Execution
- Place a barbell on low rungs of a squat rack or other stands.
- Load the bar with appropriate weight and then grasp the barbell with a pronated (palms down) grip. Assume an erect standing position holding the barbell in both hands with the arms extended and the barbell resting against the thighs.
- Contract the muscles of your lower back to lock in the normal curvature of your spine. Then inhale slightly more that usual and hold your breath as you bend over from the hips and bend the knees.
- Push the hips to the rear, and as you bend the knees and maintain the normal curvature of the spine (i.e.: a slight arch in the lower back) incline the trunk forward.
- Lean forward until the trunk is inclined 40-45° forward. The exact position is determined by your ability to hold the normal curvature of the spine or if you begin to bend the spine as you squat or bend forward.
- After reaching the lowermost position, maintain spinal position and straighten the legs. As the legs approach full extension raise your trunk to the erect position. Push the hips forward as you pull the trunk backward and upward.
- Exhale forcefully as you pass the most difficult portion of the up phase and pause momentarily when you reach the erect standing position. Then repeat for desired number of repetitions.
Training Tips
- Use leg extension to initiate movement. As you come up out of the squat bring in hip extension to raise the trunk.
- Be sure to maintain the normal curvature of the lumbar spine throughout the execution. Having a rounded spine when lifting heavy weights in this exercise is a major cause of back injuries. Thus you should not flex or extend the spine during execution. Such movements are not only potentially dangerous, but result in less development of the main muscles involved, the gluteus maximus and hamstrings, not the erector spinae of the lower back.
- For maximum spine safety and best hip joint muscle development maintain the trunk in a rigid position during execution.
- To assist in holding the spinal position be sure that you hold your breath during the down and up phases. Holding the breath also generates greater strength of the muscles involved.
- Be sure to exhale forcefully after passing the most difficult portion of the lift on the up phase to relieve the built-up thoracic pressure.
- For greatest stress on the gluteus maximus and hamstrings extend the legs fully when you pull the torso up and back.
- Concentrate on pulling with the hip muscles and not the arms when raising the trunk. Also, bring the shoulders up and back to maintain effective curvature of the spine and to assist in supporting the hanging barbell.
- Keep the lower back muscles (erector spinae) strongly contracted on both the down and up phases of the leg flexion and extension to handle the stress that is placed on the spinal vertebrae and discs. Note that it can be thousands of pounds when heavy weights are used!
- Flexibility in the hip joints is a pre-requisite to doing an effective deadlift. If you are lacking in flexibility (and strength), do exercises such as the good morning and glute-ham-gastroc raise to gain both flexibility and strength of the muscles involved.
- To maximize the stress on the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles, do the stiff-legged deadlift in which you keep the legs straight but not locked.
Major Muscles Involved
In the deadlift the gluteus maximus and hamstring muscles of the hip joint are involved to execute the upper body movement. The gluteus maximus is a very large fleshy muscle at the back of the hip. It is the muscle you sit on and is most powerful in the beginning of the up movement when you have 90 or less degrees of flexion in the hip joint. As your trunk is raised and the angle increases, the hamstrings become most important. The hamstring muscle group is composed of three muscles: biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. The biceps femoris, which has two heads, is the largest muscle of the hamstring group and is located on the outer side of the posterior thigh. The semitendinosus and semimembranosus are located on the inner side of the posterior thigh and do not have near the muscle mass of the biceps. The quadriceps muscle group, located on the front of the thigh, is involved in knee extension. It is made up of the vastus lateralis and medialis whose mass is located close to the knee joint on both sides and which are commonly known as the teardrop muscles. Also active is the vastus intermedius whose mass is higher up in the middle of thigh and the rectus femoris which runs the length of the thigh. It crosses the hip joint and has the action at both the knee and hip.
Muscle and Joint Actions
In the hip joints there is extension in which the trunk, pelvic girdle and upper body as a unit is rotated upward and backward. The trunk moves up and back while the hips move forward to assume an erect posture. The gluteus maximus and hamstrings are responsible for these actions. The erector spinae muscle of the lower contracts isometrically to stabilize the trunk and to maintain normal spinal curvature. There is also static contraction of the rhomboid and middle trapezius muscles to maintain the shoulders and bar in position. The wrist (flexor carpi radialis and ulnaris) and finger flexor muscles contract isometrically to maintain a strong grip. In the knee joints there is extension in which the thigh moves away from the shin. All of the muscles of the quadriceps play an active role.
Sports Uses
Hip and knee extension and the muscles involved are most important in trunk lifting-pulling type actions such as when lifting weights off the floor and especially when pulling weights up from the knees or floor. This exercise is very important in the deadlift event in powerlifting and in cleaning the bar in weightlifting. Bodybuilders use this exercise to develop and define the quadriceps, buttocks and posterior thigh muscles. Hip and knee extension are very important components in various jumps and in all forms of running, especially sprinting. More specifically, these actions are needed in sports that require jumping for height such as in the high jump, basketball jump shot and rebounding, volleyball spike, blocking in basketball and volleyball, and in sprinting. In sprinting, hip joint extension (known as the pawback), is a key speed producing action as it propels the body forward when the foot makes contact with the ground. Knee extension gets the body airborne. When done through a full range of motion, the deadlift is also a great exercise for improving an erect standing posture.