4 common mistakes people do when they do deadlifts

Deadlifts: I think almost everyone has a serious love/hate relationship with this exercise. It burns so good (poor hamstrings) and you work several muscle groups at the same time, but on the other side deadlifts are super heavy and require perfect posture. There are a lot of mistakes that you can do, so read this list through and perfect your deadlift for better results!

1)You start the exercise from above

A deadlift starts once you’ve picked up the barbell from the ground. Therefore it is not picking up carelessly until you are totally straight push down and stand again. No! You start once you are holding the barbell on the ground, then lift it until your back is straight and your hips are locked. Then you push the barbell to the ground again. (Note! When you are doing a Romanian deadlift you do start from the top because you are working with straight legs.)

2)You are squatting

If you let the barbell fall to the ground, you are inclined to compensate from your legs. However, it is not intended that you move your legs so much that you bring them down to an angle of 90 degrees. If so, you could just better put the barbell on your shoulders because you are practically squatting ?. Try to keep an angle of about 45 degrees. (if you can move the barbell vertically without your knees and shins touching, then its going good.)

3) You lean backwards

If you see a professional bodybuilder during a deadlift contest, you’ll notice that they all lean back when they stand up straight. They do this because they want to show the jury that their hips are locked. For us non-professionals there is no need at all to lean back! In fact if you do this you have a bigger chance of developing an injury because of the extreme pressure placed on your vertebraes. So don’t do this anymore!

4) You don’t touch the floor

Another common mistake: women (and men as well!) bring down the barbell just above the ground and lift it up again. By doing this, there comes an enormous amount of stress on your back through the whole set and your muscles get no chance to rest. It is better to let the barbell touch slightly the floor. This way you avoid injuries and you can immediately optimize the exercise.

Do you also have deadlifts in your training schedule? I’m curious how they look like!