7 Steps for an ACFT-Perfect Deadlift

Photo By Staff Sgt. Oriana White | 1st Lt. Lindsey Boughter demonstrates proper dead lifting techniques to the soldiers in her unit. Boughter is a public affairs officer with the 109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, 213th Regional Support Group, Pennsylvania Army National Guard.  

FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

04.08.2022

Story by 1st Lt. Lindsey Foulk 

109th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

If you’ve spent any time in the Army, you know there has been an emphasis on cardiovascular abilities and bodyweight exercises (namely running, pushups and situps). The ACFT has completely changed the way we think about fitness and the soldier-athlete. No longer can soldiers just head out on a run and do a pushup/situp drill once a month during IDT periods or in between long periods of training in the field. Now more than ever, the focus is on being an all-around athlete.

Strength is now just as important as speed, agility, and endurance. If you’ve spent most of your career in the Army targeting cardiovascular activities and neglecting the weights, now is the time to shift that focus and start working on progressively overloading your muscles–specifically those you use for deadlifting.

But, before you pick up the weights, there are a few things you need to consider and steps you need to take to train safely and effectively. You might be wondering why I have the credentials to outline these steps, and rightfully so. Outside of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, I am also a competitive powerlifter. For the past 3 years I have competed in several powerlifting meets in both the USPA and USAPL. I hold several Pennsylvania state records and have spent the last few years being coached by one of the best powerlifters and coaches in the game. I’ve also experienced injuries from not doing the things I’m about to tell you.

So if you’re ready to perfect your deadlift, and not only pass the ACFT deadlift but gain overall strength, confidence and maybe even some muscle, then keep reading.

Conduct a Proper Warmup

Whether you’re new to deadlifting or you’re an experienced deadlifter, the best advice I can give is to take yourself through a proper warmup. Since deadlifts are much more than just a back exercise (they work everything from the posterior chain to hips, quads and traps) warmups should emphasize more than just your back feeling good.

Before picking up any weights, prioritize generating warmth in the hips, gluteus, and back. Glute bridges, the single-leg over stretch, frog stretch, hip circles, bodyweight squats and the toe touch stretch are all great movements to do before hitting the weights.

Once you’ve taken yourself through a weight-free warm up, now is the time to add weights. Light-weight squats, lat pulldowns and good mornings will allow you to focus on the muscles you need to use when you deadlift. Once you’ve completed enough sets to where you feel warm, it’s time to deadlift. Start with the bar only, and continue to add weight in increments you feel comfortable with. No matter the weight, make every rep look the same–and with that in mind, the next steps outlined will help you do so.

Step Up (or In) and Remove the Slack

The first step to a proper deadlift (aside from stepping into the hex bar or up to a straight bar) is taking the slack out of the bar. With weight on the bar, bend down, hingeing at the hips, and firmly grasp the bar. Once in a comfortable position with your full foot flat, you will pull up just enough to hear an audible metallic click of the bar touching the weight plate, without lifting the weight off of the floor. If you hear a click, and the plates are still on the ground, you’ve successfully taken the slack out of the bar.

Practice doing this without conducting the actual lift to understand the sound and what it feels like. This step also helps with the next step and lays the foundation for a good deadlift.

Create Full Body Tension at the Bottom

With the slack pulled out of the bar, you may feel like there is some tension already created in your muscles (likely your upper body). Taking it a step further, we want full-body tension at the bottom of a deadlift. Why? Full-body tension sets you up for a stronger, more technically sound deadlift.

Think of the bar as a lever, and once the slack is out of the bar, that same tension now moves into your body–specifically your glutes, hamstrings, lats and hips. If you’re having a difficult time executing this step, think about each of those muscles by using mind-muscle connection and to activate your lats, think about flexing your armpits.

Correctly creating tension will create a stronger deadlift off of the floor, help you maintain overall stability and ensure your back is in the proper position for a safe lift.

Arms as Straps

Now that you have the slack out of the bar and full body tension, think about using your arms as straps rather than the thing that is pulling the bar up. Straight arms that act like towing straps or the straps you might see some gym-goers use to lift with will allow for the rest of your body to do the work and actively pull the weight rather than your arms. This goes hand-in-hand with full body tension.

Breathe and Brace

Now that we’ve got full body tension throughout, including our arms, we want to draw our attention to our core. The core is considered both the back and front of your torso, and needs some protection from the heavy load of deadlifts. The best protection you can offer your core is to learn how to properly brace. Bracing isn’t just relevant for deadlifting, either. Mastering a good core brace can help with lifting heavy both in and out of the gym.

You may have seen videos of people lifting and see them taking what looks like a deep breath in prior to a lift, but there’s a little more to it than just taking a deep breath. When you breathe into your lungs for a deep breath, you will feel the top of your chest expand and see it visibly rise. With bracing, you want to focus on breathing into your diaphragm.

To practice what it feels like, stand up and place your thumbs on either side of your lower obliques (side abs) and move the thumbs just by breathing into your diaphragm. Another way to think about it is breathing down rather than breathing up into your chest. Creating this stability in your core will protect your back and abs while conducting the lift.

Push the Floor Away

With all the tension and stability you’ve created, it’s time to stand the weight up. Deadlifting is a unified body movement, meaning your upper and lower body move in conjunction at the same time to lift the weight, rather than lifting with your back only.

Drive your full foot into the floor while maintaining tension, and think about pushing the floor away from you at the same time you stand up. If you’re having difficulty with this cue, imagine the floor is a leg press machine and you’re pushing as you would if you use that machine in a gym.

Send your Hips Through

Last but certainly not least, is sending your hips through. This might be the simplest cue to remember. When deadlifting, rather than just standing up, think about driving your hips forward and through the lift. The faster you can send your hips through at the top of a lift to a standing position, the faster the lift will be executed.

Conclusion

Deadlifts take time to perfect. Refining your form and technique takes repetition and a lot of practice. After reading this, you might feel overwhelmed, but trust that practicing makes permanence. If you’re having difficulty remembering all of the cues above, start with light weight and practice one cue at a time. If you rehearse the cues every time you deadlift, even with the lightest weight possible, you will get to the point that you won’t need to think about the cues and will be able to execute a technically sound and safe deadlift.

Once you’re a pro with the cues above, there are plenty more that you can add to continue to refine your deadlift. Before you know it, you’ll be lifting more than you ever have, you’ll gain confidence and some muscle along the way. Happy deadlifting!

• Date Taken: 04.08.2022
• Date Posted: 04.08.2022 11:34
• Story ID: 418125
• Location: FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US