Deadlift Assistance Exercises

Deadlift Assistance Exercises

by Gary F. Zeolla

See Powerlift Assistance Exercises: Background Info for a discussion on how to best incorporate assistance exercises into ones powerlifting routine. See also Deadlift Assistance Exercises Videos.

The exercises are divided by which part of the deadlift they most benefit.

Helps all aspects of deadlifts

Stiff Leg Deadlifts* - This is a great deadlift assistance exercise there is. But careful attention must be paid to form to prevent injury. SLDLs should only be done in a slow, controlled manner, on both the ascent and descent. These can be done with the legs straight or with the legs held in a slightly bent position. The latter are better for novices, while the former requires a significant amount of flexibility in the hamstrings. If you lack this flexibility, be careful or you could pull a hamstring.

Some advocate standing on a block while doing them. This way, you can lower the bar to your ankles and really stretch the lower back and hamstrings. However, others claim this stretch is dangerous to the lower back. So they advocate the opposite: only lowering the bar to about knee level, stopping in mid-air, and then returning to an upright position.

Personally, I think SLDLs should be done from the floor, pausing the weight at the floor as should always be done with regular deadlifts. And as with DLs, keep you head up as much as possible so you don't overly round your back. However, if you experience any undo comfort in the lower back or hamstrings, discontinue them.

Note that the name is STIFF Leg DLs, not STRAIGHT Leg DLs. The point is, there should be a slight bend in the knees. This prevents undo stress from being placed on the knees and lessen the chance of pulling hamstring.

SLDLs are an excellent exercise for strengthening the low back and hamstrings in a way that has direct carry-over to DLs. They are especially important for those who use a sumo (wide) stance for DLs as the sumo stance does not work the low back as much as conventional (close) stance DLs do. However, even sumo stance deadlifters should use a close stance for SLDLs.

For a video of SLDLs, click here.

Back Pulls* - These are basically SLDLs done on a cable pull machine. Doing them this way gives a "smoother" feel to the lift. But the down-side is, as one progresses, some cable pulls machines will not have enough weight. So switch to SLDLs once you start pulling the stack.

Good Mornings* - These are a very effective lower back and hamstring exercise. Put the bar on the back in the "low" power squat position, not high on the traps as for Olympic squats.

The bottom position should be when your upper body is at or just above parallel. As with SLDLs, use a slight bend in the knees. And do them in a slow, controlled manner. If you experience any undo comfort in the lower back or hamstrings, discontinue them.

Good mornings should be done in a power rack. Set the safety bars so that at the bottom position the bar is just above the safeties . If you miss a rep, you can lean forward a little more and set the bar on the safeties and duck out from under it. If done without the rack, the only way to get out would be to dump the bar over one's head. And that could have traumatic results.

Hyperextensions* - These are another very effective lower back and hamstring exercise. But again, form is critical. Despite the name, you should NOT "hyper" extend at the top. Stop when the body is straight. Pause, then slowly lower yourself to perpendicular with the floor. Pause, and then start up again. There should be no "swinging" of the body. They should be done in slow, controlled manner. And if you experience any undo comfort in the lower back or hamstrings, discontinue them.

Opposite Stance Deadlifts* - If you use a conventional stance, then do sumo stance DLs as an assistance exercise, and vice-a-versa. Conventional stance DLs work the lower back and hamstrings more than sumos, and sumos work the hips and quads more than conventional stance DLs. So the two forms complement each other rather nicely. And you just might find out that in time you can actually use more weight on the "opposite stance" and want to switch to it for your main lift. But whatever the case, it is good to experiment with both stances.

Helps the bottom part of deadlifts

Platform Deadlifts (a.k.a. Deadlifts off of blocks)* - This exercise is ideal for overcoming difficulties getting the weight off of the floor. There is nothing more embarrassing than to get psyched up for a DL at a meet and then to barely budge it! And even if one's sticking appoint is later in the lift, this exercise will help as one will be stronger at the bottom and thus have more strength left for later parts of the lift.

To do this exercise, you stand on blocks 2-4" high while performing your DLs. If you're doing conventional DLs, you can stand on a couple of 45 or 100 pound plates stacked on top of each other to the desire height, a couple of boards nailed together, or even couple of stacked rubber mats.

But for sumo DLs, it gets a little trickier. Weight plates will slide if you try to stand on two sets. But a way to avoid this is set up inside of a power rack. You can wedge the weights against the side of the rack to keep them from slipping. Another option would be to nail together two 2"x10" planks, cut to the required length. Be sure they're long enough to accommodate your stance but not so wide that you'll hit the planks when you set the weight on the floor.

Some claim that sumo deadlifters like myself would get more benefit by doing platform DLs with a conventional stance to give the lower back more work (see above). But I tried doing so for several weeks, and it didn't seem to help my sumo DL. So I went back to using a sumo stance on platform DLs. For these, I set-up inside of a power rack and use two sets of a 100 stacked on top of a 45. Together, they are 3-3/4".

This exercise can be combined with chains for an even greater effect (see below).

Helps the lockout on deadlifts

Chain Deadlifts* - See Bands and Chains for details.

Band Deadlifts* - See Bands and Chains for details.

Reverse Band Deadlifts* - See Bands and Chains for details.

Rack Pulls* - As the name implies, these are done in a power rack. Set the pins about 1-2" below the knees or wherever your sticking point is. Lift the bar from the pins as if you were completing a DL. The idea here is to overcome a sticking point and to work the top part of the lift. However, be sure to use the same form as you do on regular deadlifts. There is a tendency to alter one's form with rack pulls. But if you do, the carry-over will not be as great as expected.

I recommend not using wrist straps like most do. By not using wrist straps one's grip will be strengthened. And following these up with reverse curls should eliminate any grip problems one might be having. Given the heavy weights utilized, the use of a belt might be prudent when doing this exercise. It should also be noted, that this is a very demanding exercise. So be careful about overtraining. Some recommend only do rack pulls about once a month for this reason.

Upper Back Exercises - The upper back is used greatly in DLs, especially when locking out. So any upper back work would have some carry-over to DLs. But the best exercise would probably be variations of rows and cable pulls as these most closely approximate the DL movement. Lat. pulldowns are a very effective lat exercise, but the carry-over would be less than with rows and cable pulls. Shrugs can also be done to work the traps.

For a video of DB Rows with an Underhand Grip, click here. For a video of DB Rows with the elbows out, click here.

For a video of Lat. Pulldowns with a long bar, click here. For a video of Lat. Pulldowns with a "V" grip, click here.

For a video of Curl Bar Rows, click here.

Miscellaneous Exercises

Leg Curls - These are very effective at working the hamstrings. But SLDLs and Good Mornings also work the hamstrings and in a manner that would have more carry-over to DLs than leg curls would. So I would recommend doing one of those exercises instead. But leg curls might be worthwhile at the end of a workout to pump up the hamstrings. Just be sure you don't end up overtraining the hamstrings by doing so.

Side Bends - These are one of best methods there is for working the obliques. And thick obliques are important for providing stability for doing squats and DLs. And since they are basically a "pull" exercise, they are best done on DL days. Do them one side at a time, holding a dumbbell on the side you are bending towards. Do not hold dumbbells in both hands as the weights will offset each other.

But even if one does DLs beforehand, it is still important to do one or two warm-up sets on each side before doing your work sets. The reason for this is to be sure the obliques are warmed-up so as to prevent injury. Also, as each rep is done you should notice that you can bend a little further down. And it would be best to loosen up with warm-up sets so all of your work reps can be done through as full range of motion as possible.

Ab Exercises - See Squat Assistance Exercises for a discussion of ab exercises.

Upright Rows - See Bench Assistance Exercises for a discussion of this unique and controversial exercise.

Forearm/ Grip Exercises - Any pulling exercise will work the forearms and improve ones gripping strength. However, if you're finding that you're loosing your grip on DLs, then some direct forearm work would be needed.

I have always found that reverse curls eliminate any grip problems I might be having. For a video of BB Reverse Curls, click here.

Wrist curls are another good option. These should be done with both an overhand and an underhand grip. While doing the underhand grip, be sure to "roll" the bar down to your fingertips and roll it back up again before bending your wrists up.

Another good exercise is use a wrist roller. You can purchase one or just make it. Get a 2" thick wooden dowel. Drill a hole through the middle, attach a chain to it, and attach hook of some kind at the other end. You then wrap and hook the chain around a weight. Stand and hold the dowel with the arms bent at the sides, the weight on the floor. Roll the weight up and then back down. Do this with both an overhand and an underhand grip.

Also, avoid the use of wrist straps. Anytime these are used the forearms are not strengthened. The only time they are really necessary is with heavy shrugs and maybe rack pulls.

Biceps Work - The biceps are not really used in DLs nor in either of the other two powerlifts. However, there is quite a bit of strain on the biceps when doing DLs. And with the amount of work the triceps get in training the bench press, it would be prudent to add some bicep work for injury prevention and to maintain muscle balance. The biceps are worked in most upper back exercises, like rows and cable pulls. And that would suffice for some. But most will want to add a few "curls for the girls."

Probably the best way to do curls is with dumbbells. Let the dumbbells hang at the sides, end facing forward. Then as one curls the weights up, rotate the dumbbells so they are parallel with the torso. This way both functions of the biceps are worked: that of curling the arm upwards and that of rotating the forearm. For a video, click here.

Even better would be to do them seated to prevent cheating and on a slight incline to maximize the stretch on the biceps. Alternative arms so you can concentrate on one arm at a time, starting with your weaker arm.

To focus on the rotating forearm function of the biceps and to give the wrist some work, try wrist rotations. For these, weight plates are put on just one side of a DB. Then grasp the DB as far to the other side as possible. Sit on a bench, place the forearm on your thigh, and rotation the wrist. Picture of Set up. Video.

The above exercise descriptions were posted on this site November 28, 2001
and last updated August 4, 2007.

Powerlifting and Strength Training
Powerlifting and Strength Training: Powerlift Assistance Exercises

Text Search Alphabetical List of Pages Contact Information

Fitness for One and All Home Page

www.FitnessforOneandAll.com/powerlifting/article/assistance/deadlift.htm