deadlift

The deadlift is increasing in mainstream popularity. Today people outside of powerlifting and sports training are learning to love a big pull. But which type of deadlift is best for your goals: conventional, sumo, or trap bar? First, decide what you want to train. What's your priority? Are you...

The squat-stance deadlift combines the best elements of conventional and sumo. It basically has no sticking point. Unlike the other two styles of deadlift, it has even tension throughout. This deadlift style has incredible transfer– squat to deadlift and deadlift to squat. Each time you train...

The angled deadlift is for intermediate to advanced lifters who have enough experience with the basic pulling and pressing exercises that they're ready for a new challenge. This exercise hits the posterior-chain muscles you'd use in a traditional deadlift, along with the shoulder and arm...

There are some exercises, no matter how many times you do them, never get easier. One prime example is the single leg deadlift. The reduced stability and tension on one leg make this challenging for all lifters. It is easier to be strong on two legs but harder to be stronger on one leg. The...

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW... There's a lot more to getting strong than lifting heavy things for one rep. That will just lead to stagnation. Accumulate volume. Take your 3RM and train it until you can do 5 reps with that weight. Use supplemental lifts to add volume, fix weaknesses, and...

Even with a fantastic exercise like the deadlift, things can go wrong and a great movement can become a dumb training tool. Avoid these mistakes: 1 ▶️ Bouncing a Touch-and-Go Deadlift We've all seen it. Someone struggles mightily to complete a single rep on a heavy deadlift. The lifter's eyes...

Stubbornness goes hand in hand with competitiveness. This is why most of us will look for ways to keep squatting and deadlifting even when we're banged up. I get it. My father, a champion distance runner, ran with Achilles tendinitis for 20 years. How did it finally clear up? Ice and rest – he...

My deadlift has always been a struggle. In 2006 my best competition deadlift was 484 pounds at 198. I kept getting called for hitching or ramping. My thighs always seemed to get in the way at lockout when I pulled conventional. I just couldn't get my hips through. In 2007 I finally pulled my...

A deficit deadlift is a deadlift performed while standing on a weight plate or short platform, usually around one to four inches high. It's often used as assistance work for those that have trouble in the first stage of the deadlift. The increased range of motion also recruits more of the...

A TOOL FOR DEADLIFTS, ROWS, SHRUGS, AND CARRIES EVERY HOME GYM NEEDS ONE If you have a home gym, you probably have a bar, plates, a power rack, an adjustable bench, a pull-up rig, and some dumbbells. What’s missing? A trap bar 470. The trap bar is the best specialty bar. Certain exercises are...

There’s no question that the basics of strength training work despite what you may see from time to time on the Internet. The barbell is the ultimate tool for strength and muscle and will continue to work for all who take it seriously. Incorporating the Big 3exercises—the barbell squat, bench...

Consider two lifters who are both trying 500-pound deadlifts. Lifter A swiftly applies a lot of power to the ground, and the bar leaps off the ground. Lifter B applies the same amount of power to the ground, but not as rapidly, thus the bar comes off more slowly. Which lifter has a better chance...

Deadlift Form 101 It is rare to see beginning lifters practicing proper deadlift form. Far too many trainees perform the lift at a mechanical disadvantage, trying to lift the bar with their hips up. This resembles a Romanian deadlift or stiff-leg deadlift and is hard on the lower back. To...

There’s no debate: deadlifts have a seat at the grown-up table. They are one of the best bang for your buck exercises. Compound full body movements that require total body tension and strength form the basis of any high-performance training program. I have a love/hate relationship with...

You aren’t the kind of person who spends hours on the treadmill each week hoping to cut weight. You’re not a hamster on a wheel, you’re a serious athlete. You want to get ripped and put on more size but unfortunately most of the training techniques for these goals can contradict each other...

The Romanian deadlift exercise was named after the Romanian weightlifter Nicu Vlad, an Olympic medalist in the ’80s and ’90s. Vlad performed this deadlift variation after finishing his Olympic lifting, and some fellow lifters asked him what he was doing. He said he did them to make his entire...

A testament to the strength and power of the human spirit. The will to go deeper, a place within you have never been before. An unexplained spiritual force where you exceed your own expectations. Taking it to another level when it is not about you. Understanding the why and purpose of the...

The biggest disadvantage with banded exercises is after a certain point, they stop getting you stronger. They only come so thick and stretch so far before the possibility of breaking. A breaking band might seem funny in a workout fail video, but when it’s coming at you — not so much. But when...

Learn which 3 exercises are the best for building a massive back. Each exercise includes the proper performance technique and rookie mistakes to avoid. If you’re really after size and a whole lot more strength, the truth is, you’ve got to take your focus off the "mirror muscles". Having well...

You’re reading this because you love to deadlift. You love the challenge of stepping over the bar and gripping and ripping heavy weight from the floor. When lifting heavier weights, little technical hitches can appear that are covered up while you’re working with submaximal weights. And the...