All About Dead Lifts

All about Dead Lifts

The Dead Lift is one of those must have staples to almost any exercise program. The Dead Lift can have many different roles in a program, it can be a functional exercise, a strength exercise, a stability exercise, a power movement, or even a mass builder. In this blog segment we are going to take a look at some of the most common variations of the Dead Lift and demonstrate how to perform each movement correctly for different results.

When I think of the name DEAD Lift, this image comes to mind:

Its kind of true because a Dead Lift can totally kick your ass! Literally!

The Classic Dead Lift

The original Dead Lift is the virtually the same movement as a Squat, the main difference is that with a Squat you push, and with a Dead Lift you pull.

A picture of a Squat to parallel.                                          A picture of a Dead Lift

With the traditional Barbell Dead Lift you begin with your feet approximately shoulder width apart and the bar positioned just over the balls of your feet. You bend your knees as far as you can and stick your butt way out, keep the back straight, chest up, and look straight ahead. By looking straight ahead you maintain proper spinal positioning. You then pull the bar up in a straight line as you stand tall, using your quads and glutes. By squeezing your glutes as you stand up you reduce the stress on your lumbar region. A variation of this movement w ould be to use dumbells instead of a barbell as illustrated below. This exercise will work all the major muscles in the lower body and posterior chain.

The Straight-Leg Dead Lift (SLDL)

Contrary to the title of the exercise, when performing the SLDL the legs should not be totally straight. Below are examples of a correct and incorrect version of this exercise:

                      Correct                                                                    Incorrect

The primary goal or objective of this exercise is to load the glutes and hamstrings, however you cannot fully activate the hamstrings if the knees are locked out. It is easiest to begin this exercise with the weight on a rack and load from a standing position. Bend your knees slightly, keep your back straight, chin up, and stick your butt waaaay out until you feel a really good stretch in the glutes and hamstrings. Get as much range of motion (ROM) as you can, the more flexible you are, the farther you will be able to stretch. Some people may need to stand on a box to get more ROM. From a fully stretched position, you lift the weight almost entirely with your glutes and hamstring muscles. You accomplish this by thrusting your hips forward. Using your hips to lift the weight and not the back is essential towards both avoiding injury, and getting the most benefit out of the exercise.

 Single Leg SLDL

The Single Leg SLDL is a very functional exercise that can also be a muscle builder when used in the right context. This exercise is performed the same as a regular SLDL, except standing on one leg. The Single Leg SLDL is fantastic for generating, balance, stability, spacial awareness, and it does actually require an exceptional amount of strength. (For those traditional Bodybuilders that poo-poo the idea of anything functional, your probably not strong enough to do it anyways. Yes that was a dare. Hehe)

Sumo Dead Lifts

Sumo Dead Lifts are great for isolating the inner thighs. These are far more effective than those inner thigh machines you see women relentlessly on at the gym. These also work the Quads, Glutes, and Hamstrings as well.  With these you take a wide stance, approximately 2 shoulder widths apart, and point your toes outwards slightly. You can grab any weight, a barbell, a dumbbell, a medicine ball, or you can even use a cable machine. You perform this movement just like a regular Dead Lift, keeping your back straight and engaging your hips to lift.

The Dead Lift for developing the Back (AKA Partial Dead Lifts, or Top End Dead Lifts)

This type of Dead Lift is specific to developing the Lats, Traps, Spinal erectors and Rhomboids. This is the only situation where you do not want to load the glutes and hamstrings. You stretch the back, as opposed to keeping it perfectly straight, and you do not go all the way down, you only go within the range of activation of your back. When you feel your back stop stretching and your legs start, you have gone too far. Typically on average knee height on most people would be considered “full range” for the purposes of isolating the back. Feet are approximately shoulder width apart, and keep your chin up like all the other movements for spinal stability. When you reach the top of the movement, lean back and squish your shoulder blades together. You could potentially also combine this into a shrug if you desired. This movement is excellent for developing back thickness.

I hope you enjoyed this review of the Dead Lift, Happy Training!!

Brandi