CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

Deadlift Critique 101

In any given week I receive a fair amount of emails ranging from readers who just want to say thanks for writing such a kick-ass blog (you’re welcome!) to momma Gentilcore reminding me that 1) I forgot [insert relative’s name here] birthday and that I better get on my high-horse and send a card stat and 2) it’s getting cold outside.  Bundle up!  Love you!

And, of course, I get a fair number of emails from people asking me anything from programming questions to why does their shoulder hurt? to why it is I am so uncannily interesting, witty, and awesome.  And everything else in between.

In every sense, the emails I receive span the entire fitness spectrum – and I try my best to answer every……single…….one.  Speaking of which, if you could just hold on one quick second as I answer this one I just got in my inbox :

Dear Victoria Secret Models,

Yes!

It’s silly really, but a group of them reached out and asked if I’d please stay at least 500 yards away from them at all times be their personal oil boy at their next photo shoot.

Anyways, oftentimes I’ll have someone reach out and ask if I’d be willing to take a gander at their technique on certain lifts and to see whether or not I’d offer any insight or cues to help them clean things up.

8 times out of 10, it’s usually the deadlift.

Sometimes it’s easy.  I’ll watch a video, things won’t look pretty, and I’ll forward along some simple cues that will help, and then point them in the direction of posts like THIS, THIS, and THIS.

Other times it’s a bit tricker because someone’s technique may need a little more TLC and attention to detail. A great example would be the video below, which was sent to me last week from someone who will remain nameless.

**When I asked his permission to use his video for a blog post  he asked if it would be okay if I’d omit his name altogether.  I think he was thinking I was going to throw him under the bus and include him on some rolling playlist of epic deadlift fails.

I reassured him that that wasn’t going to be the case, and all I wanted to do was to make this into blog post so that my advice could be read by others who may be making the same mistake(s).

We internet high-fived and well, here we are.

Speaking of which, here’s the video

My Thoughts/Words of Wisdom

1.  First and foremost: props for walking onto screen wearing that hat like a boss. I’d almost liken it to a Walter White’esq/Heisenberg fashion prop, but I know all you’re doing is deadlifting and not cooking a vat of meth.

**Bonus points for a Breaking Bad reference!

2. One of the glaring “mistakes” I see right off the bat is setting up too far away from the  bar.  I like to tell people to make sure their shins are right up against the bar, or at the very least to be an inch or two away (to allow for a little dorsiflexion).

By setting up too too far you’re just going to make more work for yourself and increase the distance the bar has to travel – not to mention we could make a case that you’re going to place a bit more shear load on the spine.

So, for starters:  get closer to the bar upon the initial set-up.

3.  Another major point to consider is the initial movement upon descent towards the bar.  If you pause the video at the 9-second mark, you’ll notice that “Heisenberg” initially breaks with his knees translating forward, essentially squatting down towards the bar.

Instead, what I’d prefer to see is more of a hip hinge/pseudo RDL pattern to start.  I like to cue people to push their hips back. But usually a more pertinent EXTERNAL cue is to tell them to try to push their hips back so that their butt taps an imaginary wall behind them.

So, in a lot of ways, what’s going to happen is we’re trying to set up from a “TOP-DOWN” position, which is something Dr. Kelly Starrett discusses at length in his book Becoming a Supple Leopard.

The goal, then, would be to initiate by pushing the hips back and to continue hinging back, performing to what mounts as an unloaded RDL, accumulating massive tension in the hamstrings, and when there’s only a few inches left, THEN you’ll bend over to grab the bar.

Which brings us to the next point.

4.  Setting the hips too low

This coincides with the whole squatting vs. hip hinging discussion from above. I think the bulk of this issue will clean up itself once you learn to hip hinge into proper position, so I won’t belabor this point too much. But it stands to reason that a nice “check point” would be to take notice where you feel tension.  In the video above, I can guarantee to you feel the bulk of it in your quadriceps.  If so, you know you’re setting up with your hips too low.

5.  Another key point to consider is getting tension in the lats and upper back.

If I were standing there coaching Heisenberg, 1) I’d tell him to put on some loud, belligerent “my mother never loved me music” to fire the place up a bit more and 2)  I’d stand in front of him and have him set up a bit more vertical or upright. I’d want him to make sure that whatever lettering is on the front of his shirt is facing me the entire time.

You can think to yourself “chest up,” “chest tall,” “proud chest,” “arch like a mofo,” whatever works.

From there, I’d tell him to use the bar to “pull” his chest up and to engage his lats.  You’ll notice in the video that when he starts his first pull to break inertia his shoulders are still fairly rounded (24-second mark).

Speaking in geek speak for a second:  I want him to use the bar to “set” his lats and to get more posterior tilt of the scapulae.

This will work wonders in terms of garnering more tension and to provide more stability to the spine as a whole (as well as placing him in a more ideal position to pull).

6.  More tangentially, while I understand that it’s called the “deadlift,” and you’re lifting the barbell off the floor, there’s a bit more to it than that.

I think one major mistake that a lot of people make is that they feel as if the deadlift is nothing more than casually lifting the bar off the floor.

Instead, what needs to happen is that you need to get more tension in your hamstrings and glutes and generate force into the floor, “pressing” or “pushing” yourself away (through the heels), and then focus on driving your hips forward until you lock the weight out.

Again, freeze framing the video at the 26-second mark, you can see that Heisenberg’s shoulders and upper back aren’t “stiff” (shoulders are rounded) and that his knees aren’t locked out. Not to call him out or anything, but he’s just kinda haphazardly lifting the bar as if it were an egg he didn’t want to break or as if he were at some swanky tea-party and didn’t want to offend anyone.

Now, I understand it’s an un-loaded bar.  But what the fuck?  Lift it!!!!!!

More privy to the point is that he’s seemingly just trying to hoist the bar off the floor without generating any tension or force into the ground.

Finish the lift.  Get those hips through!  Lock it out!

7. And lastly, to reiterate the point above, he just needs to make sure that on his descent towards the ground he initiates the process by breaking with the hips going back, and not the knees forward.

It’s going to take a little practice, and some attention to detail, but I think all told he’s not too far off from where he needs to be.

Moving forward I’d recommend the following:

1.  A drill that I love to use with newbies to help groove the hip hinge is one that Dean Somerset uses quite a bit as well – the KB Behind the Head Hip Hinge

Here the objective is to brace the abs hard and to hinge through the hips and NOT the lower back. Incorporating this as part of a warm-up or as a filler exercise several times throughout the week would be money.

2.  Don’t be scared to load the deadlift.  It’s actually going to feel a bit MORE awkward to try to hone in on technique with just the bar.  So, don’t feel as if you have to limit yourself to the bar to get better.  Sometimes it’s advantageous to load an exercise to get a better “feel” for it.

3.  Also, don’t be afraid to deadlift more the once per week.  I know it’s in vogue to tell newbies to just perform the major lifts once per week to lessen the risk of injury – and that’s fine  – but conversely it’s kind of hard to get better at anything only performing it once every seven days.

I’m actually not opposed to including some form of deadlift technique work every training session assuming someone isn’t going to be an asshat and perform heavy singles every chance he or she gets.

4.  Don’t go use a high(er) rep protocol.  I think anytime a newbie starts performing high-rep deadlifts, things are going to get dicey real quick from a technique standpoint. To that end, I’d much prefer to keep the reps in the 3-5 rep range (but keep the intensity low).

And that’s about it.  A lot to digest, I know – but hopefully this discussion helped to shed some light on how I generally go about cleaning up one’s deadlift technique.

If anyone else has some food for thought, I’d love to hear it.

CategoriesExercise Technique Rehab/Prehab

Lift Big by Bracing, Not Arching

As far as current fitness debates are concerned the argument over which is better for long-term progress in the gym – bracing vs. arching – is right on par with people arguing over whether or not a potato is considered “Paleo, (1),” whether or not high- rep Olympic lifting (ALA: CrossFit) has any efficacy (2), or figuring out which is smarter: Tracy Anderson or a ham sandwich (3)?

  1. Um, it’s a freaking potato! It grows in the ground.  Newsflash:  That broccoli you’re eating didn’t exist in the Paleolithic era, and I know for a fact Gronk and his friends didn’t crush “Paleo” chocolate brownies back in the day you uppity douche.
  2. Sorry, but I’d trust a coach who advocates high-rep Olympic lifting about as much as I’d trust Formula One racer you drives a Prius.
  3. Come on, do we really need to debate this one?

Nevertheless, the growing dichotomy between bracing and arching – especially as it relates to hoisting heavy loads and how it parlays into optimal performance – has gained steamed within the last few years.

As a coach and as someone who trains a wide array of athletes and clients for newbie status all the way up into the professional ranks, and as someone who’s job it is to keep people healthy for the long haul, I can say that I tend to lean more towards the camp who advocates bracing.

In my latest article for T-Nation I explain why.

Continue reading you sexy beast you…..

CategoriesProduct Review Program Design Strength Training

A Deadlift 3 Times Per Week Program

It’s rare that I post anything on the weekend, but when I do you know it’s kind of a big deal.  Today I’ve got a special guest post from Dave Dellanave, author of the brand spankin new resource (and arguably the best title for a book, like ever) Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination.

Admit it. As soon as you read the title of this post you were thinking “No way.” The deadlift is a lift you perform once per week, if that. It’s too taxing on the CNS and there’s just no way your lower back can handle deadlifting that often. Plus, your hands would probably get torn to shreds, and your gym would kick you out for dropping a heavy bar over and over again every time you come in to lift.

Right?

Is everything evil we’ve been told about frequent deadlifting true? People often say the same thing about squatting, and many authors have dispelled and debunked that myth, including our gracious host, Tony.

What I’d like to do here is convince you that if you like deadlifting, it’s more than okay to deadlift more frequently, and you stand to gain tremendously from it. Here are a few reasons I deadlift as often as I do, and I think you should, too:

  • There aren’t many ways to work more muscles than the deadlift. From your hands up to your neck, down your entire back to your calves, and back up the fronts of your legs and your abs, almost every muscle in your body is working during a deadlift. Maybe the only thing it doesn’t develop impressively is your chest. (But who cares about chest muscles when you’ve got a massive back?)
  • Picking up heavy things is an essential life movement. It’s unlikely that a single day goes by that you don’t pick something up. When the time comes to lift something heavy, it’s pretty awesome to not even have to think twice about it because you know it’s a fraction of your deadlift.

  • Having a big deadlift is like having a cheat code for every lift in the gym. I will be the first to tell you I am an embarrassing hack when it comes to the Olympic lifts, the snatch and the clean and jerk. Yet I can snatch over my bodyweight, and I can clean over 275 pounds, simply because I can cheat with my strength. I won’t be competing at the next Olympic Games, to be sure, but it’s not a bad start from next to nothing. My point is, relative to a triple-bodyweight deadlift, most other things in the gym become easier to achieve.
  • Let’s be honest, nothing is more awesome than taking a heavy bar in your hands and standing up with it like all that is man.

Fortunately, I don’t think I have too much of a tough sell to convince you, a reader of Tony’s site, that deadlifting is awesome. So how can you do it more often?

As I mentioned initially, most programs involve deadlifting once per week with very low sets and reps at a high percentage of your max. For good reason, as well, since it is true that unless you’re very, very new to lifting and very weak, you’re not going to be able to deadlift heavy three times per week. At least, not for very long before you run out of steam. To pull off that frequency, you’ll need a little more creativity and variety. Here’s what I suggest:

  • Day 1:  Heavy, low-rep deadlifts. This looks like your typical deadlift programming, with your favorite deadlift variation performed at a high intensity (meaning percentage of max, not turning up the music and getting slapped before you lift) for 1 to 5 reps and a few heavy working sets.

  • Day 2: Grip deadlifts. Picking up anything heavy off the ground is a deadlift. To cut down the absolute amount of weight lifted, make it hard to hold on to. An extra-thick bar or a pinch lifting block is a great way to do that. Since your hands are going to be the limiting factor here, it’s going to be awfully hard to do too much, so feel free to crank up the volume.
  • Day 3: Light technique or speed. This is your chance to amp up the volume because you’ve dialed down the intensity. At a lighter weight you can either do a lot more reps to hone your technique, use as much speed as possible to improve your rate of force development, or both. At first you will require a fair amount of recovery from higher-volume deadlifting, but in a few weeks you’ll be surprised at how little recovery you actually need and how much work you can get in without affecting your heavy days. If you’re on a M-W-F lifting schedule, you’re probably wondering how it would go to lift heavy on Monday after doing a ton of deadlifts on Friday. Again, you’ll be surprised at how little it affects you negatively, and how it can even improve your heavy days.

This is, in a nutshell, is the program I lay out in my book Off The Floor.

Of course, to round out the program you’ll want to fill in any gaps with appropriate accessory exercises, but this should give you a great starting point. If you love deadlifting even half as much as I do, you’ll get your fix as often as you can handle by deadlifting three (or more) times per week.

Sometimes beliefs, even unfounded ones, can be very limiting. I’ve found, through my own experience and helping people improve their own deadlifts, that not only can you get away with deadlifting often but it’ll do exactly what you want it to do: make you stronger, put more muscle on your body, and up your deadlift numbers.

Looking for more insights like these on the deadlift – as well as a great program to help you improve your pull?  Be sure to check out Dave’s new product, Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination, which is on sale at a great price until Saturday (Sept. 7th) at midnight. 

I read it one sitting last weekend while snuggling on the couch in a blankie, and literally had to resist the urge to hop in my car to drive to the facility right then and there to go train.  It’s awesome.

If I were you I’d act quickly, because the price increase 50% by midnight tonight.

About the Author

David Dellanave is a lifter, coach, and owner of The Movement Minneapolis in the Twin Cities. He implements biofeedback techniques, teaching his clients, ranging from athletes to general population, to truly understand what their bodies are telling them. He writes articles to make you stronger, look better naked, and definitely deadlift more at http://www.dellanave.com/.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ddn

Facebook: http://facebook.com/movementminneapolis

 

CategoriesUncategorized

Strengthen Your “Secret” Deadlifting Muscles

OMG – I just completed an awesome bench session with Greg Robins and Jamie Smith, and after mustering up enough energy to drag myself to my office I turned on my laptop to check emails and received a note that my latest article on T-Nation just went live.

Sha-zam!

I know what some of you may be thinking:  “Dude, Tony, we need another deadlifting article about as much as we need another Kardashian spin-off.  What’s the deal?”

And I get it. I know there’s only so much you can say when it comes to deadlifting, and I talk about deadlifting a lot.  Maybe too much. But this isn’t entirely an article on deadlifting.  Rather it’s about addressing what tends to be weak in most lifters – upper and mid back strength.

Give it a read, and I’d love to hear what you think about it on the LiveSpill on T-Nation’s site.

Lifters go out of their way to pull heavy things off the floor, yet many fail to make much progress due to a lack of upper and mid-back strength. Here’s how to fix it.

Let’s first address the elephant in the gym. Yes, rounding your back when deadlifting isn’t ideal. And yes, there are plenty of examples on YouTube of guys pulling with atrocious technique and it’s a miracle they haven’t shit their spleen.

In most cases they deserve the criticism. But what dumbfounds me is when people watch a video of say, Eric Cressey pulling 650 pounds at a bodyweight of 170, and start playing technique police.

Note from TG: There’s a video that goes here, but you’ll have to click on the link below to see it. Don’t roll your eyes at me!  Just click on it, okay.  Do it!  DO IT!!!!!

Many who watch Eric’s heavier pulls will cry that he’s rounding his lower back, when it fact most of the “rounding” is coming from his mid and upper-back.

This is significant because he, along with many advanced lifters in the same boat, has programmed himself to stay out of the danger zone, which is those last 2-3 degrees of end-range motion in his lumbar spine.

By contrast, he’s reverted to getting a bit more ROM where there’s more of a safety net (the mid and upper back). So, in short, no, he’s not rounding his lower back.

Second, unlike the vast majority of beginner and intermediate lifters, guys who are pulling upwards of two to four times bodyweight have generally built up enough strength to literallynot buckle under the pressure. They’re able to prevent their spine from collapsing like a melting candle when things start to get ugly.

—-> Continue Reading <—-

CategoriesRehab/Prehab Strength Training

Deadlift Cueing and Fixes

A few weeks ago I received an email from a DPT student in central Florida detailing a research project that he’s doing alongside a fellow student (as well as with one of the faculty at his school) looking at ways to use the deadlift pattern to treat patients with low back pain in a therapy setting.

He asked if I’d be willing to provide some common cues I use given certain “issues” people have when trying to deadlift which would aid in correcting their technique.

[Places finger over said student’s mouth]

Shhhhhhhh, you had me at deadlift.

What follows below is a candid/informal list I sent back highlighting my thoughts on more of the cueing side of things rather than the actual “correctives” (Ie: mobility drills, soft tissue restriction, chewing with your mouth closed, etc).

At the very least I figured it was something that could potentially help out others who may be looking to clean up their own technique.

And if it doesn’t, my bad.  I tried.

Lumbar Kyphosis

Depending on one’s kinesthetic awareness, this one can be tricky.  For those completely unaware of what their body is doing in space I’ll most likely take a more “hands-on,” non-Creepy McCreepypants approach – akin to what I call Play-Doh coaching.

Lets just say I’ve seen some trainers and coaches get a little too hands-on, if you’re catching my drift.

More often than one would think, you’re going to tell someone to “arch their back,” and then they’re going to look back at

you as if you’re speaking Klingon or have an extra nipple or something.  Not that you’d be showing off your nipples or anything, hence the whole creepy comment above, but I’m just trying to make a point.

They’ll literally have no idea or differentiation between lumbar flexion and what it means to arch their back.

One trick I like to use is to place them on the floor in the quadruped position and have them perform the cat-camel.  I’ll have them round their back as much as possible and tell them that’s what I DO NOT want.

Sometimes, depending on the severity, I’ll place my hands on my head, scream as loud as I can “no no no no no no NO!” and then jump through a pane glass window.

You know, for a little more effect. That’ll get their attention…..;o)

Back in reality, though, I’ll then have them bring their spine back to neutral and tell them that’s what I’m looking for.  I’ll have them perform a few rounds of this just so that they’ll get a feel for what I want and who I’ll want them to set up to deadlift.

It’s pretty effective, and will work for most trainees.

Another one I’ll use is to tell them to emulate what a basketball player does on the court when he’s tired (bends over and places his hands on his knees). Almost always, they’ll drop right into a neutral spine position and then I’ll be like, “there!”  Now, keep that same spinal position and grab the bar.

Another thing to consider is just using a deadlift variation which allows them to be successful. I’ve long championed that what makes the deadlift so awesome is that it can be so easily catered to the lifter, and not vice versa.

This is a huge reason why I love the trap (hex) bar so much, as it lends itself to be a bit more user friendly compared to other deadlift variations.  This is especially true for those who lack ample ankle, hip, and t-spine mobility to get into proper position in the first place.

With the elevated handles (and the fact that their center of gravity is inside the bar), the trap lends itself very appropriately to beginners or those with postural limitations.

Anterior Weight Shift

The main culprit here is people wearing those cement blocks that they call shoes.  Many have a significant heel lift which shifts the body anteriorly and makes it much harder to engage the posterior chain (glutes and hamstrings).

In addition, wearing shoes also increases the distance the bar has to travel, so it bodes in one’s favor to just ditch them altogether.

If for some reason they train at a gym that sucks and won’t let them deadift barefoot, I’d highly recommend things like Chuck Taylor’s or the New Balance Minimus (which, as the name implies, is more of a “minimalist shoe).

Outside of that, much of the resolution here is engaging a proper hip hinge pattern.

Having the ability to break with the hips and engage a hip hinge pattern – without losing spinal position – is HUGE in this context.

My go-to drill is hinging with the dowel rod.  We’re looking for three points of contact – back of the head, in between the shoulder blades, and the sacrum.

If at any point the dowel rod loses contact with the body, you’re doing it wrong.

I may have them perform a set of 8-10 reps with the dowel rod, and then immediately have them walk over to the bar and try to emulate that same motion. We need to CEMENT the pattern with strength training.

Along those same lines, another drill I use sporadically is where I tell them to pretend I have a rope tied around their waist and that I’m standing behind them and when they start their descent to imagine that I’m pulling their hips back with the rope.

It sounds weird and far too simple – but it works.

Limited Dorsifexion

This is an often overlooked limitation, as you need roughly 15-20 degrees of ankle dorsiflexion in order to perform a squat, lunge, and deadlift pattern without any major compensation up the kinetic chain.

Your garden variety ankle mobility drills are going to work wonders here.

Knee Break Ankle Mobs:

Wall Ankle Mobs:

Band Hip IR/ER with Ankle Mob (kill two birds with one stone here):


Some other things to consider, however:

1.  We live in PLANTAR flexion. Think about all the women who wear high-heels day in and day out, not to mention the aforementioned “cement shoes” that a lot guys opt to wear.  I love high-heels as much as the next guy (looking at them, not wearing them.  Just wanted to clarify).

Oh……my……..god…..I love them so much…

…..but I can’t even begin to describe how much of a train wreck they are in terms of the compensation patterns they elicit. Everything from chronic low back pain to plantar fasciitis to bone spurs.

It’s pretty telling how much they mess women up, and I’m often advocating for most, when they can, to ditch the high heels in light of wearing a flatter shoe.

Likewise, for dudes, purchasing a more minimalist shoe will work wonders in the long run.

2.  Dedicated stretches for the gastrocs and soleus muscles are going to be imperative here as well.  Standing around in plantar flexion all day is going to light these muscles up, so taking some time to do some simple stretches would be advantageous.

3. On that same note, I’m willing to bet that most even sleep in plantar flexion!  It sounds excessive, but even something like utilizing a Strassburg Sock – which encourages more DORSIflexion while you sleep – pays huge dividends in the grand scheme of things.

As an aside, I’d also gravitate more towards trap bar and sumo variations for those with limited ankle dorsiflexion and those will be less problematic postions to get into.

Limited Glute Activation/Weakness

This one is pretty easy. I’ll often defer to my good friend, the glute-master himself, Bret Contreras and place a premium on glute activation drills prior to training whether it’s supine bridge variations, single-leg variations, etc.

In my mind, glute activation drills is something that most people can’t get enough of so I have no qualms telling people to do them every day, several times throughout the day.

The key, of course, is to ensure that they’re doing them correctly.  Again, proper coaching comes into play here.

Moreover, in the context of deadlift technique, you have to be cognizant of a few things as you’ll inevitably come across two common errors.

1.  Incomplete or no hip extension what-so-ever.

Note:  for some reason I didn’t have a video available for the DL, but Eric does a good job of showing incomplete hip extension with this squat variation.

2. Excessive HYPERextension (essentially using lumbar hyperextension for hip extension)

In both cases proper cueing is going to be paramount.

For the former I’ll typically tell them to “finish with glutes” or “hump the bar,” which usually gets the job done.  Also, depending my rapport with the client, I’ll literally place my hands around their pelvis and try to encourage more posterior pelvic tilt.  Too, I may gently tap their glutes to help them fire.

In the case of the latter it’s a bit trickier, but I like to tell them to “finish tall,” and again, depending on the rapport, I’ll place my hands around their pelvis to help them but on the brakes (and prevent them from going into too much hyperextension).

Thoracic Kyphosis (keep in mind we’re just using the movement to influence lumbosacral movement, not trying to lift maximal weight)

Honestly, the dowel rod drill from above is going to be great here.  As well, I’ll cue guys to make sure they stick their chest out upon the initial set-up which will encourage a bit more t-spine extension

I pretty much shot from the hip on all of these, but hopefully they all made some sense and help a few people out.

Seriously though, I love high heels.

CategoriesExercise Technique Strength Training

The Post Where I Slap the Wrist of a Deadlift Troll

As it happens I don’t get a ton of hate mail or “troll” activity that’s directed my way.  Part of that is because I generally – not always – steer clear of controversial topics (CrossFit, intermittent fasting, Jacob vs. Edward) that somehow always gets people’s panties all up in a bunch.

On the other side of the coin, I like to think I go out of my way to provide top-notch content with a little lightheartedness that doesn’t come across as me being an uppity know-it-all snob.  And even if I do take a strong stance on something, I’m always willing to keep an open mind and respect other’s opinions on the matter.

That said, on the off-chance that I do get someone going out of their way to be a big meanie head and write me a scathing email or comment, I’ve learned to politely say “thank you,” or ignore them altogether and move on with my life. It’s just not worth getting into a war of words with some people.

It was a hard pill to swallow when I first started writing. I took any negative feedback I received as a direct blow against my character, and I’d be lying if I sat here and said that it didn’t sometimes affect my mood.  I wouldn’t cower in the corner in the fetal position sucking my thumb or anything, but there were times back in the day where I’d be thiiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to turning on a Julia Roberts’ movie and crushing a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.

When you think about it though, anytime you open yourself up to the masses and decide to write in an open forum, whether it be blogging, articles, or any form of media, you’re going to expose yourself to criticism.  It’s the nature of the beast, for better or worse.

Throughout the years I’ve learned to pick my battles.  Sometimes I deserved to be called out and I was always appreciative (although maybe not right at that moment) in the long-run, because part of why I’m in this industry and why I write is to learn and help people.  I’m not that much of a conceited person where I can’t say “my bad, I’m wrong” and move on.

And then you just have those people who have nothing better to do with their lives than to be a big, fat meanie-head.  Like I said, normally I ignore stuff like this and use it as a good laugh, but for some reason I felt this particular person, based off his holier than thou tone alone, deserved a little taste of his own medicine.

I think most of you reading will agree.

Here’s the email that was sent my way in its entirety – with a few words/lines highlighted on my end.

Why are you stating that an upper rounded back in a deadlift is incorrect. Please explain the shear you speak of.

So I guess Konstantin Konstantinov must be a shitty deadlifter eh? The fact is it depends on body composition and the weight being pulled.

It would be nice if you trainer, no back and no trap, types get your shit correct before you put this crap on the web.

RD

+500lb deadlifter

So, essentially, what this guy was saying was that:

1. He read ONE blog post of mine (I don’t know which one) and decided that that encompassed my entire thought process on everything deadlifting. And….

2. Because he watched a Russian deadlift once, on the internet, that that somehow makes him an authority. And….

3.  He’s a +500 lb deadlifter (allegedly), so he obviously knows what he’s talking about.

For starters, one blog post doesn’t define me and my thoughts.

Secondly, here’s a picture of some random dude juggling some chainsaws.  Man that is nifty!  I could probably do that!  In fact, I know I could do that because I saw it on the internet.

Thirdly, isn’t it funny how everyone somehow deadlifts over 500 lbs????  Uncanny.

Anyways, here was my initial response to him (with more to follow afterwards):

Riiiiigggggghhhhhhttttt.

Well, if you actually read more of my stuff, you’ll understand that I’ve also said that when someone is lifting heavier loads it isn’t always going to be pretty.

And as a coach and trainer I’m certainly not going to teach someone to deadlift with a rounded back. It’s just not worth the risk. If or when they get to the level of Konstantinov then they’ll get a little more leeway..

Thanks for setting me straight, though, I really appreciate it.

+570 lb deadlifter (ie: more than you).

I’m sorry.  I just couldn’t resist closing off my response with that last line.  Childish, I know – but sooooooooo worth it.

So lets break this down in a more conducive, less confrontational way.

His main beef with me was stressing how I’m not a fan of people deadlifting with a rounded upper back.  Specifically he asked if I could explain this whole “shear” phenomena, as if I was pulling a random word out of my ass.

Let me clarify a bit before I proceed.

For starters, as the co-owner of a gym (and as such: having the luxury of paying liability insurance), part of, if not the most crucial component of my job is to keep people from getting hurt.

Think about how much responsibility we accept when a parent drops off their 14 year old kid to train with us. How do you think it bodes for business if we have kids injuring themselves left and right because we don’t take the time to teach them how to lift correctly (but more on that in a bit)?

As someone on my Facebook page so succinctly noted, “it must be nice to Monday morning quarterback from a far. If they did have their butt on the line everytime an athlete picked up a bar, this junk would be the last thing you would be arguing about.”

More to the point, if we were to look at the biomechanics of the lumbar spine (or read anything Dr. Stuart McGill has written in the past 15+ years:  HERE and HERE would be a nice start), we’d understand that the spine can handle compressive loading fairly well (assuming it’s not loaded and someone is living flexion), but it’s shear loading that many fail to pay attention to.

What is shear loading?

When the (lumbar) spinal muscles – namely the erector spinae, longissimus, iliocostalis, etc – are doing their job when lifting heavy things off the floor, they’re mainly counteracting perpendicular forces to the axis of the spine which attempt to slide the components away from their normal axis.

As my boy Dean Somerset noted,  “McGill showed elite powerlifters could get their spines to within a few degrees of full flexion and maintain that position through the pull, whereas amateurs or intermediates would go beyond full flexion without control and wind up exposing their discs to stupid forces and injury, so teaching a rounded back to a beginner is completely different than allowing an experienced puller to creep into flexion during their max lifts.

It also doesn’t talk about how when the experienced lifters are training with less than max weight they get closer to neutral and work on maintaining and grooving that pattern while staying away from flexion.”

For the visual learners out there, it goes a little something like this:

Now, to be fair: guys like Konstantin Konstantinov have a TON more leeway because he’s trained his body to stay out of danger when the shit hits the fan. He’s the elite of the elite. Using him as an argument as to why lifting with a rounded back is advantageous is borderline the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Excuse me while I go throw myself in front of a mack truck.

Moreover, it’s important to note that as a coach I’m ALWAYS going refrain from teaching the deadlift with a rounded back because it’s just common sense.  It’s important to engrain the proper motor pattern, and CEMENT that pattern with smart, properly progressed strength training so that if or when they do start lifting heavier loads, they’ll be better prepared to not crumble like a deck of cards.

That and so their max pulls don’t end up looking like this walking ball of fail:

So that’s my more “polite” response. Agree?  Disagree?  Want to give me an internet high-five?  Please share below.

CategoriesUncategorized

Deadlifts: From Suck to Sick

Okay, not that I had any qualms or regrets with writing the pregnancy post the other day, because I was more than happy to do it; it’s something that had been running around in my head ANd I wanted to address it for a while now, and a topic I wanted to tackle sooner rather than later; and more importantly, I feel it’s a message that’s going to help a lot of people down the road.

But lets be honest:  it was definitely something off the beaten path from what I normally write, and I’m sure there were a fair number of people who read the title and immediately high-tailed it in the other direction.

So, to make up for it, I wrote an article not too long ago for T-Nation that went live yesterday on what else….

[Drumroll please…….]

Deadlifts!

I know, I know – I write about deadlifts about as often as a bear shits in the woods, and I promise this will be the last one for a while. No, seriously….I mean it this time.

Nonetheless I feel there are a number of tips that can be gleaned from this article, so check it out and let me know what you think.

I can just smell the testosterone rising.  Enjoy!

It’s no secret that I love deadlifts. I try to write about other things that inspire me – squatting, pull-ups, seeing Nadine Velazquez naked in the first 5 minutes of Flight – yet I’m constantly drawn back to the mighty pull like a jacked-up sockeye salmon returning to its pristine natal waters to spawn.

Fortunately for me, if the amount of email I receive asking about improving deadlifting performance is any indication, the majority of T Nation readers feel the same way.

So what follows are a few lesser-known tricks and tweaks that you can use to quickly improve your deadlift technique and bust through plateaus.

These tricks won’t turn you into Andy Bolton over night, but they could, to steal a line from Dave Tate, take you from “Shit to Suck” – which is still pretty good.

And, if you play your cards right, maybe even from Suck to Good!

 

Continue Reading…….

 

 

CategoriesUncategorized

2012: The Mayans Were Wrong and the “Best Of” In Blog Posts

2012 is about thiiiis close to coming to a close, and since we’re all still here (HA!….take that Mayans!) I thought I’d use the last day and highlight the ten most popular posts of the past year based off of the total number of visits/hits each received.

It was the best year yet for TonyGentilcore.com, and I can’t thank everyone enough for their continued readership, and more importantly, support.

If I could give every single one of a hug I would.  But not only would that be weird, it’s pretty much impossible.  Nevertheless, please know that I am repeatedly grateful to all of you and here’s hoping that 2013 bring us all happiness, love, and PRs!

 

Fixing the “Tuck Under” When Squatting Parts ONE and TWO

Almost resoundingly, by a few thousand visits, this was a very popular two-part post I wrote on how to fix the tuck under or “butt wink” at the bottom of the squat. I guess people like reading about squats!

All the Hype Behind Kipping Pull-Ups

I don’t know which is more controversial: CrossFit, the so-called “fiscal cliff” we’re about to nose dive off of, Hitler, or the three weeks worth of facial hair that’s currently on my grill (which is a record for me).

In any case, whenever you mention CrossFit, you can bet that the sirens are blasted, and people are going to come out in droves to express their opinion.

Here I take a firm (albeit fair) take as to why I’m not a fan of kipping pull-ups.

Glutes Are the New Biceps

Badonkadonks are where it’s at.  Nuff said.

Box Squats vs. Squat TO Box (Yes, There’s a Difference)

This was a topic of a staff in-service that I did where I discussed some of the (several) intricacies that exist between the box squat and the squat TO box.

As the title suggests, yes, there is a difference.

A Discussion: Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss

The impetus behind this post was an email exchange I had with one of my female clients and a discussion we had on the differences between weight loss and fat loss. It’s a topic I feel many people can glue themselves to because we’ve all been there.

The information and logic provides are sound, but if anything else, what’s most impressive of all is my use of the word  flummoxed.  Seriously, gold star for that one!

5 Coaching Cues:  Deadlift 

I heart deadlifts. So it should come as no surprise that one of the 317 articles (slight exaggeration) I wrote on it should pop up in the top ten. Here I breakdown some common (and uncommon) coaching cues that I often use with my athletes and clients to help improve their technique.

The Perfect Warm-Up?

It’s a rhetorical question, because in the grand scheme of things any warm-up is better than no warm-up at all. Although, if I’m going to be a little biased I think this one is pretty money.

4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know (Revisted)

I got in a little hot water after posting this article earlier in the year.  You would think, after reading some of the comments I received, that I made a case for why women shouldn’t be allowed to vote!

99% of the people “got” the message:  how the fitness industry panders to women is a complete joke, and there’s a massive double standard: men should lift weight, women should take yoga class.

1% actually hate my guts.  Whatever.

A Girlfriend’s Response 

And wouldn’t you know it, my own girlfriend, Lisa,  came to my rescue like a knight in shining armor.

19 Tips for the Deadlift

I told you really, really like the deadlift.

See you next year!

 

CategoriesStrength Training

5 Tips to Improve Your Deadlift

It’s no secret that I like to deadlift. Outside of sleep, going to a Sunday matinee, omeletes, Chipotle, and nunchucks, it’s probably my most favoritest thing in the world.

There’s certainly no shortage of quality articles out there breaking down the deadlift and offering suggestions on how to increase your overall sense of badassery.

Likewise, there’s rarely (if ever) anything new to say – as it’s already been said in some fashion elsewhere in magazines, in books, in DVDs, and various blog posts.

Nevertheless, here are five quick and easy-to-implement tips that will definitely help improve your pulling prowess.

1.  Save Your Hardest Workout for Early in the Week, But Not Too Early

It stands to reason that if you have a weak link or are trying to “bring up” one particular lift, you should reserve the hardest training session of the week for Monday when you’re the most fresh and and presumably, the most recovered.

Seemingly most people spend their weekends chillaxing watching sports, eating good food, having a few beers, taking power naps, throwing the frisbee around, playing with the dogs, or maybe, if your’re lucky, spending a few hours at the beach soaking up some vitamin D.

Come Monday you’re recharged and ready to tackle the upcoming week. It makes sense, then, to head to the gym on Monday and absolutely throw yourself to the wolves and make yourself hate life to the point where you can barely walk by the end and you can’t feel the left side of your face.

Mmmmmm, maybe not the best idea.

Raise your hand if Mondays are typically your best day at work? Hahahahaha, yeah that’s what I thought.

Nada.

We’ve all heard the lame statement “looks like (s0 and so) has the case of the Mondays,” and for good reason. Mondays suck! For a reference point, watch the movie Office Space (and thank me later).

 

After two days (or three, for the lucky few who get the extended weekend) of laying low and living the lazy life, effectively placing your body in an extended “hover” mode, you can’t expect it to rebound efficiently and go right into breaking PRs on Monday.

For some it will work, and they can bounce back and feel like a superhero. For many,  however, it won’t be nearly as “superheroish,” and it won’t be a pretty site.

I’m a rare example and use Mondays as my main deadlift day, but that’s because I work at a gym and I’m able to use Saturday (and sometimes Sunday) as an actual training day, mostly as a GPP or movement based day, but training nonetheless. Most people don’t have this luxury and opt to forego the weights for pina coladas instead.  And more power to them!

What I propose is to hold off, and save your main deadlift session for Tuesday or better yet, Wednesday.

Instead go to the gym on Monday and train, but don’t necessarily go balls to the wall. Most of you are going to go and blast your pecs anyways – Monday IS National Bench Press Day – so go right a head and do it.  Or, just think of it as a “medium” intensity day

By the time Tuesday or Wednesday rolls around, your nervous system will be a little more “primed” and less lethargic and I’m willing to bet you’ll find your DL numbers improve.

2. Get More Lifts Above 90%

I’m a bit reticent to openly state that more people should add more lifts at or above 90% (as a percentage of their one rep max) into their repertoire because, well, you need to know what the heck you’re doing!

To that end, I have two prerequisites:

1.  You MUST have technical proficiency in the lift. If my eyes will perpetually start bleeding from watching you lift a weight that’s only 50% of your 1RM, then I certainly don’t want to know what will happen if you go any heavier.

<—– Like this

2. You should already be able to lift at least 2x (I may even lower this to 1.5x) your bodyweight before utilizing 90% lifts. As an example, this would mean that a 175 lb person should be clearing a 350 lb pull. Not too shabby, but certainly not earth shattering.

I understand this is a a blanket statement, and there are plenty of people who incorporate heavier loads into the mix that aren’t that strong (and do so safely), but this is just for my own edification and peace of mind.

Rather than re-invent the wheel, I’m going to cut/paste a portion of an article I wrote for T-Nation a few years ago titled Limiting Factors:

When a more “advanced” trainee approaches me and mentions that he’s stuck on a certain weight with a particular lift, I can almost guarantee his limiting factor is that he hasn’t been incorporating more lifts above 90%.

(Side Note: For beginner trainees, I’d be more inclined to check their food intake and/or overall programming. Most just need to eat more and shy away from the bodybuilding/body-part split routines.)

To recap, lifts above 90%…

1. Increase total muscle fiber recruitment.

2. Increase recruitment of higher threshold motor units (which have a greater propensity for growth).

3. Increase rate coding (rate at which motor units fire).

4. Increase synchronization between muscles (improved inter and intra-muscular coordination).

5. Make girls want to hang out with you.

Maybe even girls who actually deadlift will want to hang out with you, too:

All of the above help to improve one’s neural efficiency. Getting stronger is all about making the central nervous system (CNS) more efficient at allowing the brain and spinal cord to better communicate with motor units/muscle fibers to get the job done. In short, improved neural efficiency allows you to lift more weight, which last time I checked, is a pretty cool thing.

For the advanced lifter, each session is an opportunity to maybe hit a new PR (personal record), but really it’s just about lifting heavy things off the ground.

Using the DL as an example, lets assume one’s original PR is 400 pounds, the goal for this training session is to get FIVE lifts at 90% and above:

135×5
225×3
275×1
315×1
365×1
405×1 (PR!!!  But it was a grinder and you’re pretty sure you blacked out for like three seconds and saw pink unicorns as you locked it out)

At this point the trainee has already gotten two lifts above 90% (365, 405), which would mean he needs to get three more lifts in to get to the goal of five. The objective now is to stay at or slightly above 90% (usually in the 90-92% range) and focus on bar speed and actually not miss any lifts.

360×1,1,1

From there, the trainee will continue on with his accessory work depending on his needs and goals.

3.  Oh Yeah, Hammer Your Accessory Work

For me I like to use what I call “marker” exercises, which are those exercises I know have a a huge carry over to the deadlift, and also allow me to gauge progress.  In short, I know that if I improve on a particular marker exercise, chances are my DL is going to improve as well.

One such example are goodmornings.

 

Everyone is different, and I’m not saying you should go start playing around with goodmornings today. But it stands to reason that if you want to improve your deadlift, you need to hammer your posterior chain and place a premium on those exercises which strengthen the glutes and hamstrings.

Another exercise to consider would be something like Deadstart/Andeson Squats.

 

What I love about these is that they emulate the exact hip/torso positioning I use when I setup to deadlift.  I’m woefully slow off the floor when I pull (and I have weak quads), so this is an exercise I try to incorporate a lot when I’m trying to ramp up my deadlift numbers.

Again, that’s just me.  What works for me may not work for you, but if I had to make a short list of exercises that people should focus on in terms of accessory work:

– RDLs
– Goodmornings
– Partial ROM squats
– Pull-Throughs
– GHR
– KB Swings
– Barbell Hip Thrusters
– Leg Press**

4. Focus on the 70-80% (But More Around 70%).

Admittedly this is something that I’ve pretty much ignored up until recently, and it wasn’t until diving into the phenomenal book Easy Strength by Dan John and Pavel (as well as taking the advice of other coaches like Bret Contreras and Todd Bumgardner) that I began to see the error of my ways.

This sorta flies in the face of what I was saying above with regards to utilizing lifts above 90%, but I really feel that this is a woefully under-utilized method of improving one’s deadlift.

I understand that many strength coaches are adamantly opposed to anything that isn’t either “speed” work (40-60%) or max effort work (90%+), and that anything in the middle is a complete waste of time.

But I feel there’s something to be said about honing technique, solidifying one’s exercise proficiency (and being able to repeat it), and seeing how that parlays into bigger pulling numbers.

In looking at my training past, whenever I’d make a run for 600 lbs, I’d inevitably approach the 550ish mark, attempt to get my 90% lifts in week in and week out, for weeks on end, and eventually my spine would be like “that’s it Gentilcore.  I’m done!”

My back would end up feeling like shredded up salami, my CNS would be fried, and I’d have to take a hiatus from pulling heavy.

I think once you start approaching 2.75-3x bodyweight pulls, the body can only take so much on a repeated basis.  Lately, I’ve been focusing more on getting fast, QUALITY reps at a lower percentage and I feel amazing.

I’m still doing my speed work on separate days, but instead of hitting multiple lifts at 90% or above, I’ve been taking it down a notch and performing repeated lifts at 70% (with limited rest) and then hitting a “sorta” max every other week.

So, for example:

6×2 @ 315 lbs (with 20-30s rest between sets)

Then I’ll work up to a 500+ pull.  Last week I ended up working up to 520 lbs, and felt great.

You’re always going to have ebbs and flows with training, but I really feel that this approach is going keep me fresh longer and not beat me to a pulp.

5.  Use Straps

No, seriously, I’m not kidding….use them!

Listen, most commercial gyms have really crappy bars with no knurling and you’re relegated to wearing a Scarlet letter if you have the audacity to bring chalk onto the gym floor.

It’s almost impossible to lift any appreciable weight when the bar keeps slipping out of your hands.

Back in the day I totally used wrist straps to help bring up my deadlift.  Granted, I tried to sneak in chalk whenever I could (even going so far as to make sure I wiped down the bars when I was done), but I didn’t think any less of myself.

Grip strength is going to be a limiting factor for a lot of peeps, and I posit that so long as you go out of your way to NOT be the dork who uses straps for everything from seated lat pulldowns to bicep curls, your grip strength will automatically improve given you’re using various dumbbells and barbells in your training.

I won’t judge you for using straps.  If it allows you to use more weight and overload the exercise, great!  That’s the point.  If you use gloves on the other hand………

Got any tips of your own to share?  I’d love to hear them below

 

** Come on.  You didn’t think I was serious did you?

CategoriesUncategorized

Deadlifts and Foot Placement

The deadlift is arguably one of the more technical strength movements to master, and it’s no wonder that it oftentimes takes trainees months, years (maybe even more) to really hone in on the technique side of things.

So many variables and factors come into play, and if we were to make an impromptu checklist it may look something like this:

  • Can you demonstrate proper spinal position, or what we like to call “neutral spine”. This also includes packing the neck and not destroying the back of your pants.
  • Do your hips come up too quickly on the initial pull?
  • What about on the descent:  do you tend to sit back and engage more of the hips and glutes, or do you use more of a squat pattern?
  • How about bracing and intra abdominal pressure: can you get and maintain ample (360 degree) expansion?
  • Do you have sufficient ankle, hip, and t-spine mobility to maintain proper position throughout?
  • Are you “finishing” with your hips/glutes at the top?
  • Do your socks match your shirt?  Oh, god….they don’t!  Shit, now everyone’s going to think you’re an idiot and are going to laugh at you!  Hahahahahahahaha.

No one is the same, obviously. What works for one person, may be a recipe for disaster for the next. But one common mistake I see many trainees making when setting up to deadlift – especially with regards to conventional or trap bar style – is placing their foot stance too wide.

Hopefully this video demonstration – done on ONE TAKE, thank you very much – helps shed some light on the topic.

Enjoy.  Have an awesome weekend!

Note: My apologies for the picture quality.