CategoriesExercise Technique Program Design

The Deadlift: Beginner Basics

I came across this comment yesterday on Twitter from a friend of mine who’s an accomplished trainer and someone I respect a lot:

How many articles can be written about the deadlift? And when writing, does the author ever say to self, “maybe I should wait on this one.”

I can’t say I disagree with his tone. I mean, I get it. There are metric shit-ton1 of deadlift articles out there, and I’ve helped contribute my fair share.

Sorry!

The way I see it: Michael Bay keeps making those god-awful Transformers movies due to popular demand. Deadlifts are popular. So, yeah, there’s the correlation.

Just run with it.

I’ll admit that there’s really nothing new to say about deadlifts (except that they’re not god-awful), and I can understand the degree of eye-rolling by some coaches when the internet is hijacked for a few days with a flood of articles and blog posts on the topic; not coincidentally all of which happen to coincide with the revamped re-release of a stellar resource like David Dellanave’s Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination.

For what it’s worth: there are a lot of people who stink at deadlifting and are eager to learn how to perform them right and learn how to implement them into a well-structured, properly progressed program.

I like to think of myself – and this website – as a resource that helps point people in the direction of quality information. Information from friends/coaches I trust (and more often than not have a personal relationship with) and information I know will help many people.

I can do it in a way that’s non-douchy and provide unique, useful content – because I know what I’m talking about – as an adjunct to the material (like I will do below).

Or I can do one of two things:

1. Be annoying internet marketing guy

“HEY EVERYBODY BUY THIS MANUAL/DVD BECAUSE I SAID SO, AND BECAUSE I LIKE DEADLIFTS (even though I don’t train anyone in real life). AND BECAUSE I HAVE A TRIBAL TATTOO ON  MY ARM! “

2. Stay silent and rely on videos like this to educate people

 

I choose neither.

And on that note here’s some words I put together for you to read.

The Deadlift: Beginner Basics

The deadlift is a “simple” movement, and I’d argue the least technical of the “big 3” (squat, bench press, deadlift). Which isn’t to say it’s easy to perform nor doesn’t require some attention to detail. But for all intents and purposes we can describe the deadlift as follows (courtesy of renowned strength coach, Mark Rippetoe):

“Bar is on the ground. One bends over to pull the bar, with straight arms, off the floor and up the legs until the knees, hips, and shoulders are locked out.

And then you piss excellence all over the place.”

That last part was added by me.

Another perspective is that of Dan John:

Squat = maximal knee bend and maximal hip bend. In other words, the squat is a squat.

Deadlift = minimal knee bend and maximal hip bend. In other words, the deadlift is a hip hinge.

[NOTE: for some ideas on how to groove a solid hip hinge before adding an external load, check out THIS article on How to Hip Hinge Like a Boss.]

 

Benefits of the Deadlift

  1. It Gets You Stronger

Deadlifts have been around since the beginning of time. And while I can’t back that up with any scientific evidence, it’s true.

Of Note: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve trained at a gym other than my own and after a set of deadlifts someone will approach me and comment: “hey, that thing you’re doing. Is that, like, CrossFit?”

I’ve grown out of my hatin on CrossFit phase – I recognize the good it’s done with getting the masses excited to exercise, and better yet, lifting weights – so I generally just chuckle it off and inform the commentee that, “No, I’m not CrossFitting,” and that “No, CrossFit didn’t invent lifting weights.”

Anyways, deadlifts have been around for a while and there’s a reason why they’re a staple in every single successful strength-training program ever written, ever. (citation needed).

They work.

If strength is the goal, you need to incorporate movements that allow you to lift a bulldozer boatload of weight. Deadlifts fit that bill.

  1. It Builds Muscle

A funny thing happens when someone starts deadlifting consistently. They add muscle to their frame. More specifically they add muscle to the areas which can’t be scene by the mirror and are often most neglected – the posterior chain (glutes, hamstring, erectors).

Which serves as an appropriate segue to the next benefit…

  1. It Improves Performance

What kind of performance? I don’t know…any kind of performance.

Hitting a baseball or golf ball further, dunking a basketball, improving running efficiency (the more force you can develop and put into the ground, the more efficient you are at propelling yourself towards the finish line), the ability to walk down a flight of stairs and not break your hips in half, making yourself harder to kill, the bedroom (BOM CHICKA BOM BOM), it’s all fair game and part of the conversation.

One of the best explanations I’ve ever heard comes, again, from strength coach, Dan John. He was asked one time by an athlete of his “what muscle does (insert name of any exercise you want here) does this exercise work anyways?”

I don’t recall he was being asked about the deadlift, but his answer is fitting nonetheless:

“You know that muscle that allows you to jump really high, over the defending cornerback, to catch the football for the game winning touchdown? That muscle.”

Fuckin A.

In reality, however, we don’t have to correlate the deadlift to just athletic performance.

It carries many other “real life” benefits with it outside of the football field, baseball diamond, soccer pitch, or basketball court (to name a few).

Anything that requires a basic hip hinge pattern – while maintaining a neutral spine – can be labeled a deadlift.

Grandma bending over to pick up a potted plant? That’s a deadlift.

The random woman picking up her child at the local playground? A deadlift.

Franco Columbo moving his father’s car out of a cramped parking space in the documentary Pumping Iron? You guessed it, deadlift.

  1. It Makes You Bulletproof

Now just to be clear, that’s a metaphor. Deadlifts won’t actually make you bulletproof. Don’t be stupid. Bullets hurt. And will kill you.

Bulletproof in this context is just a more nerdy way of saying “prevent injuries.”

From an athlete’s perspective: Deadlifts will (hopefully, nothing is guaranteed) help prevent injuries like ACL tears as well as nagging injuries to the knees – like tendinitis (acute inflammation) and tendinosis (chronic inflammation or actual degeneration of soft tissue) – due to the fact the posterior chain is so heavily activated and strengthened.

From a non-athlete’s perspective: Deadlifts will help to “offset” many of the postural imbalances and dysfunctions that tend to manifest when forced to sit at a desk all day in front of a computer.

Think of what’s required in order to perform a deadlift: ample ankle dorsiflexion, hip extension, thoracic spine extension, and pelvic control, amongst other things…all of which tend to diminish when seated for long periods of time.

Plus, deadlifts help to address any pent up aggression that may spill over from work. I.e., they’re a much better alternative to stabbing your boss or annoying co-worker in the neck. Unless they deserve it.

In that case, stab away.

Note: video below doesn’t include any stabbing, but it’s hilarious nonetheless.

 

One last thing to consider is Wolff’s Law and Davis’s Law.

You can’t discount physics.

The former states that bone in a healthy person or animal will adapt to the loads it is placed under. The latter states the same thing, except with regards to soft tissue.

Deadlifting = strong bones + soft tissue. You need a minimal essential strain (MES) in order for tissue to adapt. Likewise, in order to strengthen tissue, you need to load it. Sorry, but your cute little leg extensions and leg curls all in the name of “being more spine friendly” aren’t going to get the job done.

Key Coaching Cues and The Importance of Getting (and Maintaining) Tension

David actually nailed all the key cues to use with regards to cleaning up deadlift technique in yesterday’s post.

To repeat:

These probably aren’t going to be groundbreaking, but time tends to prove out what works best, and these have been around for a while.

  • Chest up – let me read the writing on your shirt.
  • Pull the bar into your shins, you’re going to keep contact with your body through the entire pull.
  • Take the slack out of the bar by making it “clink”.
  • Pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
  • Push the floor away, and stand up tall.
  • Optionally, if someone over-extends or arches, I like to explain that you want to try to cinch your ribs down to your pelvis. I don’t like “ribs down” as this never seems to make sense to people.

That’s it. I found that those five or six cues fix 99% of the issues I see.

Another component to consider – and one I feel is crucial – is the idea of getting and maintaining tension throughout a set. Many people lack the wherewithal to engage their lats from the start, and hence lack upper back stiffness. One of two things inevitably happens: they round their upper back or the hips shoot up first.

 

To counteract this I like to cue people to pretend as if they’re trying to squeeze an orange in their armpits. Research backs up the efficacy of using more external cueing when coaching clients, and this cue works like magic much of the time.

However, in the event that that doesn’t jive, a simple drill I’ll use is to attach a band to the barbell itself and the trainee/athlete must learn to pull the bar close to the body AND KEEP IT THERE the entire time.

 

The band will want to pull you forward, and the objective here is not to allow that. That thing you feel? Those are your lats.

Get More Juicy Information

That is no where near everything I’d like to cover with regards to the deadlift for beginners (the part where I explained the benefits is section of a treatise I’m writing for the Personal Trainer Development Center that I hope will serve as “go to” source on anything/everything deadlifts,” but hopefully it gives you some insight and “ammo” as to why it’s an excellent exercise to include in your training and that of others.

I’d encourage you to check out Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination for more similar content in addition to a full manual, programs, a video library, and a bevy of other goodies.

It’s on SALE this week only and you can go HERE for more information.

CategoriesProgram Design Strength Training

Two Dudes Talking Deadlifts

My good friend and fellow colleague, David Dellanave2, was kind enough to sit down and talk deadlifts with me today.

Deadlifts? SQUIRREL!!!

He’s just released a revision of his amazing resource, Off the Floor: A Manual for Deadlift Domination today with all sorts of add-ons and bonuses that will, well, help anyone dominate their deadlift.

Specifically, though, his goal was to write a manual that could be handed to a beginner, and it would help them get started with a deadlifting-based strength program.

He succeeded.

Tony Gentilcore (TG): We’re both bald strength coaches who love to deadlift. We also both married up (for those who don’t know, David is married to Jen Sinkler making them one of the industry’s strongest – and most lovable – fitness couples). I think there’s a correlation there.

David Dellanave (DD):  Basically what people can learn from this is that the quickest route to a smart, hot wife is by shaving your head and deadlifting a lot.

TG: I think what I respect the most about you is that you don’t fluff anything and aren’t afraid to call BS when you see or hear it. What are some of the things happening currently in the industry that grinds your gears? Or, if we’re going the non PG-13 route, drives you bat fucking shit crazy?

DD: Oh. Dear. I wrote about this recently but I think one of the most fundamental issues, that goes beyond the specific things that it’s applied to, is that people can’t seem to think of things in anything but black and white terms. I called it the false dilemma problem.

Note from TG: Ooooo, I like that. I’m totally stealing that.

Either you’re full-on Paleo and you’re convinced that it’s the end all be all of human nutrition, or you’re IIFYM and it’s pop tarts for every meal.

Can we please just acknowledge that everything between and including the two extremes of any topic are probably going to be exactly right for someone?

A couple years ago errybody was all like “all the fish oil all the time!” A paper came out last month that discovered that the Inuit have specific genetic adaptations in fatty acid metabolism which could explain the benefits of fish oil IN THOSE PEOPLE. One of the study authors literally said, “The same diet may have different effects on different people.”

Turns out fish oil might not be so good for people with other genetic phenotypes.

Could it also be that for some people a high fat diet is going to work better, and for others a high carb diet is going to be more suitable? That’s a rhetorical question. Every time we investigate these things we end up finding out that the answer is “both” (and/or all of the above) more often than not.

I think the point is we get deep in the weeds on stupid mechanistic explanations and arguments while forgetting the big picture that it all varies from person to person and THAT is a fact.

TG: Men’s Health ran a story not too long ago titled “Normal-Sized Guys Who Are Freakishly Strong Tell You How They Did It,” which featured you. 1. Were you pissed they called you “normal sized? And 2. It is pretty impressive how strong you are (deadlifting 3x bodyweight in three different deadlift variations)…has relative strength always been a priority for you?

DD: I hung up the phone with Michael (<– MH author who wrote the article) and immediately considered going to Sam’s Club to buy food and steroids in bulk, but turns out they don’t sell steroids.

The truth is I just don’t have the nutritional stamina or discipline to eat big like you need to really grow. There’s a part of of me, like any meathead, that always wants to be just a little bit bigger, but it seems like when it really comes down to it, it’s not a big enough priority to actually pursue it. That’s something I talk about with clients often.

Is losing that last little bit of body fat really worth not having a couple drinks a week or enjoying a macaroni and cheese pizza? (The latter is something I would actually never condone because I’m Italian and I think words like pizza mean something.)

That being said, yes, relative strength has also been important to me. To me both the physique and capability of the lightweight strongman (say 180-200lbs) is the sweet spot of form and function and is one of the most versatile and useful tools you can carry with you every single day.

TG: Lets talk beginner deadlift basics. Do you have any criteria as a coach that people need to meet before they can start deadlifting? What about deadlift order or progressions? Do you prefer to start everyone off the same way (trap bar vs. sumo vs. conventional) or do you have a specific system you like to stick to?

DD: This is one area where I take a bit of a different approach than many. As far as I’m concerned, with only rare exceptions, everyone can deadlift from day ones – it’s just going to vary what kind of deadlift they do.

TG: Nope, I agree 100%!

So for some people that may look like a single kettlebell suitcase deadlift, with yoga blocks raising the handle up above knee height to raise the pick height. For others it might be a classic two-handed kettlebell deadlift from the floor, between the feet.

And others yet might even start with the barbell right away depending on how they move.

One of my favorite movements for people who might not move very well and have had some prior back issues is to use a high pick with two kettlebells, but offset the weights. If you give someone a single 8kg bell in a suitcase position, there’s a 8kg asymmetrical load, which isn’t insignificant, but it’s not a lot of load in general. So you give them a 16kg in one hand, and 8kg in the other hand.

The offset is still 8kg, but now you’ve got a total of 24kg. It’s almost certainly not more load than they deal with in daily life, but it’s creating more total overload and demand on the tissue, plus you get more of an “anchor” effect from the higher load. This is one of those cases where less weight is not always better, and in my experience this is a neat trick for better results.

That being said, the single biggest thing I’m looking for (besides being pain free) is the ability to maintain back position from top to bottom of the movement.

Lots of people can’t pull from the floor because if you watch their back position as they go down to meet the implement it changes. Likewise if it changes on the way up, but the problem starts at the bottom. If you can maintain that, we can progress. If not, we have to figure out how you can do that first before moving on.

TG: I always love listening to other coaches explain or articulate their approaches to coaching the deadlift. I know it’s a topic that entire books have been dedicated towards – you’ve written one (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) – but what are 2-3 of your “BIG ROCK” cues you feel carryover to most individuals?

DD: These probably aren’t going to be groundbreaking, but time tends to prove out what works best, and these have been around for a while.

  • Chest up – let me read the writing on your shirt.
  • Pull the bar into your shins, you’re going to keep contact with your body through the entire pull.
  • Take the slack out of the bar by making it “clink”.
  • Pull your shoulder blades down into your back pockets.
  • Push the floor away, and stand up tall.
  • Optionally, if someone over-extends or arches, I like to explain that you want to try to cinch your ribs down to your pelvis. I don’t like “ribs down” as this never seems to make sense to people.

That’s it. I found that those five or six cues fix 99% of the issues I see.

TG: For me, the best way to get better at the deadlift is to deadlift. A lot. That being said, we’d be remiss as coaches not to appreciate that accessory work plays a huge role in addressing/improving technique flaws in various portions of the lift. Can you elaborate?

DD: Agreed. Practice, practice, practice. Both for technique and volume overload.

But I’m also a big believer in upper back exercises to improve the ability to keep the spine stable so it moves at the fulcrum of the hips. Zerchers, front squats, and even specific upper back exercises like Bret wrote about in THIS great article.

One of the biggest reasons I think people fail at the upper end of deadlifts is because the back starts to flex or round and driving the hips forward harder just makes that problem worse right up until the moment you fail.

A more specific simple drill I really like for the common issue of letting the bar drift out away from the body is to setup bands on rack to pull the bar forward slightly. In that way you can practice generating a little more shoulder extension and tension with your lats to keep the bar in tight.

TG: Awesome stuff, I love using that drill too. What do you feel are the biggest faults in trainees who have issues off the floor, mid-range, at lockout?

DD: Off The Floor – Either you lack the mobility to be pulling off the floor in the first place (you can usually find out if this is the case by using biofeedback testing) or you’re just weak in that range. Personally I don’t think you can do better than deficit deadlifts to improve strength off the floor, but you ONLY need an inch and a half or two of deficit. A standard iron 25lb plate is the perfect thickness.

Mid-Range – I think this is where the glutes really come into play, and Bret’s favorite hip thrusts and glute bridges can help a lot. The caveat is always that if the back isn’t strong enough to keep the lever acting as a lever, it doesn’t matter how strong your glutes are.

Lockout – This is where you really see the back strength issue become the point of failure. When the back starts to round, you only have a certain range of motion before you get too close to end range and the body just shuts down power output. Driving the hips forward harder here just causes failure more quickly as you push the spine to end range. So this is where the upper back extensions and upper back rack pulls can help you both overload and learn to maintain back position through the finish of the pull.

TG: What would your cousin, Dellanavich, say to anyone who states the deadlift is bad or dangerous for their spine?

DD: In Russia, deadlift is not bad for back, back is for deadlift.

 

I’m so over beating the dead horse on this topic. The back pain statistics in the U.S. are absolutely outrageous, and the vast majority of these people certainly aren’t doing any deadlifts.

The point you’ve correctly made before is that doing crappy deadlifts is bad for your back. Using your body as it was intended to move and doing it against progressive resistance is exactly what keeps you healthy, not hurts you.

TG: I know you’re a big advocate of using biofeedback to compliment programming strategies. Do you have any new thoughts on this topic? How can people use this to better improve their deadlift performance?

DD: Biofeedback has been such an integral part of training for me and the people in my gym it’s hard to even know where to begin. Last year Jen basically won a powerlifting meet because she used biofeedback to decide how to change her stance during the meet.

Here’s my suggestion: use biofeedback to test a couple variations every time you deadlift. Go with the one that tests the best for 4 weeks, and see what happens. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

For people who have pain or functional issues, biofeedback can be even more useful because it really allows you to see what you can and can’t do.

Go back to the mobility example earlier in this post. I find tons of people for whom deadlifting from the floor doesn’t test well, but raise the bar 2-3” and suddenly it tests great for them. Lo and behold, they usually have back pain now and then before, and after a few sessions of doing what tests best they have no problems at all.

TG: Okay, outside the box, but I have to ask: favorite movies you’ve seen this year?

DD: I should be asking you, so I’d know what to go see. I legit think I’ve only seen one movie in the theater this year and it was that crappy Amy Schumer one. Was Lone Survivor this year? That was pretty good.

TG: No, David. No it did not come out this year.

Off the Floor

For less than what it would cost you to hire a sub-par trainer for an hour here’s what you get with the revised version of Off the Floor:

All the goodies from before (Off the Floor manual, programs, video library, Biofeedback Training Guide, etc)

PLUS

– A new section in the beginning that sets the tone and an understanding for newer lifters.

– Entirely new section for beginners, to coach them through their first deadlifts and get them to feel confident pulling.

– Two guest articles from Dean Somerset and Tony G (<– THAT’s ME!) on deadlifting with disc hernations, and how deadlifts are horrible for you (not) respectively.

– Almost completely redone layout and formatting of the book to make it easier to print.

– Printed version available via Amazon.

ALL of that – and more – for a heavily discounted price (over half off) for this week only. If you’re not doing cartwheels down the sidewalk from sheer excitement I don’t know what to tell you.

Click HERE for more details.

CategoriesExercise Technique Miscellaneous Miscellany

Miscellaneous Miscellany Monday: Get-ups, Deadlifts, and B-Days

1.  I have a love-hate relationship with Turkish get-ups.

Photo Credit: John Maguire

As a coach I love them in the sense of how much bang-for-my-training-buck they provide. I get asked all the time from my athletes and clients “what the hell do these get-up thingamabobbers do anyways?” To which I respond: what don’t they do?

Dean Somerset wrote an excellent article last week on T-Nation HERE which mirrors many of my own thoughts on the matter.

But to expound a bit more, you can think of get-ups as loaded yoga. Yes, I can use the word “yoga” in a sentence and not throw up a little in my mouth….;o)

Truth be told: 98% of the dynamic warm-up drills that we use on a regular basis at Cressey Sports Performance are derived and have their base in yoga. Likewise, a fair number of basic strength training moves like planks (and all their iterations), yoga push-ups, and certain lunge variations have their ancestry in yoga.

So it’s not like yoga doesn’t deserve some credit!

Taking the thought process a bit further, can you name another exercise which incorporates so many valuable components as the get-up? We have lying, rolling, glute activation, bridging, scapular stability, overhead static hold, core stability/strength, half kneeling, and lunging; and then a reversal of all of that. About the only thing get-ups don’t do is remember to set the DVR to record the latest episode of The Walking Dead, GODDAMMIT!!!!

As a trainee I hate get-ups.

1. No exercise does a better job at highlighting any glaring weaknesses up and down the kinetic chain. Whether it’s limited hip flexor length, having hip mobility that would rival the ROM of a pregnant rhino, poor scapular stability, or weakness in general, get-ups are going to humble you.

2. Using a more personal anecdote, get-ups just take F.O.R.E.V.E.R to perform. Coming from a guy who thinks anything that requires more than five reps is cardio, the fact that it takes upwards of one minute to complete ONE SIDE of a get-up makes me want to punch myself in the neck. It’s so annoying.

The thing is: when performed correctly, that’s how long a get-up should take!

Dr. Mark Cheng was kind enough to make a cameo appearance two weekends ago at mine and Dean’s Excellent Workshop in LA.

He spent a solid 90 minutes taking all the attendees through the kettlebell swing and get-up. I learned more in those 90 minutes than anything I’ve watched or read in the past five years (no offense to those who’s DVDs I watched and books/articles I read!).

Side Note: Mark is the guy James Fell interviewed for THIS article a few years ago that time Jillian Michaels tried to pretend she knew what she was talking about when it came to whatever it is she was trying to demonstrate here.

– For example, why are they called TURKISH get-ups in the first place? Why not Canadian get-ups or Vulcan get-ups? Why do the Turks get all the love?

It seems back in the day, and I assume present day too, the Turks were kind of badass. I forget what term Mark used, but he described the form of grappling they typically trained their warriors in, and how they used to do so all oiled up.

You know how hard it is to grip or grab something that’s all wet or sweaty, right? Well imagine that only 100x more challenging and homoneurotic (depending on what your definition of an ideal Friday night is)3

Anyways, waaaaaaay back in the day, in order to even be considered “man enough” to train and to learn how to fight the Turks made it a prerequisite you had to perform a get-up with close to a 100 lb kettlebell (give or take a few lb’s). While fighting a grizzly with your free hand!

Okay, I made that last part up….but still. WTF!!!!!

Point: Turks. Well played.

– Another tidbit I didn’t realize was that Mark is the guy who implemented the high bridge into the get-up! This isn’t to say he feels this is the correct way to do the get-up, but rather to suggest there’s more than one approach to any given component.

To transition from the seated overhead position to the half kneeling position you can do so in a variety of ways depending on preference and/or limitations. You can use the basic leg sweep, the leg switcharoo (<— where you essentially stay seated the entire time, switch leg positions, then stand up), the two-legged squat approach, or the high bridge.

– According to Mark he was toying around with the high bridge one day (as it emulated a specific move in his favorite form of fighting), and he and Gray Cook had an Ah-HA moment! The high bridge, when you pause to think about it, “clears” people from hip flexor limitations. If they can’t get full hip extension, their hip flexors may be a limitation.

Again, as Mark adamantly noted, the high bridge IS NOT a requirement!!! He’s not married to one way or the other with regards to completing the movement. It just comes down to personal preference.

– The get-up should be a controlled movement!  If you have to speed up in order to complete any one step, you lack stability. Speed = instability!!!!

As I alluded to above, when done correctly, the get-up should take upwards of 60s PER SIDE!!!

– Mark prefers to using anywhere from 20-24kg for his get-ups and “grease the groove.” He can go higher – much higher – but that’s not necessarily the point of the exercise. It’s to do shit right (my words, not his. But I know he wouldn’t disagree).

In short: SLOW DOWN!!!!!!

2. Thanks to everyone who went out of their way to send me B-day wishes yesterday. As you can tell I had a rough day.

Lisa snapped this pic in the middle of the afternoon as I was taking a nap. I fell asleep watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey for the 17th time.

Don’t worry, though. I recovered nicely, took off my lame hat, and Lisa and I went to an amazing dinner last night with our friends Pat and Brianne.

A quick nod to Sarma (located in Somerville, MA) for an unreal menu and dinner.

3. Deadlifts!!!!

Last year my good friend, Dave Dellanave, released what I felt was one of the best deadlift(centric) resources I had ever come across  – Off the Floor.

It just so happens that after receiving feedback and testimonials over the past year, Dave’s fine tuned his program and has added a bunch of new content and add-ons.

As if listening to a guy who has deadlifted 3x bodyweight on three different deadlift variations – not to mention owning a few world records to boot – wasn’t enough, Off the Floor now includes three different programs (beginner, intermediate, and advanced), a slew of new grip challenges, in addition to just under an hour of new video content (including Dave talking about the concept of autoregulation).

It’s off the hook and something I feel would be an excellent addition to anyone interested in improving their deadlift; or just their overall level of badassery in general.

For more info you can go HERE (<—- link to an article, not a sales page).

4. Seriously, how freakin cute is my cat?

CategoriesUncategorized

Tripwires and How They Can Help Improve Your Deadlift

A few months ago I picked up a copy of the New York Times best-selling book Decisive by Chip and Dan Heath, who also penned doozies like Made to Stick and Switch, which cover a gauntlet of human behavorial novelties. 

This is important because as a fitness professional, and as someone who works with people who generally like to make excuses on why they can’t train on any given day – a headache, car troubles, explosive diarrhea – anything I can do to better equip myself to better understand people and why they do what they do is a win in my book.

Although to some degree common sense enters the mix.With regards to the latter (explosive diarrhea), maybe not hitting up the local taqueria and crushing a plate of fully-loaded f bean burritos the night prior would be a good idea, mmmmkay?

With Decisive, while the principal theme tackles one of the most critical topics in our work and personal lives – Namely, how to make better decisions – there were also several other “mini” themes that I felt were every bit as interesting.

Take for example the notion of setting tripwires in our daily lives. As the authors note, “couldn’t we all use a few tripwires in our lives? We’d have a “trigger weight” that signaled the need to exercise more, or a trigger date on the calendar that reminded us to ask whether we’re investing enough in our relationships. Sometimes the hardest part of making a good decision is knowing there’s one to be made.”

One of the more shining examples of a tripwire noted in the book revolved around the band Van Halen.  The band’s eclectic and often acerbic lead singer, David Lee Roth, was known to be quite the diva back in the day.

Or was he?

Van Halen was one of the first bands in the mid 1980s to really make a name for themselves through their elaborate shows. As Roth recalled, “We’d pull up with nine eighteen-wheeler trucks, full of gear, where the standard was three trucks, max.”

To put it lightly:  the band’s production design was astonishingly complex.  And, as the authors noted from Roth, the contract specifying the setup was, “like reading a version of the Chinese Yellow Pages,” because it was so technical and complex it was like reading a foreign language.

To make a long story short:  Van Halen had it’s own road crew, but because of the elaborateness of their show much of the prep work had to be done beforehand, before the eighteen-wheelers arrived.

Another thing to consider was the risk of injury to the band.  Because of all the pyrotechnics, lights, smoke, and ninjas (<—okay, no ninjas), the band was often worried that something may go wrong, and because their traveling schedule was a shit show they really didn’t have enough time to do a top to bottom check to make sure every thing was in place and that every bolt was secure.

How, then, would the band know that they were at risk?

A Bowl of M&Ms (That’s How)

One of the more egregious stories of the band back then was how they had it in their contract (the one mentioned above) to have a bowl of M&Ms placed backstage with all the brown ones removed.

Not surprisingly many deemed this an a-hole, diva(ish) move on their part.  But in reality it DID serve a purpose – mainly as a tripwire for the band to be on alert.

As the author’s state in the book, the band’s “M&M clause” was written into its contract to serve a very specific purpose.  It was called Article 126, and it read as follows:

“There will be no brown M&Ms in the backstage area, upon pain of forfeiture of the show, with full compensation.”

The article was buried in the middle of countless technical specifications for the set-up of the show.

The bowl of M&Ms served as a tripwire for Roth and the band to quickly ascertain whether or not the venue took the time to carefully read the manual, and whether or not that took the necessary precautions to do shit right (my words, not the author’s).

If they (Van Halen) saw brown M&Ms they knew, right away, that the stagehands didn’t read the manual and that their safety may be in jeopardy.

So obviously this serves as a nice segue to deadlifts.

It’s no secret that I have an arguably unhealthy affinity towards deadlifts.  I love deadlifts, and feel there’s no exercise that comes close to providing as many benefits.

And as luck would have it, my friend, and soon to be married to the lovely Jen Sinkler, David Dellanave, talk about a super couple, just released his new product titled Off the Floor:  A Manual For Deadlift Domination.

As you can imagine when David reached out to me and asked if I’d be interested in reading an advance copy, he had me at the word ‘dead.”  There was really no need for the lift part.

Now I’ve read my fair share of deadlifting manuals, and while I never grow tired of reading them, many of them often have the same message and it’s rare when I learn something new.

Looking into my own mirror I’ve been struggling to attain the lauded 600 lb deadlift for years now.  It’s a number that I’ve come close to – my best pull is 570 lbs – but for some reason, whether it’s due to some low back issue, stagnancy, fatigue, or any number of other things, I haven’t been able to achieve it.

It wasn’t until I read Dave’s manual where the whole idea of tripwires hit me over the head.

I know whenever I start to push the envelop and ramp up my DL training, I’ll inevitably hit a point where one of a few things happens:

1.  My back gives me the middle finger.

2.  I’m overcome by a drained feeling.

3.  I grow frustrated and end up pouting in the corner. *slams door*

The cool thing about Dave’s manual – and there are many – is the point he hammers home about Biofeedback.  In short:  unlike Van Halen, as much as you’d like to, you can’t feel like a rock star every single day of the week.  Likewise, you can’t always pull heavy (whether it’s heavy singles or doubles or triples) to the point where you shit a spleen and expect to make concerted progress.

Too, who says you always have to pull with the same variation? I know I tend to gravitate towards conventional pulling, but have been toying around with more of a narrow sumo stance lately and I love it.  On that topic, Dave himself has pulled 3x bodyweight in three separate deadlifting variations, including the Jefferson deadlift, at around 608 lbs.

Like, whoa.

Getting to the heart of the matter, what Dave’s manual taught me – other than how close minded I’ve been when it comes to listening to my body – is that I need to establish my own tripwires, and understand that getting better at deadlifting isn’t necessarily always about grinding out reps.

Deadifting more often (fluctuating frequency, and intensity) may be the answer for some, which is something he hits on in this manual extensively.

Choosing a different variation may be the answer as well.  As an example, I never really thought about choosing grip specific pulls like the Reeves deadlift to help work on weak links.

And maybe most important of all just learning to listen to your body.  Maybe you’re utilizing the wrong variation and that’s why your back hurts?  Maybe you’ve been training at a high(er) percentage for too long, and just need to ramp down the intensity?

Who knows – it could be anything!  But this manual really helped to shed some light on my own training, and I can only imagine it will help do the same for many who are reading this right now.

For more information, check out the link below. For a mere $49 it’s a steal. I promise it’s unlike anything you’ve read before.

–> Off the Floor: A Manual For Deadlift Domination <–