The deadlift is the single best test of how well you can pick something heavy up without hurting yourself — which is a skill you use every time you move furniture or lift a suitcase. It is also the lift most often taught backwards: people are told to "keep your back straight" without being told how, so they arch it, or round it, and hope for the best.
The bar stays over your mid-foot, your shins stay close, and your trunk stays braced — together those three things keep the load stacked over your base rather than out in front of it.
Think about leg-pressing the ground. The bar breaks the floor because your legs extend, not because your spine yanks.
Drag it up your shins and thighs. Any gap between bar and body increases the strain on your lower back — this is the single most useful deadlift cue.
If your hips shoot up first, the bar drifts forward and it becomes a stiff-legged pull. If your shoulders rise first, you will round your upper back.
Lockout is hips extended and ribs down. Do not hyperextend — leaning backwards at the top is a common ego habit that irritates the lower back.
You do not need to drop the bar. Push your hips back, keep the bar close, and place it down. Reset your brace before the next rep.
Usually the bar is too far forward or the weight is above your current control. Reduce load by 20%, and practise the set-up with the bar at mid-foot.
Lats not engaged. Cue "pull the bar into your legs" and "protect your armpits" before every rep.
You are trying to lift with your back. Reduce the load and think "chest up, push the floor away".
Stop the set the moment your back position changes under load. Never add weight to a rep that felt like a grind through a rounded spine. Do not jerk the bar off the floor, and do not round your upper back to finish a rep. If you have an existing injury, are pregnant, or are returning to exercise after a long break, get clearance from a doctor or physiotherapist before starting.
Yes, when loaded appropriately and taught well. The movement pattern — hinging at the hips with a neutral spine — is protective, not harmful. The risk lies in jumping load too fast, lifting with a rounded back under fatigue, or never learning the set-up.
Whichever feels stronger in your hips. Sumo reduces the range slightly and spares the lower back; conventional loads the posterior chain more. Neither is inherently better.
Only once grip limits your sets. For general strength and grip development, train without them and use straps for the heaviest sets.
Light enough that you could do 8 clean reps, and only pull 5. Most beginners start with an empty bar or 40 kg and add 2.5–5 kg per week while form holds.
Often yes — and it is frequently part of the solution — but get individual guidance. Start with a trap bar or hip hinge with a light load, and work with a physiotherapist if pain is recent.
The best first squat variation for beginners: how to hold the bell, how deep to go, and the three fixes for every common fault.
Eight movements covering ankles, hips, spine and shoulders — the joints that stiffen from sitting, in ten minutes flat.
A four-step progression from wall push-ups to full reps, with the hand position, elbow path and core cues that make the difference.
