Happy Hump 🐪 Day, !
STRONG friend, I've got 3 Deadlifting Tips for you today!
First, deadlifts are amazing exercises. It doesn’t matter if you deadlift from the floor in conventional or sumo style or even use the trap bar. This includes the many Romanian Deadlift variations as well. They're all amzing no matter the variations!
They're all fantastic ways to train and build your entire posterior chain, not just your glutes. Your whole backside! Aesthetics are the bonus!
Second of all, deadlifts aren't dangerous; bad form is dangerous!
That's why I want to share three Deadlifting tips. Of course, there are more than 3, but let's start with the main three!
Let's dive
in…
1) Hold the weights properly and what your arms should be doing when you're holding the weights.
- Closed finger grip - grip should be
tight.
- Arms straight and locked out. Your hands are your hooks, and think of your arms as chains.
- And the granddaddy tip - pack your shoulders - you want to pull
them down and back into your back pocket and keep them there. Packing your shoulders engages your lats, which creates tension so that the bar or dumbbells don't move away from the body.
This can be a struggle for some until they master it. My favorite coaching cues for this... visualize two oranges
in your pits and your squeezing orange juice out of them, lol!
2nd helpful cue - pretend I'm trying to tickle you. Haha, you will immediately tighten your arms to your armpits.
Similar to the 2nd cue above - pull your armpits toward your hips.
Try either cue next time you deadlift, whether you are deadlifting from the ground or doing a top-down deadlift - the Romanian Deadlift!
2) Bracing your core to protect your spine and lower back and maintain proper form throughout the movement.
It's important
to set your core correctly to perform a deadlift properly!
Bracing doesn't mean suck-in - pulling the belly to the spine.
The correct way to brace your core is to forcefully take a deep breath into your belly without letting air out. You'll engage your core by pushing the air out into your core/trunk area in a 360-degree fashion.
My cue for this one is take that deep breath in through the mouth or
nose. I like the mouth for some lifts so I can get a bigger breath - close the mouth, breath into my core, and set it by pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth, then do my rep.
Repeat at the top with a deep breath again for each rep.
3) Last, but not least, the correct way to finish your deadlift and cues to help with locking out!
Finish with your glutes, not your lower back. That's a no-no, lol! We want
to avoid leaning into our lower backs. Visual demo of the incorrect and correct way to finish a deadlift!
At the top of the deadlift, we want a tall spine. One of my cues for this is - to think about rooting through the floor - head through the roof - the body would be straight.
Another cue for a tall spine - think tall plank - full body tension with a
nice and straight body.
So, we finish with the glutes. Think glutes, glutes! You'll bring your hips through, finishing with the glutes, not the lower back.
Alright, alright, alright, STRONG friend. I hope these tips are helpful. Let me know if you use any of the cues.
One more, last but not least, lol...
STRONGER Way is open to Friday the 7th. Deets below:
- They're two program versions, Full Gym and Minimal Equipment, and 2 Subscription options.
- Monthly rotating Training
Focus - (April - Single Leg + Core, May - Squats + Chin-ups, June - Juicy Booty June - Glute Building Month)
- Structured, effective, and efficient programming, video demos, form checks & feedback on your lifts, monthly coaching call, support, and on-coaching me throughout the week.
- Training
sessions are 45 - 80 minutes.
- 3x a week training program.
- Full Body workouts - hitting the muscle groups 3 times a week! The gainz will be gaining!
- Dynamic Warm
- Cardio Option
Sign-up here!
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out!
In Strength & to Your Success,
Xo
Candace
