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Deadlifts and Sumo Deadlift High Pull.

DEADLIFT

The Deadlift is foundational to the Sumo Deadlift High Pull

and the Medicine Ball Clean.

 

1. TEACHING THE MOVEMENT

 

SETUP:

• Stance = between hip width and shoulder width

• Weight in heels

• Back arched/lumbar curve locked in

• Shoulders slightly in front of the bar

• Bar in contact with the shins

• Arms locked straight

• Symmetrical grip outside the knees, just wide enough

to not interfere with knees

 

EXECUTION:

• Drive through the heels

• Extend legs while hips and shoulders rise at the same

rate

• Once the bar passes the knees, the hip opens all the

way up

• Bar maintains contact with the legs the entire time

• Head neutral

• On return to the floor, push hips back and shoulders

forward slightly; delay the knee bend

• Once bar descends below the knees and the torso

angle is set, return the bar down to the setup position

 

2. SEEING THE MOVEMENT

 

PRIMARY POINTS OF PERFORMANCE:

• Lumbar curve maintained

• Weight on heels

• Shoulders slightly in front of bar on setup

• Hips and shoulders rise at same rate

• Bar stays in contact with legs throughout the movement

• At the top the hip is completely open and knees are

straight

3. CORRECTING THE MOVEMENT

 

FAULT – LOSS OF LUMBAR CURVE

Fix – Cue to pull hips back and lift the chest

Fix – Touch person at lumbar curve and say, “Arch!”

Do not relent.

Fix – Abort and decrease the load to where the lumbar

arch can be maintained.

 

FAULT – WEIGHT ON OR SHIFTING TO TOES.

Fix – Have athlete settle into the heels and pull hips

back, maintaining tension in the hamstrings at start of

movement, and focus on driving through heels.

Fix – Check that the bar stays in contact with legs throughout the movement.

 

FAULT – SHOULDERS BEHIND BAR ON SETUP.

Fix – Raise hips to move shoulder over or slightly in front of the bar.

 

FAULT – HIPS RISE BEFORE THE CHEST (STIFF-LEGGED

DEADLIFT).

Fix – Allow the shoulders and chest to rise sooner. Cue “Lift your chest more aggressively” or “Lift the chest and hips at the same rate until the bar passes your knees.”

 

FAULT – SHOULDERS RISE WITHOUT THE HIPS. BAR

TRAVELS AROUND THE KNEES INSTEAD OF STRAIGHT

UP.

Fix – Be sure athlete is set up correctly: weight in heels

and with shoulders in front of the bar. Cue “Push knees back as your chest rises.”

Fix – Block the knees’ travel with your hand.

Fix – Stick trick: Lock the person in between two sticks

on either side of the bar and have them execute the

move without hitting the sticks.

 

FAULT – BAR COLLIDES WITH KNEES ON THE DESCENT.

Fix – Initiate the return by pushing the hips back and

delay the knee bend.

 

FAULT – BAR LOSES CONTACT WITH LEGS.

Fix – Cue “Pull the bar in to your legs the whole time.”

Fix – Tactile cue: Touch the athlete’s leg where the bar

should touch from thigh to shin.

SUMO DEADLIFT HIGH PULL

The Sumo Deadlift High Pull (SDHP) builds on the Deadlift, widening the stance,

bringing the grip inside the knees, adding a shrug, an upward pull with the arms, but, most importantly velocity. The move requires an aggressive extension of the hips and legs before the arms pull.

1. TEACHING THE MOVEMENT

 

SETUP:

• Stance = wider than shoulder width, but not so wide

that the knees roll inside the feet

• Weight in heels

• Back arched/lumbar curve locked in

• Shoulders slightly in front of the bar

• Bar in contact with the shins

• Arms locked straight

• Symmetrical grip inside the knees

 

EXECUTION:

• Accelerate through the heels from the ground to full extension of the hips and legs

• Shrug, with straight arms

• Arms follow through by pulling bar to the chin with

elbows high and outside

• Return the bar down fluidly in the reverse sequence: arms, then traps, then hips, then knees, back to the setup position

 

2. SEEING THE MOVEMENT

 

PRIMARY POINTS OF PERFORMANCE:

• Hips open before shrug and arm bend

• Bar is pulled up to just below the chin

• Fast and aggressive

• Elbows travel and finish high and outside; elbows are higher than the hands at all times during the movement

3. CORRECTING THE MOVEMENT

 

ALL FAULTS AND FIXES FROM THE DEADLIFT APPLY TO

THIS MOVEMENT, PLUS THE FOLLOWING:

 

FAULT – PULLING TOO EARLY WITH THE ARMS. HIP NOT

COMPLETELY OPEN BEFORE SHRUG OR ARM PULL.

Fix – Take the athlete to step 3 in the progression (Sumo Deadlift Shrug). Emphasize that the hip needs to fire first, before arms. Try two Sumo Deadlift Shrugs for every full SDHP; do as many times as needed to get

it right.

 

FAULT – NO SHRUG.

Fix – Back to progression. Do two Sumo Deadlift

Shrugs and one High Pull; do as many times as needed

to get it right.

 

FAULT – ELBOWS LOW AND INSIDE.

Fix – Cue: “Elbows high!”

 

FAULT – INCORRECT DESCENT (HIPS BEFORE ARMS).

Fix – Slow down the movement; return arms then hips,

then legs; then speed it up again.

 

FAULT – TOO SLOW.

Fix- Cue “Faster!”

FAULT – SEGMENTING THE MOVEMENT.

Fix – Cue to accelerate or jump the bar off the ground.

 

FAULT – LOSING CONTROL AND LEVELNESS OF BAR.

Fix – Widen the grip a bit. Make sure the grip is

symmetrical on the bar.

 

FAULT – RUNNING INTO THE KNEES

Fix – Narrow the grip and make sure the hips aren’t too

low in the setup position.

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