Increase Deadlift Lockout Strength with the Exercise of the Week
Increase Deadlift Lockout Strength with the Exercise of the Week
Fixing your Deadlift Part 3
Glute Bridges
By John Gaglione
The last few weeks we have been discussing ways to improve deadlift technique. We learned how to keep a neutral spine with the stick good morning and how to sit back with the wall RDL. This week we will discuss deadlift lockout.
Many times when people lockout deadlifts they will tend to extend the lumbar spine(low back) instead of using their glutes and extending their hips.
For athletes we want to get as much glute activation as possible since glutes are very important for running faster and jumping higher. By using the glutes to lockout rather than the low back it is also a much safer lift on the spine. By using the glute bridge exercise we can improve glute strength and learn to use the hips in order to lockout the deadlift.
Supine glute bridges are a great way for athletes to FEEL their glutes working and FEEL what true hip extension feels like. The athlete should be instructed to keep abdominals tight and drive through the heels. They should really try to squeeze their glutes together at the end range of motion. Pavel has a great cue to “try and pinch a coin”. This will teach the athlete to properly extend the hip.
Here is a video of a basic glute bridge below.
This is what the athlete should feel when they properly lockout a deadlift . They should push their hips into the bar as it comes up over their knees and lockout their hips aggressively.
We can use the glute bridge as a basic exercise for beginners or as a warm up. There are many variations of the glute bridge that can be loaded and used as an assistance exercises as well, but we will save that for another article. The glute bridge will teach proper hip extension and help the deadlift lockout as a result.
Educate, Motivate, Dominate
-Coach Gaglione
