The Deadlift: STOP Lifting Your Chest?!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Lack of knee extension and raising your chest too soon on the deadlift are related errors, and in the 4th video in our Saturday Shorts series on fixing the deadlift, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers how to correct these issues and add pounds to your pull.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/19/22)

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When Deadlifting Heavy, Don't Stand Up & Try This Instead

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Are you trying to stand up when you deadlift? This seems counterintuitive, but trying to stand up is ruining your deadlift. Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers explains and demonstrates.

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Are You Breathing WRONG When You Deadlift?!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Your breathing is destroying your deadlift, and you probably don't even know it. In the 3rd video in our Saturday Shorts series on fixing the deadlift, Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers covers how to breathe correctly in the deadlift.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/12/22)

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THIS is Destroying Your Deadlift

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 04/07/23)

You’ve got deadlift problems. Perhaps your deadlift swings away from you when you break the barbell off the ground. Maybe you spend too much time between reps with the bar sitting on the floor. It may be that you find yourself moving your butt up and down in the neverending quest to find that just right position for your hips before you start the pull. The possibilities are endless.

Hey. Relax. It’s not you. It’s the floor.

No, I don’t mean you need a more robust lifting platform, or that there’s actually something wrong with your floor. I mean that the deadlift rests on the floor between reps - which makes it different from the squat, the press, or the bench press - and it’s this seemingly insignificant detail that might be causing you to ruin your deadlift.

Because the bar sits on the floor between reps, it permits you to perform all sorts of ridiculous antics while it’s down there. You rock forward, you lean on the bar, you rock back, you take three thousand breaths before setting your back for the next rep - the list of potential shenanigans goes on. In short, you perform all sorts of unnecessary tomfoolery, and this is extremely detrimental to your deadlift.

You’ve never even dreamed of doing this sort of nonsense in the squat. Because you are supporting the bar all of the time in the squat, you are highly motivated to be efficient between reps. Of course you stay balanced over your midfoot between reps - holding several hundred pounds on your back while balanced on the balls of your feet seems rather silly, so you never do it. You also spend relatively little time between reps - enough time to take a breath or two and get tight again - because you want to get the set over with and get that heavy bar off your back sometime today.

When you do silly things between reps of your deadlift - and this sort of thing happens all the time - you cause several problems. First - and this is the big one - all this unnecessary movement greatly reduces your chances of getting in the correct position for the next pull. Second, you exhaust yourself. The bottom of the deadlift is the only resting position for a deadlift work set, but it’s a lousy resting position, and you already know this. You’re crouched over, so your back and legs get tired down there, and it’s not much fun breathing in that position for very long. Third, you make your work set take much longer than it should. Get the set done, already.

How can you fix this problem? Keep it simple and be religious about your 5-step setup.

The 5-step setup applies for the first rep, of course, but it is especially important for all subsequent reps. Here’s a quick recap (watch the included video for a better and more complete understanding), but it’s steps 3-5 that we’re going to focus on in the next section:

5-Step Deadlift Setup

  1. Stance: Shins 1” inch from the bar. Narrow stance with toes slightly turned out.

  2. Grip: Bend at the hips to grab the bar while keeping your shins as vertical as possible - do NOT touch the bar with your legs yet. (also, never push down on the bar, i.e., don’t rest with your own weight on the bar)

  3. Shins: Bend your knees (i.e., drop your butt slightly) until your shins lightly touch the bar.

  4. Chest: Squeeze your chest up to set your back.

  5. Pull: Drag the bar up your legs.

We use the 5-step setup for every rep, but for every rep after the first one, steps 1 and 2 are already completed. They’re already completed because you’re going to set the bar down right over the middle of your foot (“stance”), and you’re not going to let go of the bar (“grip”). If you set the bar down a little out of position, that’s not a problem - simply roll the bar to the correct spot over the middle of your foot. Keep your shins OFF the bar while doing this, make sure that you are balancing on your midfoot (not the balls of your feet), and don’t push down on the bar (if anything, keep a little upward tension on the bar).

Is this fool setting up for his 1st rep . . . or has he just finished his 1st rep? you’ll never know, and that’s the way we like it.

Think of it this way: Set the bar down so that it looks like you’ve just completed steps 1 and 2 of your very first rep. If Lawrence takes a picture of you at this moment, he shouldn’t be able to tell if you’re about to do your first rep or if you’ve set the bar down after a rep.

If you do this, then the rest of the setup for that next rep is simple. It’s steps 3-5: shins lightly to the bar, squeeze the chest up, and pull.

Keep it simple, and keep it repeatable.

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:

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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?

STOP Making This Deadlift Mistake With Your Legs!

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Are you accidentally "kicking the bar" away from you with your shins when deadlifting? Starting Strength Coach Phil Meggers helps you fix that problem in less than 3 minutes.

(A Blast from the Past video originally published on 11/07/22)

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

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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?

Scraping Your Shins in the Deadlift? It's Not the Bar - It's You.

/ Testify Strength & Conditioning/

Are you getting bloody - or at least scraped - shins when you deadlift? This quick tip is for you.

If you’re carving up your shin bones when you pull, you’re not properly extending your knees when you start the pull. This means that (a) your knees don’t contribute to the elevation of the bar as they should and (b) your knees pose an obstacle to the bar’s path, which is why your shins currently hate you.

Here are two ways to cue and fix this problem.

Solution 1: “Push the floor away.”
At the start of the pull, don’t think about standing up. Of course, you finish in a standing position, but don’t try to get your back vertical right away. Instead, cue yourself to “push the floor away” from you by gradually straightening your knees.

The knees don’t finish straightening until lockout, but make no mistake, they need to start straightening right away. Other cues that emphasize this motion are “straighten the knees” and “pull your kneecaps backward.”

Solution 2: “Stay over the bar.”
With this cue, you remind yourself not to “stand up” too soon; in other words, you cue yourself to keep your back angle horizontal longer than you think you should as you start the pull.

This forces you to lift the barbell using knee extension instead of hip extension, which is what you’re trying to accomplish. To be clear, both knee extension and hip extension occur when you start the pull, but if you’re scraping your shins, you need less hip extension and more knee extension, so remind yourself to “stay over the bar” or “stay horizontal” when starting the pull.

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.)

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?