Deadlift: Technique and Exercises to Stretch Essential Muscles

What muscles work

When you bend your knees slightly and pull your pelvis back, your glutes and hamstrings are stretched. When you lift the bar off the floor, the target muscle groups contract.

Further, the hamstrings and gluteus maximus muscles produce trunk extension.

Also, during the exercise, the quadriceps, back extensors and trapezius muscles are strained. They act as stabilizing muscles, straining but not changing the position of the body.

Test: can you perform deadlift correctly?

To perform deadlift skillfully, you need good stretching of the hamstrings (hamstrings) and high mobility of the hip joint.

To determine your level of stretching and your ability to perform deadlifts correctly, do the following test.

Lean forward with your back straight and touch the floor with your fingers. You cannot bend your knees or round your back - movement occurs only in the hip joint.

If you cannot touch the floor with your fingers, then you have short hamstrings or a lack of movement in the hip joint. This will prevent you from maintaining the correct spine position during the deadlift.

Only an even spine (in a neutral position) has maximum rigidity and is able to transfer forces to the limbs. Bending the spine in any part, you break a straight line, and the rigidity is lost. As a result, the spine itself is loaded, which, given large weights, negatively affects its health.

If you completed the test without any problems, you can proceed to mastering the correct technique.

Deadlift technique

Starting position

Feet shoulder width apart, arms are slightly wider than shoulder width. In order not to be mistaken with the width of the arms, be guided by the notches on the neck.

The bar should almost touch your shins. In this case, the feet will be located under the bar, about a third of the foot will be behind the bar.

Preparation

You bend your knees slightly, take your pelvis back and tilt forward. The back is straight, from the coccyx to the neck - one line. The gaze is directed forward.

At the initial stage of the movement, when you lean towards the bar with a straight back, the gluteal muscles and hamstrings are stretched - the main working muscles in this exercise.

If you have short hamstrings, what happens is that as you bend your biceps pull the lower back along with it, so you can't keep your back straight.

Performing traction

During the lift, the bar is located very close to the body: the bar of the bar practically slides over the shins (touching is not necessary, although it is possible, especially in the first stages, in order to get used to the correct technique), and then rises higher along the hips.

When you lift the barbell off the ground, your center of gravity aligns with the barbell’s center of gravity. When you bend over, the center of gravity shifts from the sacrum forward.

If you hold the barbell close to your shins, the center of gravity of the barbell coincides with your offset center of gravity and you maintain your balance. If you stand far from the barbell, the centers of gravity will not coincide and the barbell will pull you forward, increasing the load on the lower back.

We lead the neck along the legs. At the moment of lifting the bar from the ground (or platform), it is necessary to tighten the buttocks and muscles of the hips. This must be done consciously, without waiting for the tension to arise by itself.

Tightening the gluteal muscles is necessary to stabilize the hip joint. Muscle tension causes the femoral head to rotate outward, where it is in the best position to transmit force.

In this way, you stabilize the joint and maintain a neutral spine position, which transfers the load to the buttocks and the back of the thigh.

From this position, you fully straighten, and then begin to move down to the starting position. It is important to lower the bar as smoothly as the lift and keep the bar very close to the hips and shins.

Important points

When performing the exercise, the back should always be straight: deflection in the lower back or thoracic region (stoop) leads to a load on the spine, and especially on the lumbar region.

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Improper exercise

If you cannot hold your knees and under load they seem to bend inward, then you have taken too much weight.

While lifting the bar, you exhale; while lowering, you inhale.

If you want to make the exercise harder and stretch the back of the thigh even further, try the deadlift from the hole. Stand on a pancake (or several pancakes) in front of a barbell and try to pull from it.

Stretching

If you include deadlift in your program, the following stretching exercises should be done after your workout.

Hip biceps stretch

There are several options for stretching the hamstrings. Consider two of them: with an elastic band and with a bar from a barbell.

1. Sit on the floor, straighten your knees and reach for your socks with a straight back. It is convenient to perform this exercise with a rubber band, but you can do without it: just reach with your hands to your socks without bending your knees.

2. Another good option is to stretch your leg on an elevated position, such as on a bar from a barbell. Place your foot on the bar and straighten both knees and back. If there is not enough load, try to tilt your straight body towards your leg.

Stretching the gluteal muscles

While stretching the hamstrings, the gluteal muscles are also stretched. But you can do additional exercises to enhance the effect.

Here are two options for stretching the gluteal muscles: lying down and sitting. Try to pull your shin as close to you as possible, keep it parallel to the floor.