Why You Must NOT Use Your Shoulders in the Deadlift
/
Let’s quickly discuss a problem lifters often have in their deadlift - specifically a problem with their shoulders. There are two places in the deadlift that these errors can show up, and either way, the result is that of unnecessary and counterproductive movement of the shoulders.
With this in mind, let’s identify and fix these errors in short order.
Error #1
You’re performing your setup correctly - you have a stance with the barbell over midfoot, you’ve taken your grip, and you’ve bent your knees to touch your shins to the bar.
Then, as you endeavor to squeeze your chest up to set your back in extension, you accidentally retract your shoulder blades, i.e., you try to pull your shoulders back (Figure 1).
figure 1: Joy has accidentally retracted her shoulders during her setup. this is no good.
This is great for the bench press, but it’s terrible for the deadlift for several reasons. One, you’ve introduced slack into the setup - you are now in a position which you will not be able to maintain (nor do you need to) under a challenging load. You might be able to maintain that retracted position when the weight is light, but you certainly won’t be able to when the deadlift gets heavy, so you’re wasting energy putting yourself into this position.
Two, you’ve introduced an unnecessary variable to your setup since you’ve put yourself into a position that won’t work when the weight gets heavy. You’re practicing something that doesn’t work when it matters the most.
figure 2: This . . . is much better.
Three, it’s counterproductive as this movement pulls you down closer to the bar, i.e., you end up giving yourself artificially shorter arms, which is never an advantage in the deadlift. You want your arms to be as long as possible (Figure 2) when pulling heavy weights from the floor.
Error #2
The second type of shoulder mistake happens at the top of the deadlift when a lifter tries to shrug the shoulders upward when locking out the deadlift (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Becky has made the error of shrugging at the top of her deadlift. Don’t do this.
Again, this is unnecessary as a finished deadlift occurs with the chest lifted - but not the shoulders. Also - and again - it’s counterproductive because you can’t shrug upward when the deadlift gets heavy, so you’re wasting energy by trying to do so, and you’re again practicing something that won’t work when the weight becomes challenging (Figure 4).
figure 4: becky understands how utterly pointless it would be to shrug during her 300 lb deadlift . . . so she wisely doesn’t try to do something that silly.
The Solution
First of all, record and then watch yourself on video to see if you’re committing either one of these mistakes as lifters who make these mistakes are often unaware of the problem.
Next, simply remind yourself: Don’t do anything with your shoulders.
(Watch the video below to see these errors and their solutions in action.)
At no point in your deadlift do you need to be thinking about your shoulders. The five step set up process - stance, grip, shins, chest, and pull (watch the video below to see this in action) - has no step dedicated to doing anything with your shoulders. Likewise, you should finish the deadlift by standing tall, but standing up has nothing to do with your shoulders, so simply cue yourself to “stand tall” or to “lift your chest” and don’t try to do anything with your shoulders.
What If I’m Still Committing These Errors?
If you still find yourself retracting your shoulders when setting up to pull, remind yourself that when you squeeze your chest up to set your back in extension, you want to be as far away from the barbell as possible (while still being connected to the bar via your grip, of course). In other words, squeezing your chest up to set your back should stretch out your arms - not shorten them.
With this in mind, you can use the cues “long arms,” “stretch out the arms,” or even “get away from the bar.”
If your shrugging error is particularly persistent, you can use the cue “shoulders down” when locking out your deadlift. Using the cue “don’t shrug” will generally not be as useful - giving yourself something to do (such as “shoulders down”) tends to be more productive than an avoidance cue such as “don’t shrug.”
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.)
