Top 3 mistakes people make when they deadlift

The deadlift is a great exercise because it works the large muscle groups on the back of the body – which most people tend to skip in the gym. Deadlifts are highly efficient because this one exercise works 6 different muscle groups, hamstrings, glutes, back, hips, core, and trapezius. Another reason why deadlifting is such a great exercise is that it targets the muscle groups primarily responsible for lower back pain. Many people experience lower back pain because of their poor back, core, glute, and hip strength. Pair that with being overweight, so that the body is carrying too much load to begin with, and you have a recipe for suffering. Unfortunately, many people skip working on the back of the body in the gym. They just target the muscles they can see. There are gyms full of guys standing in front of the mirror for hours doing bicep curls and chest presses. We humans are quite vain, so if we can’t see it, we don’t really see a reason to work on it. But, with celebrity popularity of the “booty gainz” (think JLo, The Rock, all the Kardashians, etc.) deadlifts are making a comeback! The problem is, so many people get it wrong when they attempt to add this highly effective exercise to their workout routine.

Here are the top 3 mistakes people make when performing the deadlift exercise:

#1:  Choosing the wrong weight. People think, “more weight, more booty”. This is not the case and is extremely risky for injury. Genetics, body composition, and nutrition are all factors that determine how much booty you can actually gain, even with deadlifting, but this is the #1 mistake people make is choosing the wrong weight. Most people throw some weights on an Olympic bar and strain to lift for just a few reps. This is extremely dangerous and can lead to a serious back injury. The best way to lift is to start small, very small. My rule of thumb is to ask yourself how much weight can you comfortably do 10 reps of bicep curls with? Start there. Do more reps with good form and slowly start adding 5 pounds each time you work out until you find the right limit for you. Unless you are a competitive weightlifter, you should never attempt a one-rep max. I know this is all the rage in the CrossFit gyms, but this is extremely dangerous and should only be done by professionals. It’s not worth weeks of pain or even potential back surgery to say you max lifted a certain number.

#2: Arching of the back and hunching of the shoulders. The second biggest mistake is made with the movement of the back. Again, this could potentially cause serious injury if you don’t get this right. During the entire movement, your back should be completely straight with your shoulders comfortably resting down and back. Try facing at a 90-degree angle in front of a mirror. When you go down and grab the weight, pause and look at yourself in the mirror. Is your back completely straight or do you have a curve forward in your spine? Are your shoulders hunched over or are they naturally hanging lowest from your ears and down your back? There should be no movement in the upper spine, your spine should move on a hinge from your hips, the rest of your spine should be perfectly straight. As you lift the weight, you should be able to maintain a straight upper back. Your arms are doing no work at all, they should be hanging naturally with your shoulders pulled back. The hips and glutes should be doing most of the work. When you curl your spine, you are forcing the work into your back muscles primarily and you could injure yourself. Your feet should directly under your hips to provide the best support for your hips and to provide the best balance once you start lifting the weight and experience the uneven pull of gravity.

#3: The movement. The third thing that people get wrong is the actual movement. This is for many reasons. For example, if they are making mistake #1, then they are going to have to jerk the weight up to be able to lift it (because the weight is too heavy). If they are making mistake #2 and have a curved spine, the weight will make an arch towards the body as it heads up. It may even go past where it needs to stop (at the hips) and then have to move down to get to that place (thus overextending and arching the back towards the rear and pushing the hips too far forward). This arching of the back to the rear is again, a dangerous thing to do and could cause lower back and spinal injury. Another mistake with movement people make is having their feet too close together or too far apart, thus, making it easy to lose your balance and lose control of the move and form on the way up. Your feet should be directly under hips with a small micro-bend in each knee. The knees should never lockout or bend more than a fraction. The movement should be smooth and controlled, the weight should follow very close to the body on the way up and stop at the hip line with a fully standing, straight-backed position with the shoulders resting down away from the ears and back. It should look like you are standing at attention at the top, just with holding the weight in front of the hips. There should be no arch in the back. Many people make the mistake of overextending and thrusting the hips too far forward at the top of the movement. There is a small thrust, but this is a result of the glutes and hamstrings contracting and should not occur because of an intentional thrusting forward of the hips.

As you can see, deadlifts can be tricky, and the risk of potential harm is high. We recommend that you watch some demo videos or get a certified trainer to help you perfect your form before you try any significant deadlifting.