In our strength & conditioning program the athletic deadlift is an outstanding way for an athlete to demonstrate mobility at the ankle, knee, and hip in combination with total body strength. We have found that this is also an outstanding standard for the general population who are looking to get lean, strong, and healthy. We like to call this the athletic deadlift as the hips are set in a lower position than a traditional powerlifting style conventional deadlift where the hips are generally raised in the air. If an athlete is used to a more traditional style then they will certainly find this variation slightly more challenging. However, in our training philosophy we prioritize range of motion as a prerequisite to loading parameters and I believe this exercise reflects that.

Instructions

The barbell starts over the third lace.

The athlete will hinge at the hip and grab the bar thumb distance from the knurling.

Athlete will drop the hips down toward the ground while bending the knees as much as possible. We aim to have the hamstring touching the calves in our starting position.

We coach our athletes to start the movement slow as this will take slack out of the bar and eliminate the need for the hips to pop up first. We want everything to rise together.

As the bar raises off the ground the athlete gradually increases the speed at which the barbell is moving.

Once the athlete gets past the knee joint we coach them to violently extend their hips until they reach a standing position with the rib cage over the pelvis.

During the decent of the movement we focus on hinging at the hips and allowing the bar to slide down the front of the leg until it passes the knee.

Once the bar passes the knee the athlete bends at the knee joint and drops the hips towards the ground while simultaneously lifting the chest up with the eyes approximately six feet ahead of them.

Most Common Mistake:

Ripping the bar off the ground. We coach our athletes to go slow initially to create tension and allow the body to raise as one. We do not want the hips to “pop” up during the initial pull from the ground.

The Science Over Tradition System training center is located in Fairfield, Connecticut. For athletes in grades 7-12 we offer a high quality strength and conditioning program. For adults, we have an excellent program called athlete at any age. Our goal with this program is to develop lean, strong, and healthy adults.

We provide a motivating and intimate training environment which a 1:5 coach to member ratio where all programs are individualized based on the specific needs of each member that we work with.