Photo by Danielle Cerullo
The deadlift exercise in the last few years seems to have become a very popular and trendy weight training exercise. It can be a very effective weight training and full-body exercise to do that works out the legs, glutes and back but it needs to be done properly so as not to injure your lower back. Therefore, proper form is critical when doing this exercise. Don’t worry about how much weight you can do, pay more attention to how you perform the exercise. The increased weight that you can do will follow in due time. This is especially true if this is the first time you have done this exercise or if you haven’t done it for many years.
This is a complex, complicated exercise and a lot to remember at first, but once you start doing the exercise it becomes easy to remember and second-nature. You just end up going with the flow of the movement.
But before actually doing this exercise or as a warm-up, you may want to do the exercise without the barbell, just to get the feel of the exercise. This is especially recommended if this is your first time.
I have included my selfie video of the deadlift exercise done with lighter weights. Below, I have also included the best deadlift exercise video on the Internet by Athlean-X. He discusses and shows a comprehensive step-by-step approach on how to do this exercise properly and safely.
And my last Sunday in March 2020 deadlift workout before Coronovirus (COVID-19) closed my gym!
Method of Performance
- Legs should be hip width apart and the bar just before your shoe laces or about an inch from your legs.
- Arms grabbing the bar about shoulder width apart or at the point where your arms are the longest in length.
- You should be in a sort of bent over V position when you grab the bar. Meaning, knees bent in front of you, hips bent at higher level than the knees and the back straight and forward. Chest in front.
- To raise the barbell off the floor, you will first do a leg press - you push off the floor, similar to a leg press on the leg press machine. This is gives you the initial movement and momentum for the exercise.
- After the leg press part of the movement, you will thrust your hips forward and lats back as you raise the bar to the upright standing position.
- Repeat the same movement when lowering the barbell.
- Do 8-12 repetitions, 4-5 sets.
