How to Deadlift: Set Your Back the RIGHT Way - Part 1
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In the deadlift, you want to set your back in rigid, flat extension (Figure 1), but accomplishing this can sometimes be difficult (especially if you’re learning how to deadlift) - after all, you can't see what your back is doing when deadlifting.
figure 1: becky sets her back in rigid and flat extension.
With this in mind, in this series of short articles, we’ll give you several ways to improve your ability to correctly set your back.
5-Step Setup for the Deadlift
We’ll assume you already know the 5-step setup for the deadlift (and if you don’t, be sure to watch the included video below), but here’s a quick recap:
Step 1: Stance
Shins 1” from the barbell
Step 2: Grip
Bend over to grip the bar
Step 3: Shins
Bend your knees to touch your shins to the bar
Step 4: Chest
Squeeze your chest up to set your back
Step 5: Pull
Drag the bar up your legs
How to Set the Back
Correctly setting the back in rigid extension occurs in Step 4 (“Chest”), and as is so often the case, sometimes you don’t need a new cue to fix an issue - you just need to go back to the beginning and simply hammer home the original cue: “Squeeze your chest up.”
The idea is that, when you squeeze your chest up, it sets off a wave of contraction that runs from your thoracic spine all the way down to your lumbar spine, thus getting your back flat and rigid.
So, at least to start (remember, there will be more articles on this topic), don’t make it any more complicated than it needs to be.
Squeeze your chest up or “lift your chest.” When you think you’ve squeezed it up as much as you can . . . squeeze it up even more. Get extremely uncomfortable. If you’re starting to sweat just while trying to set your back, you’re off to a good start.
figure 2: “show your shirt to the wall” (or the person in front of you)
How to Picture This
Here’s another way to think of the process - imagine that someone is standing in front of you (Figure 2), and you’re trying to show him the writing on the front of your shirt (without dropping your hips). A simple cue for this is “Show your shirt to the wall.”
Hopefully, this proves useful to you, and we’ll cover more ways to correctly set your back in the upcoming articles in this series.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
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