Cardio / Dead Lift

You know the drill, do something for 30 minutes or longer.

The Dead Lift -

almost universally considered the best full body lift to test for overall strength

Anyone else have any tips for those of us who need to work on the dead lift?

Here's what Rob from Mountain Athlete posted the other day:

For such a simple exercise in concept, the dead lift gots to be the most complicated lift in the gym. For me, the friggin' thing is like a golf swing. Get one little thing wrong, and you shank the lift into the trees.

I've read and been taught the lift by coaches far better and more experienced than I. Problem is, most of them have totally different ways of teaching the lift. Further, often these coaches totally contradict each other, and I'm left there comparing different exercise techniques saying, "huh?"

Here's my approach, for what it's worth.

1) The dead lift is first a core exercise, second a full body exercise. The ability to keep the lower back set, flat and locked is everything. Once the lower back breaks, the lift doesn't count - even if the athlete horses it all the way up, rounded back and all.

2) Start with your feet shoulder width apart, weight on your heels so you can wiggle your toes, back set, head up, ass down, shouders in front of the bar. Hands in an alternating grip (one forward, one back)

3) Take a breath and hold it and tighten your abs as hard as you can. "Squeeze" the barbebell off the floor, don't jerk it. Drag the barbell up your shins and legs all the way to full hip extension, then reset your lower back. Take a deep breath, and lower it back down the same exact way - touching your legs/shins. If your back breaks, drop the bar, right there, and lower the weight. It means your midsection isn't strong enough to lift that weight, even if the rest of your body can. Some coaches call this "technical failure" - I call it just being smart and safe.

- Rob Shaul

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