Are You Ruining the EASIEST Part of the Deadlift?
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(A Blast from the Past article originally posted on 10/14/22)
Lowering the deadlift back to the ground should be the easiest part of the lift, but for many lifters - usually newer lifters, but not always - this portion of the lift presents some difficulties. Let’s remedy this situation (and for a look at these solutions in action, check out the included short videos).
The Problem
When we teach the lowering portion of the deadlift, we cue people to reach back with the hips and slide the barbell down the thighs, bending at the hips in the process. A significant (and common) problem arises, however, when the lifter tries to keep his back vertical while setting the bar down. We have these wonderful things called knees, and when we try to keep the back vertical (i.e., when we try to remain upright) when lowering the deadlift, we end up having to lower the bar around the knees instead of in a nice, easy, vertical path straight back down to the ground.
Lowering the bar around the knees makes the lowering process much harder and indeed rather uncomfortable. Additionally, it causes the lifter to set the bar down in the wrong place (i.e., in front of the midfoot instead of directly over the midfoot), which means the lifter now has to correct the bar position before the next rep. This is an additional and unnecessary variable that now has to be handled, so let’s fix this with the two solutions below.
In what is a counterintuitive moment for many people, trying to keep the back more vertical actually makes things harder on the back . . . so let’s not do that.
Solution #1
One useful approach is to look at the middle of your foot when setting the bar down and tell yourself to sight the bar into place. In other words, you are aiming for the middle of your foot. The act of looking at the middle of the foot tends to cause most people to bend over, which is exactly what we want.
Solution #2
However, if that doesn’t work for you, give yourself the following cue: “Bow to the floor.” It’s that simple. The act of bowing to someone or something involves bending at the hips and keeping the knees relatively straight (we’re not looking for locked knees), and this is exactly what we want to do when setting the bar down. The knees do get to bend eventually, but they bend very little until after the bar passes them.
So, the next time you are lowering your deadlift, tell yourself to bow to the floor, and then set the bar down quickly. It makes life a lot easier, and you can use the energy you just saved on your next rep.
As always, we hope this helps you get stronger and live better.
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