DEADLIFT PERFECT FORM

Good deadlifting technique will ensure that when things get serious and you begin to pile more weight onto each end of the bar, you can rip it off the floor rather than ripping a muscle

ESSENTIALS

Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, grasp the bar with your hands just outside your legs. Lift the bar by driving your hips forwards, keeping a flat back. Lower the bar under control – though once you get up to really heavy weights, it’s OK to drop your final rep.

ADVANCED FORM GUIDE

Deadlifting is all about brute strength executed with sound technique. “Although pulling weight off the floor may sound simple enough, there are actually quite a lot of things you can get wrong,” says Wright. “Poor technique lets down most deadlifters in your average gym, and can cause serious injury. When setting up for your lift remember to pull your shoulders back and your chest out, ‘locking down’ your shoulder blades. This creates tension in your back that will help prevent you from rounding your lower back or having your hips come up too early. Your goal is to drive your hips forwards, so lean back into the lift and squeeze your glutes hard while pressing through your heels into the floor.”

PERFECT TECHNIQUE

Even if you’re a beginner you’ll quickly progress to having at least 100kg on the bar. And when it starts getting serious, you don’t want to lift with suspect technique. “If you find you’re struggling to perform this lift with good technique, then start with some rack pulls - which means setting the bar up in a rack around 30cm off the floor,” says Wright. “You’ll develop the strength in a shorter range of movement.” And if you’re finding that you’re having to grind out every rep, you’ll want to work on your speed. “To help build your deadlift speed, work on heavy kettlebell swings [see opposite]. By firing your hips forwards against the weight of the kettlebell you’ll build stronger glutes and hip drive, supercharging your deadlift power.”