Deadlifts are one of the most fundamental exercises in the gym, for good reason. The movement that hits the entire posterior chain (muscles of the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings) and serves as one of the three great weightlifting events. But some lifters steer clear of exercise. as a starting point, and they claim it’s a one-way ticket to back pain. If you are one of those people who experience back pain while doing deadlifts, Built with science creator Jeremy ethier wants you to listen. He took the time to create a new video that breaks down common deadlift problems – and fixes them – with the perspective of spine expert Dr. Stuart McGill, PhD, who created McGill’s Big 3.
“If you’ve ever hurt your back deadlifting or are afraid of deadlifting for fear of hurting yourself, you’re not alone,” says Ethier. “There are five reasons why so many people get injured from this exercise. I’ll share what they are, how to find the right deadlift for your body, and how to perform it for a safer and stronger deadlift.”
But first, it helps to understand the exercise. Ethier explains that while rounding the back during the deadlift is a popular method among elite bodybuilders to lift more weight, for less experienced average lifters, the safest way to perform the deadlift is with a neutral spine. While rounding the spine can help make the deadlift easier, heavy lifting and a lack of back and core strength to support the spine can lead to back injuries.
Next, he and McGill discuss the five reasons why you may feel back pain when you deadlift, and how you can solve them.
Reason 1: Hip Structure
“Some people are born with deep hips. These people have a more difficult time getting in and pulling from the bottom position of the deadlift,” says Ethier.
According to McGill, this happens because “when descending to the deadlift, if the foot stance is too narrow, there will be a mechanical collision between the upper part of the hip socket and the leg bone, and that creates FAI (impingement femoroacetabular) “.
So if you try to go deeper than your hip anatomy allows, you will feel a pinching sensation in your hips that prevents you from going deeper without rounding your lower back.
Conversely, some people are born with shallow hips, which makes getting in and out of the bottom of a deadlift or squat much easier. According to McGill, “The solution would be to widen the stance, and you can lower yourself much deeper into the lifter’s wedge to establish the deadlift pull.”
To find the perfect standing posture for you and your hips, McGill uses a simple two-part test.
Quiz Part 1: Pelvic Rock Back (to find the width of the right foot)
“I’m going to lay my knees on the floor pretty narrow, and then I’m going to be on all fours, and I’m going to look in the mirror to see the curve of my back,” says McGill. “I’m going to have my feet the same width as my knees, and as I rock backwards, now I can feel the collision in my hip, and if I go further I can see that I am stressing my back. The solution: I will try to find a more stress-free position. I’ve widened my knees and feet, and found my spine neutral, and suddenly I’m equalizing my anatomy and finding a much lower position. Drop deadlift possible. “
Test Part 2: Foot position
The next part of the test is to play by turning your feet in or out and see what is more comfortable as you get into the lowest position and what allows the knees to stay in line with the toes.
“In general, those with deeper hips find the most comfort with a much wider stance and feet out. The sumo deadlift is often a good option here, too,” says Ethier.
Reason 2: exceed your range of motion
Ethier explains that a standard barbell with 45-pound weights on either side of the bar sits 8.75 inches from the floor, a manufacturing design that was implemented to protect Olympic weightlifters from crushing their skulls if a heavy lift. head fails. While countless skulls may have been saved, that arbitrary height forces you to possess a specific range of motion, dictated by your body structure, in order to safely deadlift directly from the floor. And if you are using smaller weight plates, the required range of motion increases even more.
The solution is simple: just elevate your work settings. “So instead of forcing your body to pull off the ground, raise the bar. You can use blocks, a power rack, or weight plates to shorten the range of motion to a level where you can now deadlift. comfortably with a perfect shape. “, says Éthier. “After a month or so, try lowering it down a bit and see how it feels. If that goes well, great, and keep going down. If that lowering causes your back pain or alters your shape, then go back to the higher discs. Only weightlifters should pull off the floor, so don’t risk forcing yourself to do the same if you just aren’t cut out for it. “
Reason 3: the lifter’s wedge
This is a surefire way to protect your back throughout the lift and unlock the power of your hips, popularized by Dr. McGill. Here’s how to do it in his words:
“I am setting the width of the knee and foot determined by the Rock Back test, and I have the rotation of the foot adapted to my particular hip and knee joint. I am going to go down to what we call a ‘short stop position’ . ‘(hands on knees) to establish alignment, and then I’m going to come down from that with my hands outside my knees (hands can be inside the knees for the sumo deadlift), and push my hands into the bar to establish grip, and I start to lock my lower back. I do this by creating a bending force on the bar, activating my back, lifting my chest just a little bit, locking it, and then adding the squeeze. And then with my back locked , I can unleash all the power in my hips and get ahead. “
Reason 4: you need to earn the right to use more weight
Ethier explains that perfecting the deadlift technique and strengthening the protective muscles of the back and torso takes time and repetition. During this process, many let their ego get in the way and try to lift loads that exceed their ability to maintain a neutral spine and adequate stiffness during the pull.
“If we follow the Russian philosophy, you start by picking up a broomstick. Don’t let the ego get in the way,” says McGill. “If you can lift the broomstick in the perfect way, now you can have an Olympic bar. If you lift it in the perfect way, now you can put a little weight on each side. And as long as you stay in good shape, you earn the right. to have more weight “.
Reason 5: you are adjusting
If you are still in pain, but it is not severe, your lower back muscles may be adjusting to the exercise.
“Although your back is not actively moving, it is very involved in stabilizing your body while lifting. And considering that most of the population sits at a desk or hunched over most of the day, it is placed in a neutral spine position. and lifting in good form will activate these muscles and work them like never before, “says Ethier.
He points out that you should pay attention to the level of pain you feel after the first few sessions, which should decrease more and more over time. If not, or if one day you feel much more pain in your back than usual, it is a good indication that you are breaking that neutral position of the spine and need to focus on perfecting your form.
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