Deadlift breakthroughs all day long today!

We figured out that people were not taking the time to get set before deadlifting. We work on the start position a fair amount , but still, it's too easy to rush the lift. Up to a certain point you can get away with it. Then you feel that, even with a good start position, somehow not everything is engaging, and you plateau. Today we spent time with each trainee not only getting the start position to look correct; we had them "take the slack out" of their body and the bar, "lifting it without lifting it," "pre-loading it" (to use various cues), the bar touching the floor but not completely resting on it. The next thing that moves is the bar coming off the floor as the knees and hips pry open. If you're truly pre-loaded, there can be no jerkiness or rush or relaxation to the lift. You're hydraulic!

Keep going! Stephanie added the cue to "breathe at the top." Touch and go off the ground without relaxing, without resetting your grip, breathing out and in (Valsalva) at the top, for your set of five. Having preloaded, there's no re-load. In the instant the bar touches the floor, it's the same preload as at the start, but now it's part of the whole movement. To preload--to get set--is to lift. If you truly get set and can't lift the bar, then it's too heavy, and you never have to wonder if your start position was lacking or something wasn't engaged.

Four novice lifters had PR sets of five today. This isn't unusual for novices, but these trainees all agreed that the "really getting set" and breathing at the top transformed the experience. Can't wait until NEXT time!!

Take out all the slack before lifting; get set!

115 lbs. X 5 = PR set! The result of preloading and breathing at the top