The deadlift is my favorite lift.  Nothing gets me more jacked than those few seconds before I’m getting set to rip this heavy weight off the floor.  What do you think just before you pull?  I’m thinking “I’m going to dominate this weight.”  I think you have to approach the deadlift with that mindset.  It’s not a fun lift and it’s not an easy lift.  In fact, if you think about it, it just plain sucks!

Maybe that’s why it’s my favorite.  It’s just you and the bar and if you’re looking to pack on some serious strength and muscle it’s a lift you must have in your training program.  Here are a few tips to help you increase your pulling power.

Get your hips down.  Make sure you have good hip mobility and flexibility.  If you cannot get down low enough when addressing the bar your gains will suffer.  Be sure to include some sort of dynamic hip warm up before you train.

Brace your abs. A  tight core is essential if your looking to pull big weight.  It will also help protect your lower back when performing the lift.

Deadlift. Practice makes perfect.  If you want to get good at a lift you have to do it.  If you’re just starting out, try deadlifting twice per week.  Have one day be more of a technique session and have the other day be a heavy day, working on strength.

Strengthen your upper back. If your upper back is weak your deadlift will suffer, especially after the initial pull when it’s time to lock out the weight.  I recommend plenty of weighted pullups, and all sorts of heavy rows.

Train all points of the movement. Strengthen your power at the bottom, middle, and top of the lift.  Incorporate deadlifts from blocks as well as rack pulls from the knees and lockout position.

Train your grip. This is often a weak point for a lot of people.  As they get stronger their grip just can’t keep up.  Throw away those straps and start feeling the weight in your hands.  Do farmers walks, trap bar deadlifts.  Get a pair of the captain’s of crush and develop a vice grip.

Try these tips to help increase your deadlift.

This list could probably go on for days.

Drop a comment and add some of the things I didn’t put on this list.  Let’s keeps this thing going.