Learn the Set Up and Technique for Conventional Deadlifts | Beginner Strength Tips
The deadlift (aka the hinge) is one of seven movements that should be included in your training, for your general health and functional strength.
Learning how to properly perform the deadlift can improve your strength and muscle mass, decrease risk of injury from weakness or imbalance, and allow you to feel more capable within your daily life and movement.
Today we’re going over proper set-up and technique for the conventional deadlift!
Why You Should Deadlift
Our body has seven functional movement patterns that it needs to perform regularly in order for us to maintain our joint and bone health. When we neglect these movements for long periods of time, it can and often does lead to muscle imbalances (such as underactive glutes), which then can lead to common injuries like low back pain.
In order to prevent pain/injury and improve your overall health, you can learn to properly activate and utilize these muscles. Learning how to conventional deadlift is one method for keeping our body healthy in the ways that our body naturally wants to move.
Is deadlifting safe for everyone?
Many worry about performing deadlifts due to past injuries, or from hearing that “deadlifts are bad for you.” While some people shouldn’t immediately go into deadlifting, post people are safe to learn how to do so. Exercise caution when it comes to recent or past injuries or if you’re experiencing sharp/shooting pain when practicing.
If you’re worried about whether deadlifting is safe for you, working with a physical therapist can be key to building up your strength after injuries or pain. You can also work with a corrective exercise specialist (link Bryan) who can work with you after graduating from physical therapy and/or if you haven’t had recent injuries, but need help with correcting muscular imbalances and weakness.
Overall, if you start out with gradual progressions and learn the technique, deadlifts can help prevent injury and create a safer (and stronger) body for you to exist in.
Choosing Your Deadlift Style
There are several variations of deadlifts that can be performed. The conventional deadlift is my personal favorite for functional strength, as it’s the variation (or stance) that many tend to utilize in everyday life when picking something up from the ground.
That said, it’s encouraged that you learn multiple variations of the movement, as we are complex humans that can and do move in complex ways. Training different variations strengthens and targets the muscles differently.
The other deadlift variations you can perform are sumo deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, stiff leg deadlifts, and single leg deadlifts.
Learning the Set-Up
Setting up properly for your deadlifts ensures that you're starting off in the best position for safe and powerful form. Here’s a basic breakdown of how to set-up for your deadlifts!
Step 1: Walk up to the bar: make sure that the bar is straight on the platform.
Step 2: Place your feet about shoulder-width apart under the bar. You can also try the “jump method” for your stance, which is where you start from a comfortable standing position and jump into the air. The position that your feet land is typically the stance that's biomechanically the strongest and most efficient for your conventional deadlift. This is often a good starting point, but you can adjust your footing as needed!
Step 3: Position the barbell so that it’s mid-foot when looking down. The barbell will usually line up with the top of your shoelaces.
Step 4: Push your hips back and grab the bar. Be sure you’re not dropping your butt down, but instead hinging at your hips.
Step 5: Bring your shins to the bar and flatten your back.
Step 6: Pull the slack out of the bar. You'll know you've pulled the slack out when you hear the clicking of the plates against the bar.
Step 7: Begin your lift!!
This set up helps to keep your center of balance over your feet, allowing for a straight bar path for perfect execution of your deadlift. With practice, this process will become more natural for you.
Performing the Deadlift
Your lift begins when the plates leave the floor and doesn’t end until you set the weights back down, with control.
As the bar leaves the floor, it’s important to keep your entire body tight, especially within your back, core, and legs. All of the actual work should be coming from the power within your legs; be careful not to pull with your arms.
Envision driving your feet through the floor, similar to how you would drive your feet on the platform with a leg press machine.
Keep the bar against your shins and legs throughout the lift. Tension should remain in your body all the way until lock out. As you release the bar back down to the floor, be sure that you are still in full control of the bar. Dropping the bar after lock-out takes away from the eccentric portion of the lift, which is an important part of muscle-growth and strength.
Bar Path
Once you get started, you might want to assess your form and technique. One easy way you can do this on your own is to set up a video from the side angle and watch your bar path.
A straight bar path is an indicator of good technique and balance. When striving for good form within the deadlift, we’re looking for the bar to move up and down in a straight motion.
This keeps the center of balance over your feet and allows your body to remain in the most stable and strongest position.
If you move too far forward or backward on your feet/heels/toes, you’ll throw your center of balance off. This is oftentimes where you’ll put extra tension and emphasis on areas that you don’t necessarily mean to target, such as the low back.
Don’t expect yourself to be perfect with your form right off the bat. Doing a couple of (or several) incorrect reps is part of the learning process. This is why it’s important to start with lighter weight until you’ve mastered your technique at your current level.
Common Mistakes
Making mistakes especially at the beginning, is completely normal. Deadlifts can be a complex movement to learn, so let’s go over some of the technique issues you may come across and how you can correct each of them.
Practicing and progressing the Technique
If you feel like you need additional practice with just getting the form down, there are ways you can progress your practice until you get more comfortable with working with the standard barbell.
Start with practicing on a PVC pipe. Many non-commercial or powerlifting gyms have them set up in the warm-up or mobility areas. You can also practice at home with a broomstick or even just by visualizing yourself holding a barbell. This will help you get the motion and movement down, without the pressure of holding something heavier.
Once you’re comfortable with that, you can progress by adding some weight. You can grab two lightweight dumbbells or kettlebells (10-30 lbs total), or whatever feels most comfortable. You can progress as slow as you need; what’s important is that you’re confident and comfortable with your form.
The standard barbell weights 45 lbs, so once you’ve worked up to holding a total of 40 pounds in your hands, you should be comfortable with working with the barbell.
You’ll start without weight on the bar and then begin practicing and working with more added weight.
As you progress and reach new levels, technique will always be a practice. You may find yourself needing reminders to correct form and technique, even at the most advanced levels. No one is perfect and we’re not meant to be, but what’s important is that you’re lifting safely, feeling strong, feeling confident, and improving your health and wellness along the way.
How to Incorporate Deadlifts into Your Training Routine
When adding deadlifts to your program, there are a few good options as to where to place them. The most common places you’ll see deadlifts programmed are on leg days, back days, or full body days.
As a rule of thumb, deadlifts are placed at the beginning of your workout. This is because they’re a compound movement that requires a good amount of energy to perform safely. Even when practicing technique with lighter weight, its best to perform as your first priority in the workout, or on a separate day.
As far as deadlift frequency, training or practicing 1-2x per week will be enough volume for most people to maintain or improve strength. Starting out with once a week is always a good option to avoid overtraining (or doing too much too soon).
Final Notes
If conventional deadlifts aren’t already a part of your lifting plan, we hope we’ve helped you better understand how to start adding them to your routine safely and with more confidence!
