WORST Deadlift Ever?! How to Set Your Back: Part 5

Still Having This Problem?
Do you have a nasty-looking, rounded back when you deadlift? That’s no good, so let’s fix it. Welcome back to our series on how to set your back in flat, rigid extension when you pull from the floor. In the previous four articles, we covered the cues “squeeze your chest up” (Part 1), “push your belly down between your thighs” (Part 2), “wrinkles in your shirt” (Part 3), as well as the anatomically blunt cue, “point your rectum at the wall” (Part 4).

Figure 1: Joy demonstrates a back set rigidly in extension.

If you still struggle to set your back correctly, then the drill presented in this article (the last article in the series) might just help you out. Specifically, you’re going to set your back incorrectly to then help yourself set it correctly. In other words, you’re going to do it wrong to help yourself get it right.

Don’t Jump the Gun
Before we dive into that process, however, be sure to read the previously mentioned articles and try out the relevant cues first. Executing a cue is a simpler and quicker process than performing a drill, so if a cue will do the job, all the better. If cues aren’t working for you, and your back still looks like a camel’s hump, then it’s time to try the following drill (and I’d recommend watching the video below to see this drill in action).

The Setup
Set the barbell on the safeties (Figure 2) inside your squat rack at such a height that the bar sits just below your kneecaps (if you need to start slightly higher, that’s fine as well).

Figure 2

Load a very manageable amount of weight on the bar. You don’t need a lot, but you need enough weight that the bar doesn’t easily move when you start to apply upward tension.

Set up as you would for a deadlift or rack pull, i.e., with the bar positioned over the midfoot, so you’ll need to stand very close to the bar. At this below-the-knee height, you’ll have roughly vertical shins in contact with the bar if you’re set up correctly.

figure 3: his back is in flexion (i.e., rounded).

“Round the Back”
With your hands gripping the bar in their normal deadlift spacing, start with your back in flexion (Figure 3). In other words, start with your back rounded, which is usually an easy position to achieve, especially if you’re struggling with the problem of extending your back anyway. To do this, cue yourself, “round the back.” If it helps, imagine making your back look like a mountain. 

Note that the bar is over the middle of your foot, your shins are touching the bar, and here’s the important point for what you’re about to do next: everything from your hips on down does not move. Your butt doesn’t drop, your knees don’t move, your shins don’t move, and the barbell certainly doesn’t move. 

“Flatten the Back”
Now, tell yourself to “flatten the back,” “extend the back,” or “push the belly down between the thighs.” It’s easier to achieve a flat back (Figure 4) when the bar is higher up from the floor than a normal deadlift, so you’re in a position where you’ll actually be able to accomplish this.

figure 4: his back is in extension (i.e., flat).

If necessary, you can use the cue “arch the back” or imagine making your back look like a valley, i.e., the opposite of the mountain image you used when rounding the back. An arched back (or “overextension”) is not actually what you want - this is an example of an overcue - but it can be a useful mental picture when trying to achieve a flat back.

Alternate
Perform a set of five reps wherein each rep consists of you starting with a rounded back, moving to a flat back, and then back to a rounded back. In other words, you are alternating between the incorrect position (rounded back) and the correct position (flat back).

By starting each rep with a rounded back, you’re allowing yourself to then simply do the opposite movement to get into the correct position.  As stated earlier, you’re doing it wrong to get it right. You learn where you don’t want your back to be, and that helps you get your back into the correct position.

Moving On Down
If you can achieve a flat back for a set of five reps from this initial height - and you’ll need to record yourself on video to check if you are doing so - then you graduate to the next, lower pin setting. Do another five reps, and when you can achieve a flat back at that pin height, keep going lower, repeating the process until you’re pulling from the floor with a straight back.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

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The Mistake That is KILLING Your Deadlift! | How to Set Your Back: Part 4

The Problem
You don’t want to look like the fool in Figure 1 when you’re deadlifting. After all, before you pull the barbell off the floor, you want your back to be in flat, rigid extension, so with this in mind, welcome back to our series on how to accomplish exactly that.

figure 1: no one should look like this . . . it’s just hideous.

In Part 1 of this series, we covered the cue “squeeze your chest up,” which is included in the 5-step setup for the deadlift, in Part 2, we talked about “pushing your belly down between your thighs,” and in Part 3, we discussed the cue “wrinkles in your shirt.” However, if those concepts and cues aren’t working for you, try today’s cue on for size . . .

Cue #4: Point Your Rectum at the Wall
Is this an anatomically blunt cue? Absolutely, and if you’re surprised by this one, stick around to the end of this article for a related cue that’ll make your mind . . . explode.

In the meantime, being blunt is exactly the point of this cue (I’d recommend watching the included video). You’re focusing on something very specific, telling yourself to point it in a very specific direction, and thus giving yourself a very specific task to accomplish.

Point your rectum at the wall behind you.

This gets across the idea that there should be a slight tilt of the hips (i.e., anterior pelvic tilt) to accomplish the task of setting your back. After all, you don’t point your rectum at the wall by raising your butt but rather by a slight forward tilting of the pelvis.

Another Way to Cue Yourself
My favorite version of this cue - a bit crude, but extraordinarily memorable - is as follows:

If you have explosive diarrhea, you need to spray the wall behind you - not the floor.

Figure 2: Becky sets her back nicely, but milo and parker are not fans of this cue.

A rather colorful concept, to be sure, but it often does the job nicely . . . especially if you have the sense of humor of a 14-year-old boy. Either way, whether you point your rectum at the wall or try to spray the wall, we hope this assists you in your quest for a better, stronger deadlift.

We’ll be back for Part 5 in the near future, and as always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

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How to Deadlift: Set Your Back the RIGHT Way - Part 3

Quick Recap
In the previous articles in this series, we covered two cues to help get your back correctly set in rigid and flat extension. In Part 1, we discussed the “squeeze your chest up cue” that’s already present in the deadlift 5-step setup, and in Part 2, we examined the cue of “push your belly down between your thighs.”

In this article, we introduce a third cue to help you get the job done. I’d also recommend watching the included video above to see this cue in action.

Cue #3: Wrinkles in the Shirt
When using this cue, you try to create a series of wrinkles along your back in the fabric of your shirt.

Figure 1: this poor fool can’t see how ridiculous he looks.

This cue often works quite well because - even though you might not have a good sense of how to set your back or even what’s going on with your back (since you can’t see it while lifting a barbell as shown in Figure 1) - you might still have a solid idea of what movement is necessary to create wrinkles in the back of your shirt (Figure 2). 

Another way to picture it . . .
Picturing an arched back (i.e., the opposite of a flexed or rounded back) can help with this process.

figure 2: Notice the wrinkles in becky’s shirt? this is much better.

Granted, you don’t want an arched back - if you arch (i.e., overextend) your back, you’re actually overdoing it. We don’t want an overextended back, but if you’re having a tough time getting your back in extension when setting up to pull, you can try to arch your back because you won’t actually be able to accomplish it anyway. In other words, the picture of an arched back is a useful overcue.

Try this cue the next time you deadlift, and we’ll be back in Part 4 of this series in the near future.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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The Knees Problem | If You Don't Change This, Your Deadlift Will NEVER Grow

There are 2 deadlift mistakes you're making with your knees. Let's fix both of them with one simple concept.

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The Deadlift: Follow the Bar

This is hideous (on multiple levels). Don’t be like this fool.

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 03/04/22)

Lowering the deadlift should be rather easy - after all, the tough part of the lift is already done, right? With that being said, setting the barbell down after the deadlift is locked out can be tricky for some lifters, especially new lifters.

Figure 1: How NOT to lower the deadlift. This nincompoop is trying to keep his torso vertical on the way down.

This is usually due to a misguided desire to keep the back as vertical as possible on the way down (Figure 1), although we’ve also seen it happen because someone is nervous about bending over with a heavy weight in hand.

Here’s a cue that can help simplify the process and potentially remove some nervousness: Follow the bar down.

At the top of the deadlift, you’ve already picked up the bar, which you know is the hardest part, and you were very bent over during a good portion of that process, so you also know - at least intellectually - that bending over again as you set it down should be even easier. But it’s sometimes tough to convince our bodies to follow that logic and actually bend over, so if the usual “hips back and bend at the the hips” cue isn’t working for you, just tell yourself to follow the bar down to the floor.

Figure 2: This . . . is much better. Hips back, chest down, and simply follow the bar down.

In other words, gravity will take the bar straight down to the floor, and you’re simply following the bar by keeping your hands attached to it (Figure 2).

Now, you’re not dropping the bar, but it should be relatively fast on the way down, and if thinking of the process as a controlled drop helps - at least for now - then go ahead and think of it that way. Simply follow the bar down and keep the rest of your body out of the way.

We hope this helps you get stronger and live better!

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How to Deadlift: Set Your Back the RIGHT Way - Part 2

The Problem
When we deadlift, you want your back in flat and rigid extension before you pull the barbell off the floor, but this can be difficult to do (with the result being a soft, semi-rounded back as seen in Figure 1). With this in mind, welcome to Part 2 in our series on how to accomplish exactly that.

Figure 1: Not like this . . . not like this.

In Part 1, we covered how to use the cue that’s already present in the 5-step deadlift setup - i.e., “squeeze your chest up” - the idea being that applying this cue sets off a wave of contraction that runs from your thoracic spine all the way down to your lumbar spine and thus gets your back rigid and flat (Figure 2).

However, if that cue isn’t working well for you and your back is still a bit rounded, try the following cue instead . . .

Figure 2: This . . . is much better.

Cue #2: Push Your Belly Down Between Your Thighs.
If you push your stomach down between your thighs (you can also cue “push your belly down between your femurs”), you’re going to get a nice, tight, flat, rigid back (Figure 2), which is exactly the type of efficient, force-transferring segment that we want when we deadlift.

Another Way to Picture It
If it helps, you can instead imagine a rope attached to your belly button, and that rope is pulling your belly button down toward the floor (leaving your hips and shoulders exactly where they are).

Hopefully, you found this useful, and we’ll be back in Part 3 of this series in the near future to cover more ways to address this problem.

As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.

(Some links may be affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, Testify earns from qualifying purchases.)

If you found this helpful, you’ll love our weekly email. It’s got useful videos, articles, and training tips just like the one in this article. Sign up below, and of course, if you don’t love it, you can unsubscribe at any time.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Would you like to get quality coaching from a Starting Strength Coach?