A dead lift is like a super power
A dead lift is like a super power
You know in movies how a super power can do amazing things when in the hands of the hero but when in the hands of the villain, the consequences are dire? Well that is how I think of dead lifts.
I have seen many patients who, when doing a dead lift, had instant, significant low back pain. Sometimes, if the patient is lucky, the diagnosis is muscle spams; for the not so lucky it is an injured disk. For these patients either they did not understand proper technique or were too fatigued to maintain the proper technique.
On the other hand, when done properly, a dead lift can be the best exercise for strengthening the posterior chain, reversing quad dominance, creating healthy hip mobility and stretching the facia of the back, gluts, hamstrings and calves.
So, some of the key things to keep the super power in the right hands:
- Spread toes and plant whole foot on the ground. Weight will be in the heels but maintain contact on the floor with all toes.
- To create your bend down to the bar you must hinge at the hip and allow the hips to be behind the plane of your body, with the weight in your heels.
- If your back is rounding, you are loading your discs so, there must be a flattening or slight lordosis to the low back.
- Look forward, not down – chest is open, not collapsed 5. Feel the muscle contraction in the gluts and hamstrings as you come up. If the effort is felt in the back, check your form or lighten the load.
And share the well executed super power….yours gets even stronger when you do ; )