Deficit Conventional Deadlift

Use bumper plates or deadlift blocks to stand on to make a ~1-2 inch deficit depending on your programming. If you normally put the bar mid foot, you may need to have the bar slightly more forward to avoid the knees when doing deadlifts at a deficit as it changes your leverage. Grab the bar evenly with each arm at shoulder width. Your hands should be wider than your feet so your legs will fit inside the width of your arms. Hold onto the bar and wiggle your hips down and back until your shoulders are directly over the bar, chest is facing forward, and your back is tight with a neutral spine. “Snap the bar in half” by driving the elbows back, putting more force into the pinky’s. This will protect your back by tightening the lats to avoid rounding in the spine and creating more whole body tension. Pull tight on the bar before lifting to take the “slack” out of the bar. You will hear a click where the bar pulls up on the center hole of the plates. Once you are fully engaged and super tight, drive the hips forward while pulling on the bar until you are standing straight up with your abs and glutes squeezed. Your spine should be neutral (or in a visibly straight line) throughout the lift. Start the descent of the bar by sitting your hips backward and bending the knees until the plates rest on the floor and the bar is over the mid-foot. Re-grip if you need to and repeat these steps for repetitions.

Trainer Tip: We want the bar path to be on the path of least resistance which is straight up and down. If you don’t hinge properly on the way down the bar will move forward or backward and mess up your alignment causing excessive rounding of the back. Focus on driving the hips forward and backward throughout the lift. This is a cue most people don’t hear and will help you avoid jerking the bar with your arms and potentially hurting your neck or your back.