numerous other movementst
.
Let me know if you like this video blog format. In many cases its easier to show
you though Real Training videos
than explain in words what point(s) Im trying to explaint
.
Part 11: 10-Week Intermediate Deadlift Progral
By Zane Geetiny
If you want to hit a deadlift PR, you need to build your training around ic
. The program Ive written here is a tenz
week cycle for an intermediate lifter who fails just below the knee. On most dea
dlift training days in this cycle, you wilq
pull from the floor for triples, doubles, and eventually singles. After deadlift
ing from the floor, you will pull from six on
four-inch blocks. The percentages will increase each week, except for deload wee
kst
There are three deload weeks in this cycle. The first two (week three and week s
ix), you will still deadlift but will stay ai
60% and focus on speed and form. The final deload (week nine) will give you the
opportunity to recover before thr
peak day on week ten. This week is extremely important if you want to hit a PR.
If you push too hard on week nine
you will not be prepared to pull heavy on meet dayt
Percentageh
It should be stressed that the prescribed percentages are meant for an intermedi
ate lifter. If the lifter is morr
advanced, he should start at a lower percentage because he will need more time t
o acclimate to the really heav
loads. I find that intermediate guys (if theyve been following a good off-season
program) can jump right to highen
percentages because the weights arent as heavy and dont beat them up so badly. The
heaviest movements (9
percent range) are all reduced range of motiont
When determining your numbers, base them off either your best lift in a meet or
your best clean lift in the gym. Do noi
use the weight from a shitty grinder that you barely got and that would have bee
n redlighted for three differeni
reasonst
Setun
If youre a sumo deadlifter, remember that setup is everything. You can see in my
log.
here the difference between m
correct setup and a lazy approach to the bar. If youre out of place before starti
ng the pull, you will never finish the lifi
the way you want to. It works this way with conventional deadlifting as well, bu
t some lifters can grind out ba|
positioning to get back into their groove. Proper setup makes the difference bet
ween a miss and an easy triplet
Setup matters just as much for the light pulls on weeks three and six. When youre
working at a lighter weight, yo}
need to focus on your speed and form the same as if its a heavy pull. This will h
elp build your technique for ma9
attemptst
Accessory Exerciseh
Choose accessories based on your weaknesses..
or my deadlift, I need to build my upper back, so I have been doiny
a lot of rows and dumbbell shrugs. If your weakness is in your hamstrings and gl
utes, it wont do you any good tv
program rows and dumbbell shrugs. You need to pick accessory exercises that will
help your deadlift. If youn
weakness is in your hamstrings and glutes, do glute ham raises. If your weakness
is in your abs, do planks to the froni
and to both sidest
Train your traps to build a strong starting position. I also like to throw in re
verse dumbbell curls from time to time tv
help the forearms and biceps tendons. These need to be strong to remain injury f
ree when pulling heavyt
If you follow this outline and choose the right accessory exercises, you should
hit a big PR on week ten. Send videos
to the Q&A if you want technique advice or have other questions, and let us know
in the comments how this traininy
cycle works for yout
.
Part 12: Add 100 Pounds to Your Pulf
By Chase Karnes
The following program is basic. Ive used this and similar setups with clients and
myself, and had grea_
successit works. This exact program has been used to take a clients max deadlift f
rom 315 to 415 ik
24 weeks. Theres nothing revolutionary about this. Its just a smart, simple progra
m that works. ThiW
works exceptionally well for beginner and intermediate liftersl
Long story short, I had a high school wrestler who began training with me last f
all, six weeks before the seasox
started. Once wrestling began, he was unable to make it in to train with me. Dur
ing the season he injured his shoulden
and required surgery. Once he healed up from surgery, he gave me a call to get b
ack into the gym..
inally, wr
resumed training together on May 29th. This time around, his goals were a bit di
fferent..
or example, instead ou
training for wrestling, he wanted to get as big and strong as possible. Training
with our strongman crew, he alsv
decided hed like to competet
Hes a natural, athletic kid who has pretty good genetics. The first session back
in, I worked him up to a 1RM on his
deadlift. Because hes been lifting consistently for a few years, has great body a
wareness and natural athleticism, .
wasnt worried about working him up to a 1RM. This gave me a baseline of where he
was. We worked him up to 31=
pounds for a solid, but difficult rep. After one more jump up in weight, he miss
ed 335. (Note: I dont always test a 1R
with clients. Sometimes Ill use a 3RM or 5RM. There are special situations where
I wont even test them for a lony
time. Instead, we will just progress from session to session. This really does v
ary from individual to individual..
While we also wanted to bring up his squat and get him accustomed to the strongm
an events, my main goal was tv
bring up his deadlift and rehab his shoulder to allow him to press pain-free. No
t knowing how the squat would affeci
his shoulder, the deadlift became the main focus. Adjustments to this setup woul
d be based on his feedbackt
He is only able to train with me once a week so I set his program up as followsk

Monday: Full Body (train alone^
Wednesday: Full Body (train with me^
Saturday: Strongman Event Day (train with the strongman crew^
Im only going to show the programming for his lower body, as the deadlift was our
main focust
On Mondays when he trained alone, I limited his reps to five on the squat and dea
dlift, and used a simple 5=
progression. He was instructed to perform each rep as explosively as possible an
d work on perfecting technique. Thr
first few weeks are pretty light, but progress overtime. This is by designt
He squatted and deadlifted every week. When working him up to his training 5, 3
or 1RMs, we avoided missing repst
He was instructed to always leave at least one rep in the tankt
Accessory work: Im not going to get into what he did because everyone has differe
nt weaknesses. Just do what YO.
suck at. Train YOUR weak pointst
I wont be detailing the event days below, but typically it looked like&
Week AS
Log Clean & PresW
Farmers Carrm
Atlas StoneW
Week BS
Log Clean & PresW
Yoke Walo
Carry or Medlem
or those who dont train strongman events, organize the template slightly differen
t. Id like to see another day or twv
of rest between squat/deadlift days, with the strongman events removed from the
programk
Example #1S
Monday:.
ull Body (Squat/Deadlift.
Wednesday:.
ull Body (Single leg work.
riday:.
ull Body (Squat/Deadlift.
Example #2S
Monday: Lower (Squat/Deadlift.
Tuesday: Upper Bod
Thursday: Lower Body (Squat/Deadlift.
riday: Upper Bod
Example #3S
Monday: Lower Body (Squat/Deadlift.
Tuesday: Upper Bod
Thursday:.
ull Body (Squat/Deadlift.
24 Week Deadlifc
Phase u
Deadlift: All percentages below are based on a training max. His training max wa
s 85% of his true 1RMt
Squat: All percentages below are based on a training max. His training max was b
ased on 85% of his estimated 1RMt
Since his squat technique wasnt as proficient as his deadlift, I worked him to a
5RM instead of a 1RM. This was use|
to establish his estimated 1RMt
The training max or everyday max is a very important part of this program. Using
a true max for this program will noi
work properlyt
Monday- Alternate A and B for six weekh
Week A- Squai
Week B- DeadliftX
Week 1: Squat: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 2: Deadlift: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 3: Squat: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 4: Deadlift: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 5: Squat: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Week 6: Deadlift: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Wednesday: Alternate Week A and Week B for six weekh
Week A- Deadlifi
Week B- Squai
Week 1: Deadlift: 5 reps @ 60%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Contin
ue making 5% jumps until m
5RM is met..
Week 2: Squat: 5 reps @ 55%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 5RM is met..
Week 3: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Contin
ue working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met..
Week 4: Squat: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met..
Week 5: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 65%, 3 reps @ 75%, 3 reps @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (Continu
e working up making 5*
jumps until a 1RM is met. This is a training 1 rep max. Not a true 1 rep max. Th
ere is some left in the tank, but the ban
is approached aggressively..
Week 6: Squat: 3 reps @ 65%, 3 reps @ 75%, 3 reps @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (Continue w
orking up making 5% jumps
until a 1RM is met. Not a true 1 rep max. There is some left in the tank, but th
e bar is approached aggressively..
Phase o
Deadlift All percentages below are based on a training max..
We have now added 10 pounds to his deadlifc
training maxi
Squat All percentages below are based on a training max..
We have now added 10 pounds to his squat trainino
maxi
Monday- Alternate A and B for six week`
Week A Squai
Week B Deadlifi
Week 1: Squat: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 2: Deadlift: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 3: Squat: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 4: Deadlift: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 5: Squat: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Week 6: Deadlift: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Wednesday- Alternate Week A and Week B for six weekh
Week A- Deadlifi
Week B- Squai
Week 1: Deadlift: 5 reps @ 60%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Contin
ue making 5% jumps until m
5RM is met. Go for a 5 rep PR here..
Week 2: Squat: 5 reps @ 55%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 5RM is met. Go for a 5 rep PR here..
Week 3: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Contin
ue working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met. Go for a 3 rep PR here..
Week 4: Squat: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met. Go for a 3 rep PR here..
Week 5: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 75%, 3 reps @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (This is a training 1
rep max. Not a true 1 rep maxt
There is some left in the tank, but the bar is approached aggressively. Continue
working up making 5% jumps until m
1RM is met. Go for a heavier single than phase 1..
Week 6: Squat: 3 reps @ 65%, 3 reps @ 75%, 3 reps @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (This is a
training 1 rep max. Not a trur
1 rep max. There is some left in the tank, but the bar is approached aggressivel
y. Continue working up making 5*
jumps until a 1RM is met. Go for a heavier single than phase 1..
Phase q
Back off sets are added after hitting RM for the day. All back off sets are done
beltlessl
Deadlift All percentages below are based on a training max..
We have now added 10 more pounds to his deadlifc
training max. p
Squat All percentages below are based on a training max..
We have now added 10 more pounds to his squac
training maxi
Monday- Alternate A and B for six week`
Week A- Squai
Week B- Deadlifi
Week 1: Squat: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 2: Deadlift: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 3: Squat: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 4: Deadlift: 70%x5, , 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 5: Squat: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Week 6: Deadlift: 75%x5, 85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Wednesday- Alternate Week A and Week B for six weekh
Week A- Deadlifi
Week B- Squai
Week 1: Deadlift: 5 reps @ 60%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Contin
ue making 5% jumps until m
5RM is met. Go for a 5 rep PR here..
Back off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 65*
Week 2: Squat: 5 reps @ 55%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 5RM is met. Go for a 5 rep PR here..
Back off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 65*
Week 3: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90*
Continue working up making 5% jumps until a 3RM is met..
Go for a 3 rep PR herei
Back off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 70*
Week 4: Squat: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met. Go for a 3 rep PR here..
Back off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 70*
Week 5: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 65%, 3 reps @ 75%, 3 reps @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (This is
a training 1 rep max, not a trur
1 rep max. There is some left in the tank, but the bar is approached aggressivel
y. Continue working up, making 5*
jumps until a 1RM is met. Go for a heavier single than phase 2.
Back-off sets: 3 sets of 3-5 @ 75*
Week 6: Squat: 3 reps @ 65%, 3 reps @ 75%, 3 reps @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (This is a
training 1 rep max, not a trur
1 rep max. There is some left in the tank, but the bar is approached aggressivel
y. Continue working up making 5*
jumps until a 1RM is met. Go for a heavier single than phase 2..
Back-off sets: 3 sets of 3-5 @ 75*
Phase x
Back off sets are added after hitting RM for the day. All back off sets are done
beltlessl
Deadlift All percentages below are based on a training max..
We have now added 10 more pounds to his deadlifc
training max. p
Squat All percentages below are based on a training maxt
We have now added 10 more pounds to his squac
training maxi
Monday- Alternate A and B for six week`
Week A Squai
Week B Deadlifi
Week 1: Squat: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 2: Deadlift: 65%x5, 75%x5, 85%x5, 75%x5, 65%x=
Week 3: Squat: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 4: Deadlift: 70%x5, 80%x5, 90%x5, 80%x5, 70%x=
Week 5: Squat: Omit Deadlift Testing Wee.
Week 6: Deadlift: 75%x5,85%x5, 95%x5, 85%x5, 75%x=
Wednesday- Alternate Week A and Week B for six week`
Week A- Deadlifi
Week B- Squai
Week 1: Deadlift: 5 reps @ 60%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Contin
ue making 5% jumps until m
5RM is met. Go for a 5 rep PR here..
Back-off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 65*
Week 2: Squat: 5 reps @ 55%, 5 reps @ 65%, 5 reps @ 75%, 5 reps @ 85% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 5RM is met. Go for a 5 rep PR here..
Back-off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 65*
Week 3: Deadlift: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Contin
ue working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met. Go for a 3 rep PR here..
Back-off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 70*
Week 4: Squat: 3 reps @ 60%, 3 reps @ 70%, 3 reps @ 80%, 3 reps @ 90% (Continue
working up making 5*
jumps until a 3RM is met. Go for a 3 rep PR here..
Back-off sets: 3 sets of 5-8 @ 70*
Week 5: TEST Deadlift: 1 rep @ 65%, 1 rep @ 75%, 1 rep @ 85%, 1 rep @ 95% (Conti
nue working up making 5z
10% jumps until a 1RM is met. Go for an all time PR here..
Week 6: Squat: 3 reps @ 65% TM, 3 reps @ 75% TM, 3 reps @ 85% TM, 1 rep @ 95% TM
(This is a training 1 rej
max, not a true 1 rep max. There is some left in the tank, but the bar is approa
ched aggressively. Continue workiny
up, making 5% jumps until a 1RM is met. Go for a heavier single than phase 3..
He finished this phase with a PR pull of 415 pounds, a full 100 pounds heavier t
han his pull just 24 weeks before. An|
he had some left in the tank. Even on this testing day, I didnt allow him to miss
a liftt
So what will we do now.
He will continue to follow these 6-week phases above, slowly increasing his trai
ning max, setting 5 and 3 rep PRs
hitting a heavier training single than the phase before, and progressing on this
as long as he can. A lot of people likr
changing programs, switching things up, etc., but I firmly believe if its not bro
ke, dont fix it. This is working for him, sv
theres no need to change a thing. When the weights start becoming too heavy to fi
nish without missing reps on
missing weights, we will reset his training max. Id simply subtract 20 pounds fro
m the current training max an|
progress from there. Eventually he will have milked it for all its worth. Then, t
he changes will come. The only changes
we will make before this happens will be his accessory work. This will be determ
ined by how his heaviest single of thr
previous phase looks like and what his weak point is at that momentt
.
Part 13:The Death Lift.
By Marshall Johnsox
[Header image courtesy of Gilmour Creative.
The death liftthe one true test of strength and the one lift that is still relati
vely untouched by the advancements ou
powerlifting gear. Nowadays, people can put a lot of time into mastering their s
upportive gear and get hundreds ou
pounds of carryover, especially in the squat and bench. But the deadlift stands
alone as a lift that you either have on
you dontt
Only one man has pulled a 1,000-pound deadlift in a sanctioned meet and thats And
y Bolton, who did it twicet
However, Benedict Magnusson has successfully pulled an amazing 1,015 pounds in a
non-sanctioned meet and raw6
Heading down the list of amazing deadlifters, we find that only thirteen men in
history have ever pulled 900 lbs on
more. I wanted to know what makes an elite deadlifter. Is it mental, physical, g
enetics, a solid training program.
What.
I had the great honor and privilege of taking some time to communicate with thre
e of the best deadlifters of all time)
the legend Ed Coan and Vince Urbank, who have successfully pulled over 900 pound
s in a sanctioned meet, an|
Steve Goggins of elitefts who has pulled 900 pounds hook grip in trainingt
I wanted to know what the difference was between an 800-pound deadlifter and a 9
00-pound deadlifter. I asked thr
three of them the same two questionswhat are some misconceptions about building a
huge deadlift (that youvr
personally found), and can you tell us what has contributed the most to your ama
zing pull (physical, mental, on
spiritual aspects or training method)? Below is an uncut response from each of t
hem about the subject. Enjoy6
Ed Coan
The deadlift isnt a tricky lift. Its pretty easy. You bend over and pick up the we
ight. Now, how you get the most out of ii
can be tricky. I think the misconception with deadlifting is heavy, heavy, heavy
way too much. You can also go way tov
light on speed work. The weight has to be enough that there is a carryovertoo lig
ht and it wont work and too heav
and you overtraint
I usually changed it up after a contest and did a variation of thr
deadlift for a whole cycle. I usually picked a deadlift variation thai
worked my weakest spot..
or me, I liked to do a stiff legge|
deadlift cycle. It lasted nine weeks while standing on a three-inch
block. Then I did three weeks of eight, three weeks of six, an|
three weeks of four. I also paused them on the bottomt
The mental approach is easy! If you set up a good program that is
very doable, your confidence builds during the whole cycle. B
the end, youre as strong as shit mentally. People forget that its m
long process to be good at any lift. Your expectations have to br
reasonable. Dont think that you can go up 3040 pounds ever
cycle. Take your time and youll get there. I really did have greai
training partners along the way. They knew me and all my littlr
hang ups and let me be met
Vince Urban~
Some common misconceptions Ive found are that lifters assumr
their lifting should be tied to a particular frequency (i.e. I have tv
squat every week or I have to deadlift every week). A lifters
recovery depends on age, body weight, sex, lifting experience
current strength level, training style leading up to that point, an|
other factors. So if your recovery is constantly changing, why would you always
rest the same amount.
Beginner/weaker lifters need to train more often while experienced/very strong l
ifters need more rest. Be honest with
yourself. If youve been powerlifting for ten years and you deadlift 500 lbs at a
body weight of 308 lbs, you arent ax
experienced lifter limited by your genetics. You dont need more rest. You havent t
rained and recovered properly an|
now youre paying the price for your mistakes. Youve essentially kept yourself at a
beginner level despite training fon
a considerable amount of timet
Assistance exercises can help, but there isnt any replacement for doing the movem
ent competition style and traininy
to become powerful through that exact range of motion and from that position. Do
nt be lazy and say that rack pulls
are good enough because youre tired from squatting, and dont do band pulls and tel
l yourself that theyre as good on
better than pulling weight from the floor powerlifting stylet
Straps can be good to help keep the grip from becominy
overtrained, but dont rely on them and dont max with thew
unless youre a Strongman and your upcoming show allows itt
Too many lifters build a huge deadlift while using straps as m
crutch so heavily in training that their strapless max ends uj
being far below their max with strapst
The squat and deadlift are both heavy, lower body exercises thai
tax the nervous system. Both involve the same muscle groups
(although in differing proportions). So by increasing strength ix
the back, hamstrings, glutes, and quads and increasing nervous
system efficiency and output, how could they not both increase ai
the same time? Dont blame lack of deadlift gains on your squai
gains or vice versa. Once again, be honest with yourself an|
reevaluate your trainingt
I feel that following a clean, whole food diet, not eating any jun.
food or processed food, and doing a lot of manual labor an|
exercise from a very young age have contributed to my pull thr
most physically. Through my teenage years and before I even
started lifting weights at age sixteen or seventeen, I had alread
been doing calisthenics, sprints, and jumps for years. I feel thai
many years of exercise have helped my muscular developmeni
and helped me learn what food and training my body needs to reach my next goalt
Mentally/spiritually, I think the biggest factor to achieving big lifts isnt beli
eving that others are better than you but trul
believing that you can do anything that anyone else has ever done and more if yo
u have a smart enough plan and arr
willing to do whatever it takes to reach that goal. I also believe that its very
important to have a constant positivr
attitude about yourself and whatever your current situation is. Dont waste any ti
me or energy responding to on
engaging negative people. Surround yourself with positive people who respect you
for having a huge goal an|
encourage you for who you are and what youre determined to work towardt
As far as training method, train heavy and basic. Your heavy training on the pri
mary movements should be primaril
with the contest version of the movement or sometimes a very close variation. Re
ps will obviously go down as thr
meet gets closer, but you shouldnt go more than five reps on the squat and two to
three reps on the deadlift per set. Iu
you do, try to keep it limited to one big set (especially in the eight to ten we
eks pre-contest). If you get weaker frow
one session to the next, youre overtraining and need to rest moret
Speed work is great for increasing power but doing it on a constant scheduled ba
sis (i.e. every week) is a waste ou
time and available recovery. You wont continually get faster indefinitely, at lea
st not to any significant measurablr
degree. So save the speed work for when you need an extended break between heavy
sessions and your lifts havr
been slowing down. You get substantial speed training on your heavy days if youre b
eing as fast and explosive as
possible on your warm upst
Vince Urbank is proudly sponsored by Grecian Ideal Nutrition.X
Steve Gogginh
Most elite lifters say that you shouldnt use straps when deadlifting..
or me, I find this to be untrue. I was able to buil|
a tremendous amount of strength in my back by using straps. However, you still h
ave to work your deadlift withoui
straps as wellt
Another misconception is that you should stop in between each rep. Its OK to touc
h and go as long as you doni
bounce the weight off the floor. I also think many people believe that once you
pull a deadlift, you have to let it dowx
hard and fast. In my training experience, I always let the bar down slowly in a
negative type fashion in between each
rep. When youre deadlifting in a meet, its OK to let the bar down fast just as lon
g as youre under controlt
.
Some people think that you need to train your deadlift more than once a week. In
my experience, I havent found this
to be of any benefit. Another misconception is that one should pull 90 percent o
r more one week before a meet. Yo}
can, but your results wont be what you expect or what they should be. I would alw
ays stop 14-21 days out for my lasi
heavy pullt
Beginners think that when you start to pull heavy, you should use more arms and
upper body to pull the weight off thr
floor. Using your upper body does nothing more than cause you to lean way forwar
d and use more lower back. Keej
your arms as straight as possible and your shoulders as relaxed as possible to g
et the best benefit(s)t
.
Part 14: Monster Garage Gym: Hook Grip 101Its a Love-Hate Relationshin
By Eric Maroschen
His name was Master Chai, a multi-degree black belt who came to the United State
s from the mountains of Koreat
Thinking back, I dont recall the year, day, or date, but I remember watching the
event unfold right in front of me when .
was a teenager, just like it was yesterday. Master Chai had all of his Tae Kwon
Do students, myself included, in thr
parking lot after one of the students broke his hand trying to break a brickt
I remember watching Master Chai slowly and deliberately tighten up his fist and
then lay on the pavement, his fisi
tight and his arm laying straight on the ground. I then remember watching as one
of the other black belts got in his
Jeep and drove over Master Chais closed fist. He slowly drove the Jeep up, on, ov
er, and then off of Chais close|
fist. We all watched in total shock as we tried to figure out why Master Chai no
t only wanted to purposely crush his
own hand under the weight of the Jeep, but also why he wanted us to witness this
. Once Master Chai got up from thr
pavement, he proceeded to brush the grit from the tire and the pavement off of h
is fist. And slowly, little by little, hr
unfurled his hand, eventually displaying a perfectly functional hand, little fin
ger and all. It is a memory that has stuc.
with me to this dayt
Now on to your questionwhat does this have to do with powerlifting? Well, for the
sake of this article, only everythiny
when it comes to the hook grip. Almost a decade ago I was prepping for the WPC W
orlds, and during an all tov
routine 605-pound final warm-up, I tore my right bicep. Nearly a total detachmen
t..
ollowing a successful surgery, thr
surgeon told me that there was this little eight percent of the tendon keeping t
he other 92 percent from rolling up
window shade style. Therefore, pulling with that arm supinated was a no-go. I wi
ll spare the details of the rehab an|
such for another article (as they might be helpful for someone else who has had
this injury recently), but I will tell yo}
that I was concerned about my deadlift because as a good deadlifter. (I was, and
still am, a horrid bencher on thr
other hand). I talked to Ernie.
rantz as I sat there with ice on my bicep, and he suggested swapping the pronate
|
hand for a supinated hand and vice versa. Since I am not indestructible like Ern
ie, I started talking to other guys whv
had blown their biceps and then swapped grip. However, nearly 75 percent of them
had eventually blown the othen
bicep. Ernie has ropes for biceps tendons, I dont, and I wanted no part of anothe
r rupture. Enter, the hook grip.
If you are not familiar with the hook grip, it is a way to grip the bar that is
best known in the Olympic lifting communityt
The easiest way to describe the hook grip (versus the traditional overhand and u
nderhand grip) is to say that you arr
basically using your own thumb and fingers to create a wrist-strap around the ba
rt
With a hook grip, both hands are in the pronated position, meaning your palms ar
e facing in when you are holding thr
deadlift bar. Here are the stepsk
1. Open your hands as wide as possible and try to push the barbell deep into the
pocket of your palmst
2. Wrap your thumbs around the bar as far as you can, as if you were going to co
mpletely encircle the bar with youn
thumbt
3. Grip the barbell with your pinky and ring finger while your index finger and
your hey, you just cut me off in traffic!finger
are wrapped around your thumb as tightly as you can. (Remember, the thumb is wra
pped around the bar, and ii
is kind of pointed toward your own pinky finger). To be clear, the index and mid
dle finger are gripping so tightly an|
squeezing the thumb into the barbell that the thumb is essentially trapped by th
ose two fingerst
*Try this on something thinner than a barbell, such as the handle of a wooden sp
oon or something of that likeness, sv
you can see what it is like to engulf that implement into your hand and use this
hook gript
The key to the hook grip is the lesson of Master Chai. The reason his hand did n
ot break is because he tightened his
fist so much that there was no room for the carpels in his hand to move. Thus, t
here were no moving parts to break
just one big non-breakable mass. The hook grip is like that. If there is no spac
e between your thumb and the bar, yo}
can pull tremendous weight and not really feel the hook grip mucht
The hook will feel fine for lighter weight that you can still hold with a double p
ronated grip, even if you are doing ii
incorrectly and not gripping it as tightly as you should. However, when the weig
ht is greater than what your doublr
pronated grip can hold, you have to grip that bar as if someone is trying to ste
al your paycheck in order for the hook tv
work properly. And with a tightand I mean TIGHThook grip, you are smashing your ow
n thumb to the deadlift bart
If you grab the bar with less than your tightest grip, the bar will smash your t
humb as the bar is lifted, so now you havr
gravity, the barbell, and 700 pounds smashing your thumb. The tighter the grip o
f your hook, the less pain to youn
thumbs. Now, when I say less pain to the thumb, that is a relative term. The hook
grip is not a pleasant grip. When .
say that, I dont mean a going to the dentist kind of unpleasant. I mean it is signi
ficantly unpleasant. You are going tv
have to mentally commit to this grip in order to do it. It is not like lifting s
umo for a training cycle and then doiny
another training cycle with a conventional stance. This is like getting tattooedy
ou kind of just get through itt
In my experience, here are some pros to the hook gripv
Your body wont twist or windmill as it can with a pronated and supinated gript
Your supinated bicep is not actively engaged, so it is not exposed to rupturet
You have symmetry between your left and right handst
The distance is a little less to pull (every bit counts)t
You wont drop the bar because you really cant drop the bar if you are doing the ho
ok correctly. You will run oui
of air pulling before you would lose your grip with the hookt
You are far less likely to have a chunk of your hand rip away, which can happen
when gnarled bar meets losr
callousest
That said, here are some cons I have found with the gripv
Hook grip is a big hands grip. If you have one of the.
elitefts deadlift bars and you have smaller hands, yo}
should be okay since they are something like 27-28mm. But the hook can be a chal
lenge for smaller handst
Reps are tough. You have to re-grip with each rep, so this might mean using stra
ps on your lighter setst
If you have shorter arms, your fingers can get caught on your suit bottom. Powde
r it upt
The hook takes months to get used to. There is a callous to build up, and it jus
t plain old takes some practicet
You cant half-ass a hook grip deadlift like you can with a traditional grip. You
have to commit 100 percentt
Even if you dont have to pull hard to get the weight up, you will have to grip ha
rd to make it tolerablet
Plain old unpleasantt
The hook grip is merely one tool in your powerlifting tool box, but it is a spec
ialty tool and well worth experimentiny
with, regardless if you pull sumo or conventional. Ultimately, the hook grip is
a love-hate relationship. You will love thr
pulling power you get with it; however, you will hate how unpleasant it is at th
e same timet
*Photos by Bent Nail Photography. LIKE Bent Nail photography on Facebookl
.
.
Part 15: So You Think You Can Deadlifc
This is a 9 part video play list by Matt Wenniny