Deadlift Tip: Quit Bending Your Arms!

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 01/07/22)

Here’s a quick deadlift tip: Don’t Bend Your Arms.

Ever.

don’t be like this fool when setting up to pull.

This will seem rather obvious to many people - after all, who would voluntarily try to pull a heavy weight off the floor with bent arms? Nonetheless, this problem shows up in the setup for some lifters, and interestingly enough, it will occasionally rear its ugly head on the pull itself.

If you have this issue in your setup, remember that, when you bend your knees slightly to touch your shins to the bar, the knees go out (i.e., sideways) slightly and touch the inside of your elbows. Don’t shove the knees out so hard that you end up causing your elbows to bend. This is what we like to refer to as . . . ridiculous.

This . . . is much better.

Whether you’re setting up or pulling, remember - keep your arms straight. Bent arms are highly inefficient when pulling heavy weights off the floor . . . and they just look so silly. Don’t be silly.

We hope this helps you get stronger and live better!

-Phil

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The Deadlift Fix That Feels Wrong but Works

Think you’re helping your deadlift by doing this? In part 3 of this series, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers breaks down two mistakes lifters make and explains how to correct them for a more efficient pull.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

You’re Making This Part of Your Deadlift Way Too Hard

The deadlift should be as efficient as possible. In Part 2 of this deadlift series, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers two common errors that make one specific part of the deadlift harder than it needs to be and waste valuable effort.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

You’re Making Your Deadlift Harder Than It Needs to Be

The deadlift is simple, but lifters sometimes find ways to make it much harder than it needs to be. In the first video of this deadlift series, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers two common mistakes that can make your deadlift unnecessarily difficult.

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

4 ERRORS Beginners Make that Experienced Lifters NEVER Do | Part 3 - The Deadlift

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

PS: Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?

2 Fatal Deadlift Mistakes: 1 Solution (Simple and Fast)

Are these two errors destroying your deadlift? Find out and fix them in under 2 minutes.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 08/05/23)

Whenever you want even more Testify in your life, here are some free resources:

• Book a free intro and strategy session with us HERE.

• Pick up a free copy of Testify’s Squat Guide: 12 Tips to Improve Your Squat Now HERE.

• Get our free weekly email - containing useful videos, articles, and training tips - HERE.

• Follow Testify on Instagram HERE.

• Subscribe to Testify’s YouTube channel HERE.

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At Testify, we offer small group training, private coaching (in-person or remotely via Zoom), online coaching, and form checks. Interested in getting stronger, looking better, and having more energy?