Should you add the Deadlift into your resistance training routine?
Trent Taylor
Member, Practitioner, AFS Staff admin
Hey everyone! If you’re interested in deadlifting but not sure about the implications on your lower back, here’s a rundown on the movement and how it can help improve your lower back pain as well as tips on how to perform them:)
History and Low Back Pain
The deadlift goes back a long way as a popular compound lower body movement for power lifters, body builders, and competitive strongmen. However, with its popularity among veteran gym attendants, also comes an infamous reputation with doctors and lower back injury risk. In many cases, if you have or have been experiencing chronic low back pain and lift weights, chances are your Primary Care Physician (PCP) has told you to stop deadlifting (assuming that you are) or to stay away from that type of activity all together as it could agitate. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Much of the recent research on lower back pain indicates that incorporating the deadlift into your training can actually improve your range of motion, strength, joint dexterity and reduce lower back pain level significantly.
Lower back pain can stem from a multitude of reasons. Just because you experience low back pain doesn’t mean it’s for the same reason as the person next to you. The simplest explanation to why you have chronic low back pain is due to a weak posterior chain. That is, the muscles that lay on your backside aren’t as strong as the ones in front of you. This would include muscles such as your Traps, Lats, Rhomboids, Quadtratus Lumborum (the deep muscles in your lower back), Glutes, and hamstrings.
If you want to know more about low back pain, check out this discussion!:) https://afs.vanillacommunities.com/discussion/22/recreational-low-back-pain
The Deadlift Movement
There are many shapes and sizes of this movement and that’s why it’s important to find the one that fits you best:)
The two most common forms of the Barbell style Deadlift are the Conventional and Sumo. Which one of these is the “right” one, depends on the individual. The set up and execution for these are slightly different but the movement as a whole remains relatively the same.
The Bar starts on the ground, with the middle of your feet directly under the bar. Depending on your style, you’ll appropriate your stance, grip the bar, take a deep breath, Drive through your heels and glutes to lift the bar to a fully locked position at the top. Here are some important considerations when setting up for the lift:
Stance:
- This will depend on two factors; what style you’re choosing and what your comfortable stance is within that style.
- Conventional lifts will typically be a stance that you’re comfortable performing a vertical jump squat from. Generally, outside of your hips.
- Sumo will be much wider, a little bit more than shoulder, and have a slight external rotation of your feet. This might depend on how wide you go, as a wider stance might require more external rotation of your feet.
Grip:
- Four main grips can be used for either style of lift.
o Double Overhand
o Mixed Grip
o Hooked Grip
o Double Overhand with straps
- The first double overhand might not be the best one to use, as it won’t let you grip very much weight when you start to go heavier.
- The mixed is the most common/popular as it is mainly utilized in power lifting meets and competitions. This aids in resisting the rolling of the bar towards your fingers, unlike the double overhand.
- The hooked grip requires you to lock your thumbs under your fingers and you grip the bar, putting a lot of pressure in them. Drawbacks include if you have short fingers, you might not e able to use it and it hurts a lot.
- The double overhand with straps is the same as the first grip style, but eliminates the drawback of having the bar roll, as the straps aid in keeping the bar pulling straight down.
Make sure you breathe!
- When you get ready to move the bar, take a big, deep breath in, making sure the majority of the air being held is in your diaphragm. This will allow you to get more torso expansion and intrabdominal pressure. This will make the lift much safer.
- Exhale at the top of the lift, taking in another fresh breath before the next rep(s).
The Pull
- There are several techniques for how you initiate the pull on this movement. Rather than draw out each in length, check out the attached videos of the different styles.
- One thing to consider is this is entirely preferential. There’s no “one right” way to go for either movement so play around with all of them and see which one floats your boat:)
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjf25BRutCo
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD_kxmuzM6U
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWyinL_e33U
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCVJ1z_6Og4
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHAGWB0laDw (not for novice lifters!)
§ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpAxvWeq3YY
Lowering the Bar
- The better method for lowering the bar is going down the same path you came up. This allows for more eccentric control, which current research shows to be a bigger proponent of muscle growth;) YAY!
How will this help your low back pain?
By incorporating all of the muscles and mechanics listed earlier, this movement hits everything at once to work in unison. This will greatly increase your posterior back extensors such as the glutes, hamstrings, while keeping your lower back safe from over extending. With the core and back muscles engaged, this will also help keep the lower lumbar area intact, reducing any risk to hyperextension or unwanted shear forces.
Incorporating the Deadlift into your routine
This will depend on a variety of factors including other orthopedic contraindications, frequency of training, and fitness level. My recommendation for beginners is to incorporate it once a week in your lifts. Doesn’t have to be super heavy or a lot of sets, maybe just 2-3 to start with a moderate amount of weight to get the movement mechanics down. As you start to feel more comfortable with it, start adding days of training and weight to see how your progress goes:)
Now get out there and lift some things up and put them down!
Comments
Great read! Thanks man!
Thanks @Trent Taylor for reminding us of the power of the deadlift. Awesome.
Ok, ok.. Im gonna do it 😜 Awesome article T!
Trent, as my personal practitioner, I’d be only slightly offended if you didn’t add deadlifts to my next program. 😃
Please and thank you 🙏🏼 🏋🏻♀️
@Erica Brinkman On it boss!
I'm with Erica! @Eileen McNally ... you know what to do! Great article, @Trent Taylor ! With lower back pain from time to time (but improving thanks to strength and weight loss) I appreciate reading that moves like these aren't to be feared. Such a good read!
Why would anyone do the hooked grip? That sounds terrible, or like you'd have to have REALLY giant hands to make that work.
@Beth Manoogian i have no clue haha. The physics of it keep the bar from slipping and rolling down your fingers but that pain is not worth it haha.
@Heather Quinlan You got it girlie!!
Thank you for this @Trent Taylor - you are so wise :) Personally, I have been sumo deadlifting waaaay more than conventional. Great reminder that I don't have to lift super heavy on conventional and that this could help with LBP.
What about the Hex Bar Deadlift style? Let's talk about that guys! Do you think that could be good to do before the conventional BB Deadlift? Just because the spine is loaded slightly different?
Okay, see ya in the strength room!
Eileen McNally BS, CPT, RYT
AGENT OF CHANGE
Applied Fitness Solutions Rochester Hills