The Deadlift is the most effective basic compound strength training exercise for building large muscle mass and developing the bodybuilder's strength. Unfortunately, in today's environment, we rarely see an athlete who spends most of their training in the power rack area. Yes, this is understandable. The authoritative three whales of basic training - bench press, deadlift and squats are quite energy-intensive exercises, which means they will require real and very productive strength work from you. You are unlikely to be able to chat with a partner after the next approach in the classical or Romanian deadlift, you simply cannot do it, there is not enough air. It is hyperventilation of the lungs and profuse sweating that are important practical indicators that you are working with a suitable working weight of the projectile and the exercise is being effective.

What muscle groups work when performing a deadlift

When performing a deadlift exercise, approximately 75% of the athlete's muscles are included in the work. Muscle groups experience several types of muscle contraction - concentric, eccentric and isometric. The work involves the ankle, knee, hip joints, as well as the junction of the spine and pelvis. When performing the exercise, the spine experiences a strong compression load along its entire length. The load on the muscles of the hands has a discontinuous character. It is very important when performing deadlift to exclude the presence of problems of the elbow joint and inflammation of the ligaments. In the chronic course of these diseases, deadlift provokes their transition to the acute phase. All movements are performed in the sagittal plane of the exercises.
The deadlift is traditionally performed to work out the rectus muscles, Erector Spinae, but that's not all. When performing a deadlift, the following muscles and muscle groups work: in the ankle joint, the Plantar Flexion movement is performed, where the calf muscles of the lower leg Gastrocnemius and the internal muscle of the lower leg Soleus are the agonist.

In the knee joint, a knee extension movement is performed where the agonist is the quadriceps femoris muscle Quadriceps (Rectus Femoris, Vastus Medialis, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Intermedius).

In the hip joint, with the classical method of traction, the hip extension movement is performed, where the agonist is the biceps muscle biceps femoris Hamstrings (Bicepce Femoris, Semitendinosis, Semimembranosis). With the Romanian method of pulling, these muscles experience a concentric contraction despite the visual absence of hip movement, but they are significantly stretched, which also makes it possible to speak of their work as the work of agonist muscles.

In both cases, in addition to the biceps femoris, the agonist is the gluteus maximus maximus.
At the junction of the spine and pelvis, there is a movement of straightening or extension of the back, where the agonists are the rectus muscles of the Erector Spinae. In addition to the listed muscles, the latissimus dorsi and rhomboid muscles of the Romboids, the trapezius muscles of the Trapezius, the biceps of the Biceps Brachii and the muscles of the forearms are included in the work.

Exercise technique

Visually, there is nothing complicated when performing a deadlift exercise. But both for the classical, and, especially, for the Romanian variants of the exercise, an acquired skill and automatism are needed. Exercise is very traumatic, this must always be taken into account before starting work. The bar is located on the plinths (rarely) or on the platform, the athlete approaches the bar, puts his feet at a distance slightly wider than his shoulders, the feet are parallel or the toes are slightly apart, bends over making a deflection in the lumbar back to fix it throughout the movement. He takes the bar with his hands at a shoulder-width distance, tears the bar off the platform and first begins to straighten his legs at the knees with simultaneous straightening of the back until the spine is completely straightened and fixed in the position of minimal hyperextension (slight backward tilt) of the rectus dorsi muscles. In the Romanian version of the deadlift, the legs remain straight and only the back extension occurs, and therefore the Romanian version of the deadlift is preferable to be performed by experienced athletes with impeccable skill.
1. The athlete’s stance should not be too close to the bar of the bar; when lifting the projectile, the bar can only slightly touch the shins (slide). If the stance is far, then at the initial moment the balance will be disturbed and a large load will fall on the lumbar spine, and this can lead to a serious back injury.

2. The most important moment in the execution of the deadlift is the moment of separation of the projectile from the platform. And there are certain nuances. How the higher the athlete's pelvis is located at the initial moment of movement, the greater the load falls on the lumbar spine. This is the fundamental difference in the technique of performing two types of deadlift - classical weightlifting and Romanian. In the first case, the athlete's pelvis is lowered as much as possible, the main load at the initial moment of movement falls on the legs, fixation at the upper point of the exercise is easier due to the initially straight back. In the second case, the entire weight of the projectile is “pulled out” by the back, the load on the back is huge, which makes it difficult to complete the final phase of the movement and to clearly fix it correctly. Find your own way of performing the exercise, depending on your priorities, or successfully use both techniques.

3. The deadlift exercise should always be performed slowly and at a constant speed. No jerks or accelerations are allowed. The speed of the exercise does not change from the starting point of the movement to the complete fixation of the projectile with a straight back, the movement is smooth and uniform, especially the lift off of the bar. A sharp jerk will play a cruel joke with you. The fact is that if you try to “pull” the bar, your back will instantly bend and your pelvis will rise, which is anatomically unfavorable when performing the exercise. Raising the bar a dozen centimeters, you can get a pinched nerve, or worse, break your back. A uniform and slow lift-off solves this problem, and the inertia of the projectile is especially felt after passing the midpoint of the rod's trajectory.

4. Usually deadlift is not as demanding on the athlete's equipment as, for example, squats with a barbell. But shoes should be soft and comfortable. And of course, before each new approach, it is recommended to wear a weightlifting belt. To ensure effective study of the rectifiers of the back, it is recommended to use hand straps to wrap around the bar. With straps, you will be able to perform the exercise with solid weights, this is important. Since the deadlift involves performing an exercise with a working weight exceeding your own by 1.5 - 2 times, the absence of girth belts will not allow you to complete the movement cleanly and efficiently, weak hands will make themselves felt. This is normal, the hands are trained according to a separate program, the goal of the deadlift is to work out the extensors of the back, and not the hands. AT In exceptional cases, you can use a "grip" that will allow you to complete the movement. But more professional will be the use of wrist straps.

Remarks and comments

Before starting the deadlift, check the working area. Determine the weight values ​​of the neck, bar plates, locks. Set the pancakes in the same sequence on each side and fix the weight with locks. Never deadlift without bar locks! When pancakes move to the side and balance is disturbed at the moment of lifting the barbell, the compression load on the lower back is large and the anatomical force application vector is located so that the possibility of injury is close to 100%. Eliminate slipping of the brushes on the barbell. Use chalk, special gloves or lap belts.

Perform the stance correctly, the load during the deadlift should be evenly distributed over the entire area of ​​​​the supporting surface - the feet. Do not allow the weight of the projectile to be transferred to the front of the feet and toes. The reason is the same for which you can not train with a barbell without locks. When performing the next approach, exclude the possible “beating off” of the bar from the floor, it is better not to touch the floor with pancakes at all, but to start moving up after the bar reaches the lowest possible position without touching the floor (with the exception of heavy weight, where each approach is performed after lowering the bar to the platform). Fix your head and do not twist your neck, this can cause loss of balance and serious injury to the spine.

If at the moment of lifting the barbell you realize that you will not be able to complete the movement, do not throw the barbell onto the platform, but slowly complete the exercise at a constant speed. Do not try to figure out your only maximum RM1 in the deadlift, only professionals and athletes with a long history of strength work (3-5 years) can afford it. For the same reason, the deadlift is not included in various supersets and forced repetitions. This exercise requires thoughtful and measured work.

And the last thing: if you have or had injuries of the spine and back muscles, a spinal curvature was