Deadlift and Low Back Pain Workshop

Thank you for attending our Deadlift & Low Back Pain Workshop! We had a great turnout and it was a lot of fun meeting all of you and working through some mobility and strengthening drills to improve our deadlifts. We covered a lot of material, cues, and nuances with the exercises, so I wanted to send you a nice resource with the exercises and points of performance that we covered in class. Below you will find the main 3 subjects we covered: Spine Mobility, Hip Mobility, and Core Stability. And at the end of this post you will also see a video of proper deadlift form.

All of these exercises are great warmups for deadlift day, and they are also great for daily mobility. If any of these movement feel tight or restricted, I would recommend doing them 3x/day in order to improve your mobility.

Spine Mobility

We started by rolling out the thoracic spine. We want to improve mobility in this area of the spine so that it is able to stay in a healthy neutral position during the lift. If it is tight and rounded, it is going to cause additional strain in the back during the lift.
Time: 2 minutes

We used the Lumbar Locked Rotation exercise in order to continue improving spine mobility and to stay on top of healthy spine movement.
Reps: 10 each side

The final spine mobility exercise we covered was the Prone Press Up aka Cobra Stretch. This addresses mobility in the lower spine. In a society where we find ourselves in a rounded spine position most of the day, we can find some very nice pain and stiffness relief by using this stretch.
Reps: 10

Hip Mobility

We then moved on to hip and lower extremity mobility. Stiffness at the hips can cause issues up the chain into the lower back. Keeping them mobile can provide tons of relief, and we need those hips moving well in order to optimize our lifting capabilities. We started off with a hamstring soft tissue foam rolling technique to improve muscle mobility.
Time: 2 minutes

Next up was the Adductor Hip Shift exercises which is fantastic for opening up the hips, and helping to avoid possible hip impingement in the deep part of the deadlift.
Reps: 5x5sec. hold each

The final hip mobility drill was the 90/90 Hip Stretch. This exercise will typically give you the greatest amount of rotational stretch for the hips, but it can also be the most challenging at times.

Reps: 5x5sec. in each position

Core Stability

McGill Big 3 Exercise #1: Bird Dog. Remember to tighten core as tight as possible and to avoid arching the back. Err on the side of keeping the foot too low if you think you are arching.
Reps: 10x10sec.

McGill Big 3 Exercise #2: Neutral Curl Up. This is subtle movement. The hands under the low back should not feel the low back rounding out and pushing into them. To be honest I overcooked this exercise in the video. All you need is to barely raise your head and shoulders off the ground and focus on tight contraction of the core.
Reps: 10x10sec.

McGill Big 3 Exercise #3: Side Plank. The main key here is to keep your thighs in line with your torso. Also don’t forget to focus on a tight core during the holds.
Reps: 10x10sec.

Deadlift Technique

1. Foot position near hip width: hop 3 times or wipe feet on the ground to find it
2. Brace the core using the muscles we just worked during the McGill Big 3 – “like you can take a punch to the gut”
3. Push your hips back like you are going to shut the car door with your butt to begin reaching down to grasp the bar.
4. Shins vertical
5. Shoulders slightly over the bar
6. Pinch shoulder blades down and back/pinch $100 bills in your armpits (contract lats)
7. Load the posterior chain. You should feel more tension in the back of your legs than the front
8. Push the floor away until the bar gets to knees, then pull hips towards the bar
9. Hips and shoulders should rise together
10. Straight up and down finish; no overextension
11. To lower the weight, again “shut the car door with your butt” to initiate

Thank you again,

And if you have any follow up questions about the workshop, please reach out to me. If you have any aches and pains or limitations that are interfering with your fitness, I would be happy to help you eliminate those so you can crush your goals!

Email: Tim.Brown@AscendPerformanceTherapy.com

Phone: 417-569-5086

Ascend Performance Therapy