My favourite exercise of all times is the deadlift, an exercise most commonly associated with power lifting. It is the perfect example of an exercise that promotes overall body strength (Groves, 2000), it helps strengthen the legs, hips, back and abdominals. The deadlift is a compound movement and involves the utilisation of multiple joints such as ankle plantar flexion, knee flexion and extension as well as hip flexion and extension. he exercise is optimal as it utilises all major muscle groups in one power movement. It is also an exercise that you can use to continually challenge yourself with and you end up with an incredibly strong back.
A deadlift begins with the knees in and hips in flexion (a squat like position) where the hips remain higher than the knees. The erector spinae muscles are isometrically contracted and the traps act as stabilising muscles by keeping the scapulae in retraction. A bar is placed over the metatarsal area of the feet, which are shoulder-width apart, and the elbows are extended in order to grip the bar. From this position the ascending phase is initiated by simultaneous knee and hip extension. Gluteus maximus and the hamstrings are involved in the hip flexion and the quadriceps in the knee extension. The bar is lifted from the floor up to mid-thigh by the extension of the hips and knees and the erector spinae muscles are contracted concentrically. The hips are pushed slightly forward and the glutes are squeezed. In the descending phase the knees and hips flex simultaneously to return to the starting position. One thing to think about is that force generation increases with a higher bar height (George Et al 2012). Hence, using a proper Olympic bar weights with a larger diameter can be of benefit to your technique and performance.
One of the most important joint movements involved in the deadlift is the hip joint and lumbo-sacral joints. If executed incorrectly one might experience a too great of a load in the lumbar (lower) back area resulting in lower back pain. Incorrect technique can hence lead to an increased risk of accruing injuries. The trick to avoid this is to keep your knees flexed in the start position and to keep the load as close to the body as possible throughout the start position and ascending phase.. When conducting a deadlift the bar should be pulled up and along your shins (shin pads are highly recommended!) this has been seen to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury (Rafael et al, 2000). On the contrary, having the load further away can increase the load placed on the L4/L5 area of the spine (Cholewicki et al 1991).
In terms of injury, a recent case study from Sweden has interestingly enough indicated that the deadlift exercise may be useful in helping lower back pain with a discogenic origin. However, the results were not seen for lower back pain of arthogenic origin (Holmberg, Crantz & Michaelson, 2012). The size of the study limits any conclusions to be drawn about the application of deadlifts in discogenic back treatment and larger scale research is required.
An alternative to the traditional deadlift is the straight legged deadlift, also known as the Romanian deadlift. The hip movement is very much the same in this exercise. but the knees do not go from flexion to extension but remain largely in extension (however a soft bend in the knees is essential in the initial phase of the lift).
Sources:
Beckham G.K., Lamont H.S.,Sato K., Ramsey, M.W., Haff G.G., Michael H., (2012) Isometric Strength of Powerlifters in Key Positions of the Conventional Deadlift, Stone Journal of Trainology Vol.1 pp.32-35
Cholewicki J., McGill S. and Norman R., (1991). Lumbar Spine Loads During the Lifting of Extremely Heavy Weights. Med Sci Jl of Sports Exer. Vol 23, pp. 1179- 1186
Earl J., Schmitz R., & Arnold B., (2011) Activation of de VMO and VL during dynamic mini-squat exercises with and without isometric hip adduction. J Eletromyogr Kinesiol. Vol. 11, pp. 59-67.
Groves, B. (2000). Powerlifting: Technique and Training for Athletic Muscular Development.
Holmberg D., Crantz H., & Micahelson P., (2012) Treating persistent low back pain with deadlift training – A single subject experimental design with a 15-month follow-up, Vol. 14,pp. 61-70
Nemeth G., (1984) On hip and lumbar biomechanics. A study of joint load and muscular activity, Scand J Rehabil Med Suppl, Vol. 10, pp. 1-35.
Picture taken from here
A deadlift begins with the knees in and hips in flexion (a squat like position) where the hips remain higher than the knees. The erector spinae muscles are isometrically contracted and the traps act as stabilising muscles by keeping the scapulae in retraction. A bar is placed over the metatarsal area of the feet, which are shoulder-width apart, and the elbows are extended in order to grip the bar. From this position the ascending phase is initiated by simultaneous knee and hip extension. Gluteus maximus and the hamstrings are involved in the hip flexion and the quadriceps in the knee extension. The bar is lifted from the floor up to mid-thigh by the extension of the hips and knees and the erector spinae muscles are contracted concentrically. The hips are pushed slightly forward and the glutes are squeezed. In the descending phase the knees and hips flex simultaneously to return to the starting position. One thing to think about is that force generation increases with a higher bar height (George Et al 2012). Hence, using a proper Olympic bar weights with a larger diameter can be of benefit to your technique and performance.
One of the most important joint movements involved in the deadlift is the hip joint and lumbo-sacral joints. If executed incorrectly one might experience a too great of a load in the lumbar (lower) back area resulting in lower back pain. Incorrect technique can hence lead to an increased risk of accruing injuries. The trick to avoid this is to keep your knees flexed in the start position and to keep the load as close to the body as possible throughout the start position and ascending phase.. When conducting a deadlift the bar should be pulled up and along your shins (shin pads are highly recommended!) this has been seen to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury (Rafael et al, 2000). On the contrary, having the load further away can increase the load placed on the L4/L5 area of the spine (Cholewicki et al 1991).
In terms of injury, a recent case study from Sweden has interestingly enough indicated that the deadlift exercise may be useful in helping lower back pain with a discogenic origin. However, the results were not seen for lower back pain of arthogenic origin (Holmberg, Crantz & Michaelson, 2012). The size of the study limits any conclusions to be drawn about the application of deadlifts in discogenic back treatment and larger scale research is required.
An alternative to the traditional deadlift is the straight legged deadlift, also known as the Romanian deadlift. The hip movement is very much the same in this exercise. but the knees do not go from flexion to extension but remain largely in extension (however a soft bend in the knees is essential in the initial phase of the lift).
Sources:
Beckham G.K., Lamont H.S.,Sato K., Ramsey, M.W., Haff G.G., Michael H., (2012) Isometric Strength of Powerlifters in Key Positions of the Conventional Deadlift, Stone Journal of Trainology Vol.1 pp.32-35
Cholewicki J., McGill S. and Norman R., (1991). Lumbar Spine Loads During the Lifting of Extremely Heavy Weights. Med Sci Jl of Sports Exer. Vol 23, pp. 1179- 1186
Earl J., Schmitz R., & Arnold B., (2011) Activation of de VMO and VL during dynamic mini-squat exercises with and without isometric hip adduction. J Eletromyogr Kinesiol. Vol. 11, pp. 59-67.
Groves, B. (2000). Powerlifting: Technique and Training for Athletic Muscular Development.
Holmberg D., Crantz H., & Micahelson P., (2012) Treating persistent low back pain with deadlift training – A single subject experimental design with a 15-month follow-up, Vol. 14,pp. 61-70
Nemeth G., (1984) On hip and lumbar biomechanics. A study of joint load and muscular activity, Scand J Rehabil Med Suppl, Vol. 10, pp. 1-35.
Picture taken from here