DEADLIFT: Starting with the Hips too Low
This is the king of all mistakes I see. Too many times lifters try to squat the weight up
rather than pull the weight. Think back to the number of times you’ve seen a big deadlift
and thought to yourself how much more the lifter could’ve pulled if he didn’t damn near
stiff-leg it? I see it all the time. Someone will say, “Did you see his deadlift?” Then the
other guy will comment, “Yeah, and he stiff-legged the thing.” Am I telling you to stiff-leg
your deadlifts? No, not at all.
All I want you to do is look at your hip position at the start of the lift when you pull and
watch how much your hips move up before the weight begins to break the floor. This is
wasted movement and does nothing except wear you out before the pull. The closer you
can keep your hips to the bar when you pull, the better the leverages are going to be.
Once again, next time you see a great deadlifter, stand off to the side and watch how
close his or her hips stay to the bar throughout the pull. If you’re putting your ass to the
floor before you pull, your hips are about a mile from the bar. You’re setting yourself up for
disaster when the lever arm is this long. This is also the second reason why lifters can’t get
the bar off the floor. The first reason is very simple: the bar is too heavy!
You need to find the perfect spot where your hips are close to the bar, your shoulders are
behind the bar, your lower back is arched, your upper back rounded, your belly full of air
and you can pull toward your body. Nobody ever said it was going to be easy, but then
again, what is? Definitely not training in a commercial health club…