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| The Throne |
"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better." Ralph Waldo Emerson
The name of the blog is Functional Fitness Systems blog, it means fitness for real life situations. It came from that exact idea, if its not transferrable to real life what are we doing. Yes, bicep curls will get you into the gun show, but can you pick up that 50 LB bag of dog food out of the trunk, move a kid, pick up the grocery bags. What will help is the deadlift, it has been called the King of all exercises, and the grandaddy of strength moves. It has clear transferability to real life, it should be a foundation movement for most people. The deadlift is easy to learn as it is a natural movement your just hinging the hip and lifting the weight. Unlike the squat which takes a spotter, a power rack, and time to learn properly. You can make the argument that the dead is realistically safer, given the fact you can drop the bar unlike squatting. Don’t get me wrong I love squatting, for most people it is no the choice exercise given faulty movement patterns. This is why Pavel Tsatsouline calls it the working class answer to the squat. The deadlift is a movement that works the entire body, the back, shoulder girdle, hips, and legs. It can also be used as a movement screen for assessing faulty movement patterns that translate to running, walking, as well as back and hip pain.
Who should deadlift? Almost everyone on a serious strength and conditioning program, barring an injury. Proceed with caution, learn the movement first without any resistance, then practice, practice and practice some more. Then have a trainer or someone who knows what they are doing watch and correct your form. At that point maybe put some weight on the bar. If you have been practicing with kettlebells correctly you will have a leg up. Specifically if you are doing the Russian hardstyle swing. The swing and deadlift have a direct correlation, the swing is a great movement to develop the posterior chain, also teaches you to snap those hips. Let me say that again SNAP THOSE HIPS, this cannot be emphasized enough. Kettlebells grease the groove for the hip hinge pattern in the deadlift and strengthened the deadlift muscles. The force generated in swinging a 53 pound kettlebell has been tested and exceeds 500 pounds. This is for my female readers, I hope your lifting like girls and dominating the gym. Deadlifts are important for women for a number of reasons; they are one of if not the best exercise for a helping you to realize your strength potential, they can improve your appearance as well. I read an article by the powerlifter Nia Shanks who states that”it never fails, anytime I train women and get them to pull a heavy triple on the deadlift, they absolutely love it. Something clicks in their minds when they rip a heavy weight off the floor.” Many women need to get passed the false notion they do not need to be stronger or if they lift over 10 pounds they will be muscle bound. Deadlifting can help to transform your body, the muscular stimulation will boost your metabolism and burn fat. The sculpting you get from a heavy set of deadlifts, blows leg machine work out of the water. Set a strength goal, then grab that bar and start your strength journey.
Please see below for some videos on how to deadlift
Conventional Deadlift
Sumo Deadlift
Mobility WOD on Sumo Pulling
Mobility WOD Deadlift or Pulling Prep (epic quote in this video)
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| We can all dream..... |
Get A Grip: When deadlifting you can use either the parallel grip or mixed grip. Some people will use the hook grip as this will increase for grip strength. Tips to increase your grip strength:
Grip the bar correctly low in your hands by the knuckles not the middle of your hand. If its in the middle it has a tendency to slide on you.
Use white knuckling by gripping the bar as hard as you can this way there is less movement with the bar. Do it in all your lifts to build up your hand strength.
Use chalk this will limit your calluses and no sweaty hands. Some people have a 30 pound increase with the use of chalk.
Use a mixed grip with the parallel grip you have 8 fingers on one side of the bar and 2 thumbs on the other. A mixed grip gives you five on each side which should instantly boost your strength
Pull more overhand meaning limiting the use of the mixed grip for the heavier sets.
Do static holds, pump up your grip by holding the weight at the top of your lift for a few seconds.
Stop using straps, if you use straps you limit your grip strength severely. I was guilty of this a one time, I ditched the straps and boosted my grip in a matter of weeks.
Use Kettlebells for farmers walks this is similar to static holds. But gravity is your friend and enemy it will build that grip quick and hurt so good in the process
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| Working that grip. |
I put in a video about the sumo deadlift, pulling set up and a pulling prep video as well. I hope you enjoyed them. The deadlift is a foundation movement, it translates to sport and life. It can allow you to see your potential for strength, allow you to move better, be conscious of our movement patterns. It does not get the respect that it truly deserves, but hopefully this changes that. Powerlifter Ed Coan said people should train the same, some people lift lighter others heavier but it should all be the same. This exercise like circuit training, like plyometrics and flexibility is another tool in your box. Albeit very effective tool with far reaching benefits. This coming week either Tuesday or Thursday we will have the supplementation article up, a piece on meditation as well as the weekend list. I am working on an article which involves gut microbiology, which promises to be very interesting to say the least. As always please continue to read this blog and share it.
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| Jon Pall Sigmarrson deadlifts one handed..... No excuses! |
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