Deadlifts are a tried and tested move for building your glutes, hamstrings, quads, traps, lats, arms, core and so much more. But despite the relatively simple concept of pulling a barbell up from the ground, mastering a sound technique can seem like a science. Bad habits can lead to diminished results, and even the risk of injury, so it’s good to know that a world-class trainer like “The Australian Strength Coach” Sebastian Oreb is willing to share the same techniques that took his client, Hafþór “Thor” Björnsson’s to several world deadlifting records (and counting!).
Whether you are new to this exercise, or want to finally beat a personal record, don’t do another deadlift until you’ve read his advice. “This is the exact technical system used by the world’s greatest deadlifter, Hafþór Björnsson’s. And before you think, ‘He’s a 200 kg, 6-feet-9-inch Icelandic giant, so it doesn’t apply to me,’ think again,” encouraged Oreb, while breaking down his elite technique via Instagram. “The techniques that he uses, are the same techniques that I teach my daughter.”
Tip One: Sort out your stance
Oreb says that a mistake people often make is to place the bar too far away from their feet, meaning that the hips shift forward to meet the barbell. This creates a rolling effect as the barbell moves upwards and inwards. “Then, you’ve got the ugly, seesaw kind of deadlift.”
This coach begins each deadlift by putting his feet under the barbell and separating them with a hip-width stance. “The barbell is inline with my midfoot,” explains Oreb. “So that’s called the base of support. At maximal loads, that bar won’t leave the ground until it’s inline with my base of support.”
Tip Two: Lengthen your arms
With his legs straight, Oreb lets his arms hang down so that they run parallel along the outside of his legs. The coach explains that straight arms and legs help to keep his stance no wider than hip-width, and this is important, because when the stance is wider, the arms will become further apart, essentially making them shorter. “And then I have to travel further, which is less efficient,” says Oreb.
The Australian Strength Coach explains that another pitfall that deadlifters fall into with their arms is to bend at the elbow before lifting, once again making them shorter. “If they’re bent, your biceps are on, and your biceps are not strong enough to deadlift what your back can deadlift. And that’s where you risk bicep tears.”
Tip Three: Know when to make the lift
Deciding when to make the deadlift can often cause confusion. Where should the hips be? How low should you go? To take the guesswork out of the process, Oreb says that you should lower your hips and squat as deep as you can, but the cue to lift actually comes from the shins.
The coach explains that you lower your hips and bend your knees until the shins gently touch the barbell. “That’s as low as you should go,” he confirms, noting that the shins should never touch the barbell so hard that they move it forward.
Once the shins touch the bar, Oreb pulls his armpits towards his pelvis to engage his lats, letting them hang forward rather than retracting them. He then pulls the bar into his shins and lifts the crown of his head towards the ceiling. “Big breath to brace, and push the world away,” advises the coach. “Not pull the bar up.”
Since posting his top deadlifting tutorial, Instagram followers have been quick to praise his process. “One of the best deadlift technique videos I have ever seen,” wrote one motivated IG user. “Super cool and helpful,” wrote another. “Incredibly detailed,” added yet another.
Okay, now that you’ve read these tips, feel free to crush your next deadlift.
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