In the final installment of this 3-part series, we’ll talk about how to use paused reps to target weak points in your deadlift. Paused deadlifts might be the most evil of all the paused variants of the powerlifts, but they make up for their brutality with their effectiveness.
And in case you haven’t already, check out Part 1 (squats) and Part 2 (bench press) of this series too.
Here’s the deal with deadlifts: nearly every deadlift mistake occurs as a result of the setup. If your setup sucks, you lift will probably suck too. And if you nail your setup, there’s a good chance you’re going to complete the lift successfully (as long as the weight isn’t too heavy).
All these deadlift variations target some aspect of the setup that tends to go awry. Master these paused deadlifts and you’ll build the necessary strength and positional awareness to crush your deadlifts from the floor.
DEADLIFT MISTAKE: Not keeping the bar in contact with your body
The number one mistake I see deadlifters make is not keeping the bar touching their legs as they start the lift. If there’s space between your shins and the bar as you break the floor, it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll be unable to use your legs instead of your lower back. You’ll also have a hell of a time maintaining a good bar path because the bar will drift out in front of you.
Losing contact with your legs as you start the deadlift occurs for a few reasons:
- You set up too close or too far away from the bar.
- You didn’t “pull” yourself down to the bar using your lats.
- You tried to yank the bar off the ground with your upper body instead of pushing the bar off the ground with your legs.
DEADLIFT FIX: Deadlift w/ Pause at Midshin
The fix for this one is pretty simple: add a pause to your deadlift shortly after you break the floor. If you try to pause at midshin level and the bar isn’t touching your legs, your lower back will be screaming. If you do it right, you should feel your lats and hamstrings bearing most of the load.
DEADLIFT MISTAKE: Too much upper back rounding
Let’s be clear: deadlifting with a rounded upper back isn’t for everyone, but some lifters do it safely and effectively. There’s also a huge difference between upper back rounding (safe for some lifters) and lower back rounding (not safe for anyone).
While a certain amount of upper back rounding can make deadlifts easier (because your hips start closer to the bar), too much upper back rounding can cause stalling just below the knee, which often leads to hitching and can put you at a greater risk for injury.
Too much upper back rounding usually happens because:
- You set up too close or too far away from the bar.
- You didn’t “pull” yourself down to the bar using your lats.
- You tried to yank the bar off the ground with your upper body instead of pushing the bar off the ground with your legs.
- You don’t brace/breathe effectively at the beginning of the lift.
That list looks familiar, huh? Upper back rounding occurs for pretty much the exact same reasons you lose contact with your legs. It’s a big of a chicken vs. the egg scenario where one problem can cause the other and vice versa. However, in this case, we’ll use paused reps at a different point in the lift to directly target the issue.
DEADLIFT FIX: Deadlift w/ Pause below the knees
Shifting the pause to below the knee directly targets the point where most lifters miss if round their upper back. If you’re curved over like a candy cane, it’ll be nearly impossible to lock out paused reps below the knee because you won’t be able to push your hips through to lockout. This is a great hitching cure too, as you’ll have to resist the temptation to re-bend your knees to finish the lift.
DEADLIFT MISTAKE: Hips too far from the bar during sumo deadlifts
The main advantage of sumo deadlifting is the ability to keep your hips really close to the bar. This lets you stay more upright and push with your legs.
If you’re purposefully sitting your hips back away from the bar during your sumo deadlifts, you’re giving up one of the biggest reasons many people prefer sumo deadlifts. Rather than sitting the hips back, focus on spreading the knees out and grabbing the bar with the hips as high as possible.
This is easier said than done. Many people struggle to get their hands to the bar without sitting back and/or bending the torso forward. To fix this, I prefer to go with a squatting variation instead of a deadlift.
DEADLIFT FIX: Wide-Stance SSB Squats to Box
Using a safety bar squat with a sumo deadlift stance fixes the aforementioned problem nicely because you have to extend your upper back against the weight of the bar. The box also gives you feedback about how far you’re sitting your hips back. If your butt barely touches the box and you can PUSH off of it, you’re doing it right. If you’re sitting way back and you have to rock forward off the box, you’re doing it wrong.
DEADLIFT MISTAKE: Hitting your knees on the way down
Lots of lifters bang the tops of the knees when lowering the bar to the floor. This can be a huge problem if you’re deadlifting for reps and want to be in a good position at the start of each rep.
If you’re hitting your knees on the way down, it means you’re not sitting your hips back enough. This also means that you’ll have little to no hamstring tension at the start of each successive rep because your knees will be too bent and your hips will be too low.
And if you’re like me and you like to deadlift with a bit more of a forward shin angle, it might seem like you want to push your knees forward into position as you lower the bar, but your knees will only get in the way. Instead, you want to push your hips back like a Romanian deadlift and then reset your hips and knees before you pull again.
DEADLIFT FIX: Double pause deadlifts
Double pause deadlifts are as awful as they sound, but they’ll force you to load up those hammies and start each rep in a better position. You’ll also fry your upper back and lats, which is never bad.
HIT THE PAUSE BUTTON
Paused reps suck, but they work. That’s pretty much the take home lesson of this entire series. If you want to fix your weak points, suck it up and add paused reps into your workouts. You’ll quickly discover where you struggle the most, and that’s exactly where you need to put in the most work.