By: Luis Garcia ATC/LAT,CSCS
INTRO
Proper deadlift / hip hinge form is essential for athletic performance, strength,
and living a healthy life. Knowing how to hinge at the hips and taking pressure
away from your spine is something all athletes and humans should be able to
do. This allows for a more efficient movement as the hips are involved in just
about every physical movement you do. A proper hip hinge is KEY when
focusing on postural alignment and a neutral spinal position. Someone unable
to properly hip hinge is ultimately slowly damaging their spine and speeding
up the aging process. When done properly, the hip hinge recruits the entire
posterior chain which includes the muscles of the back, glutes, and
hamstrings.
Deadlift / Hip Hinge } Key Points
When we speak of properly performing this movement, we have some key
points which can slightly vary from individual to individual BUT the main focus
of these points will usually remain the same. 1 - stance, 2 - foot placement, 3 -
hand placement, 4 - body position, 5 - the hinge.
1 | STANCE
When deadlifting, ideally your stance position should range from a regular
squat stance (approx. shoulder width, plus or minus a few inches). This
position is ideal for pressing strength of the legs and removing hip irritation
that can come from having too wide of a stance. There are instances where
an athlete would perform a wide stance (sumo) deadlift or a narrow stance
deadlift which are variations that can be used depending on the goal of the
athlete.
2 | FOOT PLACEMENT
Foot placement is key. Compared to the sumo variation where your feet tend
to rotate 45 degrees outward, during a conventional deadlift, our feet should
be kept relatively straight (allowing for 0-10 degrees of toe flare). Though
some athletes might feel strength increases with the toe flare, it is less than
ideal for hip function and the athlete will receive negative long-term results.
Many powerlifters who make excessive toe flare second nature end up
destroying their natural lower body mechanics. Because their hips spend so
much time in external rotation, it will cross over to their other mechanics such
as walking and overall gait (watch a powerlifter walking around looking like
they just got finished with an uncomfortable 2-hour bike ride).
This foot placement of keeping the toes relatively forward (0-10 degrees toe
flare) maximizes foot and ankle activation which is critical for overall
movement and proper neural firing / body alignment during your deadlift. If this
position feels unnatural, it’s likely that your feet and ankles are weak / have a
dysfunction and must be trained appropriately with re-education techniques.
3 | HAND PLACEMENT
Hand placement should be placed right outside of the legs. The key is to place
the hands in a position that allows your knees to fit and not run into your arms
during your deadlift. Some athletes might prefer a narrower grip (between the
legs like a sumo) - as long as the athlete’s grip strength is sufficient this
shouldn't bring up any issues. A focus point is the focus on keeping the arms
as straight as possible, not letting the biceps get involved. If you've never
seen an athlete tear their bicep when deadlifting, it’s worth a search on
YouTube.
4 | BODY POSITION
The lower body mechanics and positioning here are going to mimic that of a
back squat but with more of a 45 to 75-degree bend in the torso (chest more
towards the ground). Focus on pushing the knees out, pushing the hips & butt
back, while maintaining the shoulders back & chest out. The further back the
hips are the more the athlete can rely on powerful hip extension to perform the
lift, which is a positive factor. A variation like the sumo deadlift, while easier on
the spine, minimizes the initial hip hinge / hip extension we are trying to
maximize.
5 | THE PULL / HINGE
First, before we have any movement, we must remove any slack from our
arms / bodies. Pre-load your body and focus on locking the spine tightly into
position. We want to activate the lats by pulling the shoulder blades down and
back through the movement - some can find this awkward or find trouble
doing this. Usually, that is a result of poor deadlift mechanics and can improve
as the athlete practices and becomes more comfortable with their form.
There are countless amounts of different hip-hinge drills we can perform to
work on our form, but the key is to master the basics. The 3 main exercises I
use to reinforce the basics are barbell RDLs, dumbbell RDLs, and single-leg
RDLs. Remember that proper hip mobility is key as well - if you find yourself
lacking the mobility to perform this correctly check out my hip mobility program
in the "shop " section at the top of the page.
In closing the hip hinge is CRITICAL for athletic development and explosive performance. Its key to perform these movements properly to avoid causing or furthering injury in the spine.
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