How to PROPERLY Deadlift for Growth (5 Easy Steps), by Jeremy Ethier on YouTube. 8 min 3 s.
- Video length
- 8 min 3 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Load a light barbell and stand with the bar sitting over your shoelaces, in the middle of your foot. Set your feet about hip-width apart with your toes pointing forward.
Stack your hips and ribs. Tilt your pelvis back until it feels flat, flatten your ribs by bracing your core, then squeeze your glutes and inner thighs together and stand tall.
Make a fist with each hand and push them straight down under your shoulders. Push your hips back as far as you can without your big toes lifting off the floor.
When your hips stop moving back, bend your knees and bring your shins to the bar. Keep lowering until your hands hook onto the bar just outside your knees.
Build the wedge. Drive your knees out against your arms, take a deep breath into all sides of your belly, brace like someone is about to punch your stomach, lift your chest and squeeze your armpits to tighten your lats.
Push the floor away with your feet instead of yanking the bar. Build the pressure gradually, keep your arms loose like hooks, and let your hips and chest rise at the same rate with the bar close to your legs.
Once the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward to stand tall. Finish with hips, ribs, shoulders and chin stacked in a line, glutes squeezed and no arch in your lower back.
To lower, push your hips back and slide the bar down your thighs. After it passes your kneecaps, bend your knees and slide it down your shins until it sits over your mid-foot. Touch the floor gently, reset your brace and start the next rep.
Tips and common mistakes
Start with an empty bar or very light plates until the positions feel automatic, then add weight slowly.
Film one set from the side so you can check that your hips and shoulders rise together and the bar stays against your legs.
Stop the set if you feel sharp lower back pain or your back rounds, rather than pushing through it.
Do not lean back or bounce the bar off the floor at the top and bottom of each rep.
Questions
How heavy should I start?
Use an empty bar or a weight you can lift for 8 to 10 clean reps with the same form on every rep. Add a small amount of weight only when the last rep looks as tidy as the first.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Three to four sets of 5 to 8 reps is a common starting point for learning the lift. Rest a couple of minutes between sets so your brace stays strong.
Should my arms bend during the lift?
No. Keep your arms straight and relaxed like ropes or hooks. Your legs and hips move the bar, and bending your arms can strain your biceps.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
