4 ERRORS Beginners Make that Experienced Lifters NEVER Do | Part 3 - The Deadlift
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In this multi-part series, we cover four mistakes that lifters often make when starting out. We covered the squat in Part 1, the press in Part 2, and today, we’re discussing the deadlift.
Let’s assume you’ve mastered the 5-step deadlift setup process (and if you haven’t, check out the video below). You move through the steps deliberately and efficiently – stance, grip, shins, chest, and pull.
Once the bar is locked out at the top of the pull, an extraordinarily common mistake lifters make is that of lowering the bar incorrectly and – as a result – inefficiently.
Your goal is to set the bar down back over the middle of the foot, i.e., the exact position you lifted it from in the first place. However, many lifters set it down well in front of this position (for reasons we’ll discuss in a moment), which means they have to make adjustments to get the bar back to the correct spot for the next rep. This wastes time, it wastes energy, and it often results in a bar that’s in the wrong spot for the next pull.
Lifters make this mistake because they allow their knees to get in the way of the bar on the descent (like the fool in Figure 1).
Figure 1: don’t be like this fool.
Don’t lower the bar by bending your knees. Lower the bar by bending over.
This is a bit of an overstatement as you do indeed allow your knees to unlock as you start to bend at the hips, and you allow them to bend a bit farther after the bar passes your knees, but the point remains – you lower the deadlift primarily by bending over.
If you try to lower the deadlift with your knees, the bar has to travel around your knees, which is inefficient, weaker, and far more uncomfortable on both your back and your knees.
With this in mind, the next time you lower a deadlift, cue yourself, “Butt back, bow to the floor, aim for the middle of the foot.”
Reach back with your hips as you start, point your chest at the floor, and look at the middle of your foot as you set the bar down. Making sure that you can see your midfoot will force you to keep your knees out of your line of sight and thus out of the barbell’s vertical path.
Watch the video below to see this solution to today’s deadlift error in action.
Once you set it down correctly over the midfoot, the mantra for the next rep becomes simply, “Shins, chest, pull,” and you’ll notice those are the last 3 steps from the 5-step setup.
Lowering the bar: Butt back, bow to the floor, aim for the midfoot.
Next rep: Shins, chest, pull.
Keep things simple, correct, and repeatable, and your deadlift will thank you for it.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
-Phil
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