Increase Your Deadlift
Are you looking for a way to increase your deadlift? Try this!
Stick it to Deads!
It is said that the deadlift is the ultimate test of overall strength.
And it’s a great exercise to include in your training for increasing full body strength. If you’ve done your fair share of deads then you know that the sticking point of the deadlift is when the bar reaches knee height. So powerlifters have been using for decades a technique called lockouts. This involves partial rep training where you place the bar in a power rack at knee height and performing deadlifts from this position up to lockout position (the top position of the deadlift).
Yet according to research from Kennesesaw State University (Georgia), this method of lockouts may not be the best way to increase your strength through the sticking point and boost up your strength on deads.
They analyzed the lifting biomechanics during the deadlift of 25 male competitive powerlifters during a regional powerlifting competition using videography. They did confirm that the sticking point of the deadlift is when the bar reaches knee height. But they also discovered that the speed of the bar significantly slows down when the bar is about 2.5 inches below knee height. This means that the common practice of doing lockouts with the bar set at knee height in a power rack is likely not the best way to train to get stronger though the sticking point of the deadlift. That’s because you need to train in the position where the bar starts to slow down, which is a few inches below knee height. A better method would be to do lockouts with the bar about 3 inches below knee height to train the entire area where the bar starts to slow down and “sticks”.
Jim’s take-home message:
To increase your strength through the sticking point of the deadlift and therefore your strength on deads, as well as your overall strength, consider doing lockouts. To do this, set the bar in a power rack at a height that is about 3 inches below knee height. Perform deadlifts with the bar in this position to full lockout position. Do about three sets of 3-6 reps at the start of your deadlift workout while you are strongest. Be sure to try to perform the reps as fast and explosively as possible, even when the weight is heavy and moving slow. Attempting to move heavy weight quickly, even if you can’t actually move it quickly, will increase speed and power. Then finish with three to four sets of full range of motion deadliest.
