Defending The Deadlift: An Interview with Coach and Powerlifter Eric Cressey
By Myles Kantor
If you needed an expert on Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, you might contact Professor Daniel Mahoney at Assumption College.
For an expert on squatting, there’s Fred “Dr. Squat”
Hatfield of the International Sports Sciences Association.
For an in-depth discussion of deadlifting, I contacted Eric Cressey,
M.A., C.S.C.S., who coaches athletes at Excel Sport and Fitness in
Waltham, Massachusetts. Eric is also an athlete in powerlifting who
has deadlifted 628 pounds in the 165lb. weight class.
A contributor to publications such as Men’s Fitness and T-Nation, Eric is the author of The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual and with Mike Robertson co-produced the DVDs Magnificent Mobility and Building the Efficient Athlete.
When did you discover deadlifting?
I was a scrawny 19 year-old when I was first introduced to a "more
enlightened" way of training. I did dumbbell deadlifts with 35
pounds the first time, and my grip was so terrible that I actually
had to use straps! In my next session, I "graduated" to
the straight bar and wound up going to the 5-foot barbell, pulling
a whopping 95 pounds. Ha!
What's even funnier was that the next day, my shins were all bruised and scraped up, and my lower back was fried. Needless to say, I refined my technique!
When did you begin deadlifting competitively?
My first meet was in June of 2004—four years to the month from
that first deadlifting experience. I went 4-for-4 at that meet, ending
with a 510 pull for an APA [American Powerlifting Association] Connecticut
Junior record in the 165-pound weight class. That meet got me hooked
on powerlifting for good.
I've since gone on to pull 628 this past June, and I'd estimate that I'm right around 650-660 now.
Who are your major influences on strength training in general
and deadlifting in particular?
I’m a firm believer in borrowing bits and pieces from everyone
out there. Obviously, I’ve learned from a wide variety of powerlifters,
but I also have picked up bits and pieces from strongman competitors,
Olympic lifters, physical therapists, and various strength and conditioning
professionals. And, perhaps most importantly, I’ve trained thousands
of athletes and clients. Each individual with whom you work teaches
you something unique and adds to your “sample size” in
considering whether what you’re doing is getting the job done.
I've seen the deadlift called everything from a hamstrings
exercise to a back exercise. How would you describe it?
I’d call it an everything exercise! It hits the grip/forearms,
upper back, mid-back, lower back, lats, glutes, hamstrings, and core
stabilizers. It’s no wonder that I just want to fall asleep
on the couch after every heavy pulling session!
What are the unique benefits of deadlifting?
First, I’d say that (along with box squats) it’s the single-most
effective movement for training the posterior chain (glutes, hamstrings,
adductor magnus, and lumbar erectors). The posterior chain is of paramount
importance to high-level performance; watch the best sprinters run,
and you’ll see that they seem to just “float”—and
it’s because they’re running with their hamstrings and
glutes. In contrast, watch a guy who runs with his quads, and you’ll
see that his hips are bouncing up and down; there’s a lot of
wasted movement. The glutes and hamstrings are all fast-twitch fibers
with a lot of strength, speed, and size potential—potential
you’ll never realize without deadlift variations.
Second, strengthening the posterior chain with closed-chain movements
like deadlifts also reduces injury risk. Weak hamstrings are a serious
risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, patellofemoral
pain, and a host of other problems at the knee, hip, ankle, and lower
back. Conversely, leg curls simply won’t get the job done, as
they don’t require co-contraction of the glutes and hamstrings,
are open-chain, and occur in a fixed line of motion. Our body is far
smarter than some piece of selectorized equipment.
Third, deadlifts enable a lifter to train hip and knee extension together
without learning the full Olympic lifts, which have a big learning
curve.
Fourth, deadlifts enable a lifter to use more loading, thus ensuring that more motor units and, in turn, muscle fibers will be recruited all over the body. The more fibers you recruit, the greater your stimulus for growth. And, if you’re looking to shed body fat, the post-exercise oxygen debt will be larger from recruiting more muscle mass, meaning that your metabolic rate will be really jacked up for longer after the end of your training session.
Fifth, you can train deadlifts several different ways. Light weights (~30% 1RM) with high velocities develop speed-strength, mid-range loading (45-70% 1RM) develop strength-speed, and circa-maximal weights enhance maximal strength. Pulls at 90% can have tremendous benefits in terms of both power and maximal strength development.
Sixth, deadlifts are quite possibly the best exercise for enhancing rate of force development (RFD)—also known as explosive strength. This refers to how quickly you can develop tension in a muscle, and is obviously of tremendous importance to athletic success. Movements that are initiated from a dead-stop are superior methods of enhancing RFD; box squats and Anderson squats are great as well. Olympic lifts can be tricky in this regard, as the first pull is actually somewhat slow compared to what you’ll see in a speed deadlift; Olympic lifters are more interested in setting themselves up for the second pull.
Seventh, as noted earlier, deadlifts have a better functional carryover to real world performance than leg curls, glute-blasters, and all the other silly machines out there.
Eighth, deadlifts are unparalleled in their ability to wallop loads of muscle mass on your upper back. The better my pull has gotten, the bigger my upper back has grown—and by accident! It’s actually gotten to the point that I’ve had to bump up a weight class because my upper back, hamstrings, and glutes have grown so much from pulling that I have been forced to do so!
Ninth, deadlifts train supporting grip like nothing else. If you can’t grip it, you can’t deadlift it.
Tenth, believe it or not, deadlifts can be a tremendously valuable corrective training exercise if coached correctly. I’ve used them in the correction of IT [iliotibial] band friction syndrome, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, groin pain, and a host of other torso and lower extremity problems. The secret rests with the proper execution of the exercise.
It seems many people stay away from deadlifting because
they associate it with danger, especially back injuries. How much
of deadlifting's dangers are inherent versus dangers caused by improper
form?
I’m a firm believer that the overwhelming majority
can do variations of the deadlifts safely. As long as proper form
is in place, and people aren’t attempting unreasonable weights,
this movement will improve health and performance. If you really think
about it, is deadlifting that much different than picking up your
groceries or your child? The problem isn’t the exercise; it’s
the exerciser’s technique, or trainer or coach’s coaching.
In many cases, people lack the flexibility to pull from the floor. In these individuals, I devote more time to improving dynamic flexibility (as shown in our DVD, Magnificent Mobility) and have them do rack pulls (bar is elevated) to start to “groove” the technique. I’ve had several clients over the age of 70 and even 80 safely perform deadlift variations—and they all remark on how much easier it makes activities of daily living.
Speaking of technique, what are some easy ways to injure
oneself doing deadlifts improperly?
• Initiating the lift with the elbows flexed/bent (they
should be “taut” the entire time)
• Pushing through the mid-foot or toes (should push through the heels)
• Starting with the hips too high (using the lower back instead of the hamstrings and glutes)
• Starting with the hips too low (trying to squat the weight up instead of deadlifting it)
• Allowing the hips to rise faster than the shoulders (should come up together to keep the stress on the legs)
• Not finishing the lift (The hips should be fully extended; you should be standing completely upright at lockout. This can be fixed by just having someone squeeze their glutes and push their hips into the bar.)
• Hyperextending at the lumbar spine at lockout (you shouldn’t be leaning back; it’s a sign that you’re moving too much at the lumbar spine and not enough at the hips)
• Rounding the spine at any time (The spine should remain
neutral at all times; if you look like a scared cat, you’re
doing deadlifts incorrectly!)
Is there an ideal physique for deadlifting?
If you want to pull big weights competitively, long arms are to your
benefit. If your hands reach past your pockets in the standing position,
chances are that you “picked the right parents” for deadlifting.
The key is a short torso with long arms—and short legs will
never hurt the cause in any powerlifting endeavor.
When would you recommend against someone deadlifting?
Various musculoskeletal injuries are contraindications for deadlifts,
but I see no reason why an ordinarily healthy individual shouldn’t
be deadlifting. The most important thing is to learn how to do it
properly from the start.
Discussing his recent world-record 1003 lb. deadlift, Andy Bolton remarked, "Lifting 1,000lbs is to do with levering the weight. It seems to me that the heavier I am the stronger I am." On the other hand, powerlifters much lighter than Bolton have pulled in the 700s, such as Oleksandr Kutcher, John Inzer, and Rickey Dale Crain in the 165 lb. class.
Compared with the squat and bench press, how significant
is bodyweight in deadlift performance?
I think that you have to view deadlifting a bit differently
for the bigger guys than you do with the little guys. Lifters with
more body weight to use to their advantage can get away with leaning
back more—and starting with the shoulders further back. Those
of us in the lighter weight classes don't have that luxury, so it
actually helps to start with the shoulders forward a bit more to generate
some momentum - or at least that's what I've seen in some of the best
lightweight pullers I've been around (and in my own experience as
a conventional puller at 165 and 181).
Adding weight doesn't help the deadlift like it does the squat and bench press, as you really aren't shortening your range of motion by adding in a big belly. In fact, you're adding an "obstacle" to getting down to the bar! My experience with other lifters tells me that adding weight helps until guys hit the 242-pound weight class, and then the belly gets in the way. At that point, they often switch from conventional to sumo if they aren't already pulling sumo. Then again, you've got big guys like Bolton and Benedikt Magnusson pulling insane weights with a conventional stance—but the exception doesn't make the norm.
As with other lifts, individuals eager to increase their
deadlift often overtrain the exercise. In this vein, Louie Simmons
of Westside Barbell has remarked that "the deadlift is very taxing
on the central nervous system" and that "Most lifters deadlift
too often and too heavy." What do you consider to be overtraining
the deadlift?
This is a very loaded question that I could spend all day answering.
In a nutshell, I’ll just say that there is more than one way
to skin a cat. I’ve made progress on my deadlift by ignoring
it altogether, and I’ve made progress training it twice a week
(once for speed, once heavy in the 3-6 rep range, plus an additional
heavy pulling session on speed day once per month). Beginners need
to pull more frequently to continue to improve on technique. More
advanced lifters don’t need to pull as frequently to increase
their deadlift, but they can still benefit from incorporating deadlift
variations in their programming frequently.
Speaking of variations, I think it’s extremely important to include a lot of variety in training the deadlift. I perform all my speed work with my competition stance in order to improve technique, but do all my assistance pulling with variations: snatch grip deadlifts, stiff-legged deadlifts, rack pulls, deadlifts from a deficit, trap bar deadlifts, etc.
What resources do you recommend to enhance one's deadlift
knowledge?
Just recently, Mike Robertson and I released the 8-DVD set of our
"Building
the Efficient Athlete" seminar that took place in July. In
the DVDs, we spend several hours going through all sorts of technical
advice on over 30 lifts—including the deadlift. Not to toot
my own horn, but it's a tremendous resource for trainers, coaches,
and lifters alike; we leave no stone unturned when it comes to explaining
technical breakdown, compensation patterns, and most importantly,
how to avoid and fix them!
Would You Like To Hear More From Cressey?
If you're looking to learn more about Eric's amazing array of products - which include Magnificent Mobility, The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual, and Building the efficient athlete, click here.
Each of these products comes highly recommended by all of us here at Precision Nutrition.
Also remember, back in December Eric created a special training program called "Off-Season Training for Athletes" and this program is available to all Precision Nutrition members here:
Off-Season
Training for Athletes, by Eric Cressey
[Membership Required.]
If you're not yet a member, now's the time to join. You'll get the training program, plus you get a membership to the Precision Nutrition private forum, where you can get support from coaches, moderators and thousands of members from around the world. And best of all, it's 100% guaranteed, so you can try it for 45 days at no risk.
