Beginners Should Ditch the Barbell Deadlift & Do These Instead
Don’t be a turtle in your deadlift
When I was in New Jersey last week working out in LA Fitness, I came across a boyfriend trying to teach his girlfriend the deadlift.
It made me cringe.
Her back looked like a turtle shell. I wanted to interject and correct her technique, but I knew that wouldn’t end well with the boyfriend there. So I kept to myself and finished my workout. But now, I feel obligated to write this post on proper deadlifting techniques.
Beginners Should Ditch the Barbell
The deadlift is a hard exercise to learn, especially when starting with a straight barbell. Before teaching a loaded deadlift, I teach the hip hinge first. Once you can perform two sets by 20 reps move on to a loaded variation.
Hip Hinge Exercise Prescription
Fitness Level: beginner
Cue: pull your hips and keep your chest up
Muscles targeted: glutes, hamstrings, and back
Sets: 2-3
Reps: 20
Rest: 30 seconds
Tempo: 21X
lower slowly
pause one second
stand up quickly (push the ground away)
For beginners, I recommend using a kettlebell or dumbbell. I have found them to be some of the best tools to teach the deadlift. Plus, it teaches you how to use your hips properly so that you don’t injure your back when picking things up off the ground.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The deadlift helps prevent lower back pain.
“But Erik, every time I deadlift, my back hurts.”
It is common to feel a slight soreness in the lower back due to the muscles becoming fatigued, but it shouldn’t be painful. Instead, you should feel a slight stretch in the backside of the legs.
KB DL Exercise Prescription
Fitness Level: beginner to intermediate
Cue: pull your hips back and bend your knees
Muscles targeted: glutes, hamstrings, thighs, and back
Sets: 2-5
Reps: 10-20
Rest: 30-90 seconds
Tempo: X02
stand up quickly (push the ground away)
no pause
lower slowly
When done correctly, the deadlift is one of the best exercises for developing strength in the backside muscles of your body, especially the glutes and hamstrings. However, you need to load the movement adequately to challenge these muscle groups. So, once you feel comfortable with the kettlebell, substitute it out for the hex bar.
Hex Bar DL Exercise Prescription
Fitness Level: intermediate to advanced
Cue: pull your hips back and bend your knees
Muscles targeted: glutes, hamstrings, thighs, and back
Sets: 2-5
Reps: 3-15
Rest: 1-3 minutes
Tempo: X02
stand up quickly (push the ground away)
no pause
lower slowly
After you feel comfortable with the hex bar, I recommend progressing onward to the Romanian deadlift, also known as the RDL. The biggest difference between the RDL and a traditional deadlift is the “top-down approach.” Instead of starting from the floor, you will start the movement from a rack and lower the weight down to your knees or the middle of the shin. I have found the top-down approach to be very beneficial for targeting the glutes and the hamstrings. The range of motion will be dependent on your flexibility, but most should lower somewhere between the knee and shin.
the hex bar can be used for this exercise as well
RDL Exercise Prescription
Fitness Level: intermediate to advanced
Cue: pull your hips back and knees back
Muscles targeted: glutes, hamstrings, and back
Sets: 2-5
Reps: 6-15
Rest: 1-3 minutes
Tempo: 30X
lower slowly
no pause
stand up quickly (push the ground away)
Summary
Before wrapping up, I want to state that there are is no such thing as a bad exercise. It all depends on the execution. But I have found certain exercises to be harder to learn than others. The barbell deadlift is one of those exercises, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t perform it. Instead, you should use it when you feel ready and comfortable with the movement.