10 Commandments of Deadlifting

A good number of people like to deadlift, but few really know how to do it. Here's a collection of 10 points that I think would help anyone to avoid injury, and get better results if they are all practiced.

1. If you can't touch your toes with your legs straight, don't even try it.

• If you lack the flexibility to touch your toes with your legs straight, then you likely do not have the needed flexibility and mobility to deadlift properly. It is always best to make sure that you have the ability to move correctly and optimally before attempting something strenuous like the deadlift.
• For a great artical on movement screening and a great way to help fix this problem if you have it, read the following artical: http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/445/

2. Keep your back straight

• A straight back is essential to deadlifting properly. Deadlifting with a rounded back can often lead to injuries in the lower back (there are exceptions, but these are often elite athletes who are also well aware of the risks involved).
  

3. Keep your shoulder's down, your chest out, and your lats contracted

• The deadlift is not a shrug, keep your shoulders relaxed (as much as possible with still controlling the weight). Your arms should never bend, but should be straight throughout the whole movement. You also will need to keep your chest pushed out and your lats contracted (this should actually be the same thing). Doing so will help you to generate more tension (i.e. strength) and help you to keep your back straight.
  

4. Keep your head and eyes up

• Again, this is something to help you keep your back straight. Looking down tends to round the upper back, and neck, so keep your head and eyes up. Find a spot on the wall in front of you (or something to fixate on) that is above your standing head hight something on the ceiling is best. Focus on that point throughout the entire set. This will also help you to lift stronger than if you were looking down.
  

5. Push your butt back as far as possible

• This helps to target and load the hamstrings, as well as keep your shins vertical. The more vertical your shins are the better.
  

6. Grip with your pinky, and ring fingers, not your index finger

• When you grip with your index finger, your other three fingers (middle, ring, and pinky) tend to relax a little more. Grip first with the pinky and ring finger, and de-emphasize the grip with the index. This will give you a stronger grip. I actually have callouses on my ring finger because of gripping that way, this means that my grip is centered on that point

7. Find the Heavy Spot, and push first with your legs, through your heels

• The Heavy Spot is also what Pavel calls the Wedge. It is the point where you feel the weight of the bar, but have not yet begun to pry it away. In order to feel it you must wedge yourself in between the bar and the ground. Once you have found the Heavy Spot, then you may proceed to push through your heels to begin the lift. This method will help to keep you from yanking the bar, and therefore give you a stronger and safer lift.
  

8. Keep your core tight, hold your breath till the end

• Holding your core tight, as if to brace for a punch (thanks be to Pavel for that imagery) will help to keep you strong and safe. For the deadlift you should hold your breath throughout the entire lift, until you reach lockout, then release the tension (but not all of it). Keeping your core tight, and holding your breath helps to stabilize your spine, and helps you to recruit more muscles to help with the lift, thereby making you stronger. Optimal amount of breath holding is between 50-75% of maximum.
  

9. De-emphasize the negative

• Especially when lifting heavy, doing a deadlift negative can be dangerous. It is safer (albeit louder as well) to drop the weight in a controlled way. You should not simly let the weight go (in fact in a competition that could get you disqualified). You should simply let gravity do most of the work in getting the bar back down to the ground (watch out for knee caps). Touch and Goes are allowed if you are using a relatively light weight (somewhere around 70% of 1RM or less) IF you are able to maintain perfect form.
  

10. Move in one continuous movement, without any bouncing or pauses

• The deadlift should go in one direction at one pace. You should never pause, or bounce. If you are unable to move the weight from the ground to the lockout in one continuous movement, then you need to lower the weight, or simply not lift.
  

Bonus:
11. Find a gym that isn't filled with a bunch of pansies that will let you lift heavy enough to actually get results

• There are a lot of "Health Clubs" today that fly under the banner of Gyms. These places tend to frown upon the Olympic Lifts (Clean and Jerk, Snatch) as well as Deadlifts because they tend to make a lot of noise with a lot of weight. Do your best to find a gym that will allow you to deadlift, and also try to go at a time when there's less people to whine to the owner about you being stronger than them.

I hope you find this helpful. Most of these points were gleaned from Pavel Tsatsouline's books "Power to the People" and "Beyond Bodybuilding". This does not mean that they are substitute for these great books, and both of them are highly recommended, especially for someone wishing to start deadlifting.

God Bless