Weight Wednesdays: The Lift That’s Dead

This lift is actually the opposite if its name, if you can believe that. Very alive in the workout plans of any top performing body builder, the dead lift makes for a hell of an addition to any plan in the old fitness center at school. This is because it targets a considerable amount of areas in the body each time you thrust up and down like someone giving air the hump of its life. There are three key parts to a dead lift. They are the

• The Setup
• The Main Drive
• Lockout

For the setup, you will want your legs about should width apart, standing in front of the weight. Now move your shins so they are very close to the bar or touching, and prepare to grab on. Keeping a straight back and looking up, bend your hips and knees so you can grab on to the bar while maintaining good form. This one’s important, don’t let your knees move over your toes. Our high school conditioning coach always had his panties in a bunch about that. No his name wasn’t Caitlyn. It was Bruce… Anyhow, what you will want to do is then move into the actual lift by driving upward through your hips and thrusting forward. Bear in mind that while you do this, you should maintain a straight spine (or like, curved as in the spine’s natural curve). DO NOT allow you back to become rounded while going through the motion. This would look like a hump in your back if you filmed it or watched in the mirror. It is also important to address here that whoever thought up the deadlift in ancient times did not mind a little shin damage. This lift scrapes the crap out of them. I feel a lot like this guy here when I do it to be honest….

That’s why I use that diamond shaped thing instead of a bar! There’s no reason you can’t either, especially if you’re like me and terrified of fubaring your back before your mid-thirties. If using the diamond, this is pretty self-explanatory. Keep the same general form as the traditional, except stand inside the diamond. and grab the handles on either side.

Anyhow, back to that lift you might be in the middle of still. According to Wikipedia in its all knowing, non-citation carrying wisdom, “The finish is the most critical aspect of the motion. This requires being totally erect.” That may not have been the end of the sentence, but my mind is perpetually in a gutter so deal with it. For the lockout, you will want to stand up as straight as possible, flexing all muscles involved, primarily your bum and lower body while keeping your spine straight. While finishing the last rep, make sure to bring the weight down as controlled as possible and stand back up with good posture.