Tag Archives: deadlift

A deadlift (conventional deadlift) is a popular exercise that aims to strengthen your posterior chain muscle, including the erector spinae muscle, glutes, and hamstring. It is considered a really top list of important exercises to do, and it can be fun and rewarding, but when the weight you move starts increasing, it can lead to severe injuries if you are not using the right technique. Let’s then look into what we need to do to get a good deadlift by starting to analyse from bottom to top how the body should be placed. Centre of mass and biomechanics in deadlift To start with, let’s talk about the biomechanics and the centre of mass for a deadlift. When doing exercises, biomechanics plays a crucial role in safety and optimal exercise execution, and there is no exception for the deadlift. Furthermore, along with all exercises, the lifting and the descending part, the weight has to be in line with the centre of mass. These two components are strictly interconnected to the other one, which means if I don’t use the right biomechanics, I am not going to have the weight aligned with the centre of mass, or if the weight is not aligned with the centre of mass, I am not using my biomechanics at its full potential. So, what’s the centre of mass in the deadlift? The centre of mass in a deadlift is that imaginary line that runs right from the mid-portion of your feet up right in front of your shins, and as you lift the weight up, it passes right in front of your pelvis. That’s where the bar is going to end once you complete the lifting motion. What happens if I don’t keep the bar along the centre of mass? At any stage, during the lifting or the descending motion, if you move the bar further away from the centre of the mass line, there is a great danger of injury. This is because, as the weight travels away from the centre of mass, there is an increase in momentum, which means that your muscles and ligaments that are working hard to move the weight are suddenly placed under a greater load. What are then the proper biomechanics to observe along a deadlift? Ankle and Knee To execute a good deadlift, we want to ensure we have good ankle dorsiflexion, which is not as important as when we squat, but still, we better ensure it is working right. This would allow a straight forward movement of the knee, which would not need to find its way medially or laterally along the initial bending for when we go to grab the bar. Moving up the chain, as we said, the knee have to point straight ahead, following the toes direction. Hip and lower back Next is the hip. This is an important joint, and here is where we need to make sure that we tilt the pelvis forward (bring the teil bone upwards) and as we hinge the hip, we have to have enough movement in there that the greater trochanter (bone landmark that represents the side of the femur’s head) is posterior to the malleolus (the bone landmark that make the side and medial portion of the ankle). Now, if we managed to have tailbone project far back and up, and hip hinged with a slightly bent knee, our back up to cervical area would be alrady quiet flat. Thoracic and head If we keep going upwards, we get to the upper thoracic area, right between the scapula. Here, we want to keep the scapula protracted and have the rhomboids and serratus anterior muscles active and strong so that the arms can hang down straight towards the bar and sit right next to the knee. Regarding the head, use your eyesight to look down at the floor at 45° in front of you and feel the ears pulling away from the shoulder. That would keep your neck nice and long and place the head in the right position. Arms and hands Arms hang down from the shoulder in a straight line, from the AC Joint down to the wrist. The arm has to feel heavy and prolonged, and the hands must sit right next to the shin. Indeed, your arms must stay as wide as your shoulders. That would ensure that your arms are at 90° with the bar, and from a vertical pool point of view, they can take the maximum load ever. Lastly, regarding the hands, there are different grip types that can be used for the deadlift. What is most important is that the wrist is straight following the armline. For exercise purposes, you can have a regular grip where your thumb is gripping around the bar. For heavier weights, you may want to do a mixed grip, where one hand (the dominant one) has the palm facing forward, and the other hand has the palm facing you. In conclusion, the biomechanics of the deadlift, if used correctly, will allow you to always weight in a safe spot, in line with the centre of mass. Your back has to be flat at all times, and along the exercise execution, you want to grasp air in, engage the core to flat out the lower back and then you can lift off. Benefits of Deadlifting Now, let’s look into the benefits of deadlifting. Full-body workout: Deadlifts engage multiple muscle groups—glutes, hamstrings, quads, lower back, core, traps, and forearms—providing a full-body workout in a single movement. Improved strength: Deadlifts are among the best exercises for building overall strength, especially in the posterior chain (back, glutes, and hamstrings). Better posture: Deadlifts can improve posture and reduce the risk of slouching by strengthening your back and core muscles. Core stability: The movement requires significant core activation, helping to enhance core strength and stability. Increased athletic performance: Deadlifts translate well to other athletic movements, as they improve explosiveness, agility, and endurance. Fat loss: The intensity and demand on […]