Every Man Dies, but Not Every

Man Really Deadlifts

Mark Bell takes a closer look at the deadlift to help
you blow through your sticking points.
April 2011

Staff/CrossFit Journal

By Mark Bell Super Training

Deadlifts are considered by many to the ultimate test of brute strength. The deadlift is simple, right? Just bend down
and pick the damn thing up.
If only it were that easy.
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Deadlifts ...

(continued)
There are many reasons for stalled deadlifts. Lets examine
how to troubleshoot your sticking points.

Start off on the Right Foot

One thing that will help fix all three sticking points (off the
floor, knee level and lockout) is fixing your starting position.
Deadlift with a staggered stance, have your right foot in
front of your left with your legs slightly crossed, now bend
over from the waistOK, Im kidding. You can stop trying
to do this in your kitchen or, even worse, in the crapper
while reading this on your smartphone.

Bring the violence.

Deadlift with rage.

Starting with good positioning in the deadlift is crucial to

how you pull. How you start is often how you finish. Often,
a poor lockout or loss of grip is doomed from the start by
a sloppy set-up. Everyone is different, but a few things
remain the same about the set-up.

Staff/CrossFit Journal

These tips will give you the leverage you need to deadlift
like a savage:

Wherever your sticking point, you can train hard

to make it a memory.

In powerlifting, a lot of hours are spent refining form and

developing efficiency. Powerlifting, unfortunately, has
become a game of inches (and Im not talking Internet
inches, guys). How you set up will determine how you
finishor if you have a good chance to finishthe lift.
Improving the deadlift is very difficult. Even the big pullers
have a hard time.

Grab the barbell firmly with an under-over grip.

Use the barbell to pull yourself into position. This

allows you to produce torque before you actually start
to pull.

Fill your belly up with air and push it out, like you just
ate a huge pizza pie. I realize you CrossFit types have
a much smaller, sexier waistline than me or many
other powerlifters, but try this right now: bend at the
waist like youre going to touch your toe gloves (or
whatever you call those strange shoes you wear). Do
this with a rounded back. As you hang, take a deep
breath of air into your belly. You will notice that your
body moved up a few inches, away from your the floor.
Now, without pooping, push your belly out hard. That
is how your stomach needs to feel when you deadlift,
squat or bencheven while running (ask my homie,
B-Mack). Still not grasping what Im saying? Just think
of bracing your stomach for a punch.

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Deadlifts ...

(continued)

Get your lower, mid- and upper back straight. This is

not Olympic lifting, so your back doesnt need look
stiff as a board. Actually, some great deadlifters and
people with longer arms may wish to keep their
upper back rounded just a bit. Having trouble getting
your back straight? Try sitting on a parallel box with
your feet shoulder width apart. Lean forward with
your head down and back rounded as much as you
can. Now reverse your action, but start by just pulling
your head up. Begin to arch your back while pulling
your shoulders back and your chest up. That is about
how your back should feel when setting up to pull.

Drop your ass. You dont need to rub it on the floor,

but you do need to drop your hips. A great way to
drop your hips is to grab the barbell and use it to pull
yourself down into position by pulling your chest up
and straightening your back. You do not need or want
to drop your hips lower than below parallel. That is not
ideal for deadlifting.

Keep as much of your body behind the bar as possible.

If you have your head and shoulders in front of the
barbell, it will leave you out of position to pull big.
Also, my head weighs 97 lb., so I have to lift the weight
on the bar plus my giant head. I try to use my head as
a counterbalance. At the start of the lift, get tight and
throw your head back hard, like youre trying to flick
a hat off your head. Throughout the lift, continue to
throw your head back. On this same note, you should
be falling back. It should feel like youre going to fall
backward once you start to pull. At my gym, we have
a giant record board behind the deadlift platform. I
yell at my lifters to fall backward into the record board
as they pull. These cues help keep the body behind
the barbell.

At this point, if you have everything together, you

should be providing enough torque to move 135 lb.
off the ground before you even start to pull.

Staff/CrossFit Journal

Use the bar to pull yourself down into position, then unleash the fury on the way up.

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(continued)

Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super Training

Deadlifts ...

Deadlifting requires technique, but it also requires the mindset of a savage beast.

Bring the violence. Its significant. Deadlift with rage.

Get mad! Think of all those people throughout your
life who did you wrong or told you you werent good
enough. Take all your insecurities and fears and ball
them up into a crap-load of strength and fury to
be unleashed on the barbell. You will find yourself
thanking your haters for adding pounds to your
deadlift. I get so crazy before I deadlift that I talk to my
brother Mike, who is no longer with us. Thats right,
I speak to the dead. Nutty, huh? But its OK to lose
yourself and show that barbell whats up.

More Tips to Pull Like a Savage

Now that youre an expert on setting up, here are a few
more tips to making sure your pull doesnt die out:

Speed is king. Once you feel you have some solid

form, go as fast as you can. Force production will be
a key factor in making sure that you dont stall at any
point of the lift. Speed training for deadlifts is done
by using 60-75 percent of your one-rep max for 6-8
sets of 1-3 reps. When doing reps, do not bounce the
weight off the floor. Bring the weights down to the
floor under your control.

Speed is king. Once you feel

you have some solid form,
go as fast as you can.

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Deadlifts ...

(continued)

The lower back has tons of potential. Work on good

mornings to bring up lower-back strength. I suggest
working up in weight to a heavy triple or doing good
mornings as more of an assistance movement for 3-4
sets of 5-8 reps.
Make sure you work your arms. Having strong pipes
can help you hold onto those big weights. Doing
some simple barbell and hammer curls will do the
trick, but go heavy and do 5-8 reps for 3 sets. This tip
may sound odd, but when your biceps give out, your
grip and hands will shut down to help prevent injury.
Work your lats. Pull-ups are a great movement to
strengthen the back and the arms. I suggest doing
them strict for our purposes. Keep your body tight
and hang between each rep. If you can only do 2 or
3 pull-ups in this fashion, do them once per week
throughout a full workout. Do 1 set between your
other sets, after the main exercise.

Good mornings: 1 set of 5-8 reps at 135 lb.

Pull-ups: 1x3
Good mornings: 1 set of 5-8 reps at 175 lb.
Pull-ups: 1x3
Glute-ham developer (aka GHR or GHD)
1 set of 10
Pull-ups: 1x3
GHR: 1x10
Pull-ups: 1x3
GHR: 1x10
Pull-ups: 1x2
GHR: 1x10
Pull-ups: 1x2

Here is an example of a pull-up routine during a deadlift

session:

Finish with side bends and walking weighted sled

dragging.

Rack deadlifts (work up to a heavy triple)

At this point you have done 20 pull-ups. In the next

workout, try to do a few more total reps. Maybe shoot
for 24. If you decrease by 2 reps during the workout, then
discontinue the pull-ups.

Good mornings: 1 set of 5-8 reps at 95 lb.

Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super Training

Pull-ups: 1x3

At some point, deadlifting will not help your deadlift and youll need to turn to assistance exercises.

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Deadlifts ...

(continued)

Direct Work
OK, Coach Bell. I hear what youre saying. But I tried all
that stuff and I still miss my lockoutsand my buddy stalls
halfway up.

I understand. Here is some direct work to help bust

through sticking points. Keep in mind, there will be
some overlapping.

Starting

Deficit pulls can help with all ranges of the deadlift

due to the fact that they increase the range of motion
of the lift.

Speed builds force production, helping you kill

weights off the floor.

Do ab work. Weighted sit-ups, pull-down abs and side

bends are my favorites.

For box squats, Id suggest using a box 2 inches below

parallel with a closed stance to really work the quads.
This can be used as max effort or assistance.

Lockouts
Sumo heavy and for reps that will build the glutes and
hips. Ultra-wide sumo deads will really build up the
hips. I suggest 2-5 reps.

Rack pulls are a great max-effort move done for 1-3 reps.

Do deficit pulls. Stand on a 1-to-4-inch mat or block

and perform a deadlift.

Shrugs are an old-time movement that can help all

your lifts: 3 sets of 10-20 reps work well.

Staff/CrossFit Journal

Box squats with a wide stance can be done on maxor dynamic-effort days. The wide stance will build the
hips like crazy. Remember to push the knees out hard.

If you struggle with lockouts, sumo-stance deadlifts and rack lockouts are on your to-do list.

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(continued)

Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super Training

Deadlifts ...

Sumo-stance deadlifts are a great way to bring your glutes and hips up to speed.

Mid-Range

Week 1

Do pin pulls or block pulls from and around the areas

where you feel yourself stall.

Rack pulls (max single)

Do hamstring work. Having strong hams will help you

stay glued together during those big lifts when your
back gets rounded over.

GHR or band leg curls

Stay in the rack and do shrugs

Pull-ups
Weighted sit-ups
Week 2

If deadlifts are the ultimate

test of strength, then you
need to step up and crush
some personal records.

Deficit pulls (max double)

Reduce the weight and hit up some high-rep sumos for 3
sets of 25 (make sure the weights are light)
Hammer curls: 3x10
Seated rows: 3x10
Heavy sled dragging

Putting It Into Practice

CrossFitters have a lot to tackle, so Id suggest heavy
deadlifting two or three times per month. Here is a quick
sample rotation:

Week 3
Speed pulls: 8x2 with 70 percent (bands or chains will
make this exercise more effective. If you use bands or
chains, drop the percentage by 10)

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Deadlifts ...

(continued)

Good-mornings: 3x5-8 reps

Pull-ups
Heavy backward sled-dragging for 20 minutes
Side bends (I like to simply stand to the side of a bench and
pick a heavy dumbbell up off the bench one side at a time,
holding the weight at the top for 5 seconds)
Courtesy of Mark Bell/Super Training

Week 4
Low box squats (max single)
After you go heavy, reduce the weight and do 3 sets of 5 reps
Good mornings: go as low as you can for 3 sets of 3
Heavy side bends: 3x10
Weighted sit-ups: 3x10
Week 5
Rack pulls (max triple)
Barbell shrugs
Pull-ups: 2 sets to near failure
Seated rows: 4x10

About the Author

Mark Bell is the editor-at-extra-large of Power magazine,
owner of Super Training Gym in Sacramento, Calif., and the
inventor of the Sling Shot. He is a Westside Barbell certified
coach and professional powerlifter. His best lifts are a 1025-lb.
squat, an 854-lb. bench and a 755-lb. deadlift.

Pull-down abs: 3x12

Week 6
Wide-stance box squats (work up to a max triple)
Speed deads: 10x1 at 70-75 percent of your max (if you use
bands or chains, use 60 percent)
Lat pull-downs: 4x10
Sled work: forward and backward dragging

No Excuses
Now you have no excuse not to deadlift less then double
your bodyweight. If deadlifts are the ultimate test of
strength, then you need to step up and crush some
personal records. Keep in mind all the tips I outlined, but
dont lose sight of the fact that you just need to go bust
your ass.
Its a deadlift. Just bend down and pick the damn thing up.
F

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