Check Points
- When starting out, practice with a light weight until form is satisfactory. A personal trainer or gym trainer can check you for correct form. Practise in a mirror if necessary.
- Brace the abdominal muscles. Breathe out on exertion. Don’t hold the breath.
- Use the mixed overhand-underhand grip for heavier weights. This grip provides some reassurance that heavier weights will not slip from the hands. (Not shown here.)
- Keep the back straight with no rounding at the shoulders and spine. Keep those hips down, butt out.
- The bar should travel close to the body for maximum lift efficiency and safety.
- The key to the lifting process for beginners is to lift with the legs and not the arms and shoulders, although their stabilizing role is no less important.
The deadlift is too often ignored in general fitness weight training, although it is a specialty of the powerlifters. For men and women wanting to build good looking legs and backside, the deadlift joins the squat as a premier exercise and can go some way toward replacing the squat for those who find balancing heavy weights on inflexible shoulders not to their liking.
Give it a go. Deadlifts are one of my favorite lifts.
Next exercise is the leg press.
If you need to, check out the the top ten list and review the basic training and safety information.
