Improve you Deadlift Form Today

Improve you Deadlift Form Today

The Stick Good Morning

 

The Stick Good Morning is a great exercise to teach the deadlift. Many of the principles learned for the squat hold true for the deadlift as well. The athlete wants a tight upper back, brace abdominals, they want to sit back, and drive through their heels.  A good cue is to “keep the chest proud” and be able to “wiggle your toes”. It is important to note that all of these exercises are NOT geared toward competitive powerlifting although a powerlifter would certainly benefit if they used these drills. They are more geared toward athlete and the general population.

The difference between a squat and deadlift is one is a more of a Knee or Quad dominant exercise and the other is a Hip dominant exercise.  In other words a good squat has more knee range of motion and a good deadlift has more hip range motion. Many beginner trainees will want to round their back in the beginner stages when first learning to deadlift.

It is critical that people understand what a neutral spine feels like and they can get in that flat back position. The deadlift works the entire posterior chain, the grip and the core. This will help translate to a good stance when the athlete is on the field or when a regular person is picking up a heavy box or carrying groceries.  Being able to pick up heavy things off the ground with proper form is a critical skill for everyday life.

The stick good morning helps teach proper spine position in the deadlift. The athlete will set up hold a stick on their back. One end of the stick will remain in contact with their upper back (near head and cervical spine) and the other remain in contact with their lower back(lumbar spine). The athlete will be instructed to perform a “hip hinge”, which essentially is the good morning exercise. If the athlete rounds their back(goes into lumbar flexion) the stick will lose contact with the body. This makes the stick good morning a great self checking tool when working on form for the deadlift. If the stick doesn’t remain in contact with the athlete the movement was performed poorly. Here is a video of the stick good morning below.

It is important for the athlete not to just squat down as that doesn’t really train the deadlift pattern effectively. The athlete wants to have a soft bend in the knee and continue to sit back as far as they can without going into lumbar flexion. They will feel a stretch in their hamstring at the end range of motion for this exercise. If the athlete is having trouble with sitting back and the athlete is squatting too much the next exercises of the week will correct that nicely.

I hope you enjoyed this week’s exercise of the week.  Any questions? Please comment below