We get it, you felt left out at the gym and came here to take your compound movements to the next level. To clarify, the deadlift is a compound exercise that is meant to primarily target your back muscles as well as one-up the strength of your body every time you do it. Training smartly with increased grip strength will make your body decipher how to increase deadlifts.
Am I Ready To Deadlift At The Moment?
Every beginner has this question for sure in his mind. This is the most dangerous-sounding exercise you will hear from people at the gym. The short answer is No, you will not die after performing the deadlift. The weighted barbell lying on the floor is referred to as “dead” as it is not in motion. That is to say, the weight is at a complete stop and the lifter has to lift it from the ground (the dead stop) each time. You need to increase your deadlift each time to get your body to master the lift completely. Without reservation, a deadlift is not fatal at all, if performed correctly, we repeat, correctly!
Certainly, you need to be careful while performing it because it almost engages your whole body. The quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, lats, traps, and mid-back muscles are the main muscles that the deadlift targets. To clarify, your quadriceps become active because you raise the barbell to your knees from the floor. Moreover, the lower back and mid back, glutes and hamstrings grow stronger because you raise the bar from the knees to standing. In case you have not hit the gym for a few days, you can just deadlift to cover the loss.
HenceTip: Preliminarily strengthen the lifts involving the abovementioned muscles to teach your body how to increase your deadlift max; bench pressing and squatting.
Understanding The Formula For Increasing Your Deadlift
Now that you have a clear vision of your deadlift goal and have improved your grip strength as well, let us take your deadlift to the next level! People wonder how to increase deadlift in 6 weeks, it is quite simple. You just must focus on our formula which involves:
1. Fuel up your core:
Though it does not look like it, the deadlift also involves your core muscles. Must be remembered, the spine needs to be stabilized to lock the movement at the top. Altogether, these 4 core muscles are utilized in the prevention of hyperextension:
i. Rectus Abdominis:
The Rectus Abdominis helps your body to bend during the deadlift and flex the trunk. Moreover, the said core muscle helps the trunk to be flexed anteriorly.
ii. Transversus Abdominis
When you are pulling the bar from the ground, unnecessary pressure is imposed on the organs. Important to realize, that internal organs i.e., intestine, liver, lungs etc., are sensitive and are ready to be ruptured when unwanted stress is put onto these organs. Thus, to make sure that these organs perform smoothly and remain unaffected by the movement, the transversus abdominis holds the organs in place. Also, it maintains abdominal tension to stabilize the spine and support the torso.
iii. Internal And External Obliques
The lateral side of the abdomen has a large, thin muscle sheet called the internal abdominal oblique. Whereas, the external oblique muscle wraps around and descends to the pelvis from the bottom part of the ribs. The three separate layers of the lateral abdominal wall are the external abdominal oblique, internal abdominal oblique, and transversus abdominis, arranged from superficial to deep. Its fibres have an oblique orientation that is parallel to the external abdominal oblique. The internal abdominal oblique, together with the other abdominal muscles, is crucial for trunk motions, maintaining proper abdominal tension, and boosting intra-abdominal pressure.
All the abovementioned muscles assist your body in keeping your spine stabilized when you load the weight on the bar. Above all, these muscles distribute the weight evenly to make sure your organs are not damaged when you are performing the deadlift.
2. Increasing your grip strength for the deadlift:
Did you disappoint yourself at the gym while going heavy on your deadlift? Let us get that fixed. Decreased grip power leads to failed reps during a deadlift. In other words, the firmer your grip is, the longer the bar. The following solutions are picked as per the problems faced during the deadlift commonly:
i. Choosing The Right Grip
If you are looking forward to how to increase grip strength for deadlifts, you should look towards the comfortability of your palms. You heard it right! The type of raw grip you use to perform a deadlift determines how smoothly you will pull the weight. To clarify, in the event you are using a double overhand grip, the bar will roll out of your hand. On the contrary, the mixed grip provides a better hold during the deadlift. The chance of the barbell rolling out of your hands is zero to none. In the mixed grip, one palm is in a pronated position while the other one is in a supinated position. However, it will take you some time to balance the weight while going up because of the nature of the grip; asymmetrical.
ii. Tying Your Wrists To The Barbell; Lifting Straps
Normally, your hands are pulled against gravity when the bar is dropped. However, if you figure out a mechanism that attracts your hand like a magnet to the barbell, you will be able to pull more weight during deadlifts. We are talking about using lifting straps here. The most compelling evidence, these straps hook the barbell to your hands throughout the movement. Your deadlift grip strength is not negatively affected by the straps because they do not limit it. There are two types of lifting straps you can use:
a. Figure-8 Straps:
They possess the shape of the figure “8”, hence the name. Because they will be the most secure, they can support any weight you put on them. In addition, figure-8 lifting straps are strong enough to last a lifetime, and they are excellent for deadlifts.
b. Wrist Straps:
Wrist straps are intended to strengthen your grip and are wrapped around the bar and the palm of your hand. When the weight is heavy, you wrap the straps around the bar to relieve strain on your grasp. Above all, these straps enable you to lift till failure without the chance of the barbell slipping out of your hands.
iii. White And Frictional Bar; Use Of Chalk
Decorate the barbell with chalk, your hands will staple to it! This will not only improve your grip but also increase your raw deadlift strength. Moreover, the use of chalk is said to increase your deadlift by 25%. Although there are rumours that using chalk is considered cheating but let us assure you that these are just myths. You will get the most out of your deadlifts and increase your grip strength for deadlifts as it allows you to experience deadlifts in their purest form. Surely, if your hands are sweaty and the quality of the barbell is very poor, chalk adheres your grip to the barbell.
HenceTip: While roaming around with chalk can get messy, keep a portable liquid chalk with you in your duffel bag.
3. Fortify your hip extensors:
The hip extensors are responsible for providing the torque that is required to push the body forward and upward. Most compelling evidence, you have tight hip flexors if you sit on a chair and do not improve your hip mobility. You need to master cueing your hips to hinge the movement through your hips. Important to realize, many people hinge by using their spine in place of their hips. If your glute muscles are not developed, you are causing unnecessary stress on your lower back. In simpler terms, you are correlating and relying on a bigger muscle group, that is your Glute Maximus muscle. Surely, this will put a lesser strain on your lower back and will not fatigue you during your deadlift max.
4. Choosing the right form for your deadlift:
Load the bar with a weight that your body can easily pull and adjust the position of your feet according to the deadlift style you prefer. Then, bend your hips forward to give your torso a forwarded motion. You can imagine that you are sitting on a seat to give your body the ideal head start. Up next is the pulling movement from the ground (the dead stop). Pushing through your heels to extend your knees will assist you to begin lifting the weight. Immediately after, stretch at the hips to become fully erect with your shoulders back and your chest up. Should you immediately drop the weight? No. Hold the position for at least 2 seconds for maximum hypertrophy in your erector spine (lower back muscle). Depending on which muscle you train, choose your form accordingly; Sumo Deadlift or Conventional Deadlift.
5. Not fatiguing your back; performing only the reps that your need:
The back is one of the larger groups of muscles in the body just like the chest. As we discussed in how to increase bench press you have to focus on your heavier sets and pull out as many reps as you can while having a spotter behind you, there are no practices that involve a spotter while performing a deadlift. The tabular data below shows the best-applied volumes to increase your deadlift in 6 weeks:
WEEK(S) |
VOLUME |
1st two weeks | 15-20 reps |
2nd two weeks | 6-8 reps |
3rd two weeks | 1 Rep Max (1RM); driving out as much force as possible to lift to your heaviest potential |
This counts as a single cycle. After every 6 weeks, compare your current deadlift to your previous one. We undertake to guarantee that you will feel the difference, depending on your weight class and how much should you be able to deadlift.
Lift More By Learning How To Increase Your Deadlift Weight
Now that you have started seeing results in 6 weeks, you can increase your deadlift in 30 days. This depends on your conduct and recovery. Important to realize, you are supposed to do sufficient warmup before hitting your 1RM. In other words, your second last set before the 1RM should be 80% of the maximum weight. Your last set before the 1RM should be 90% of the 1RM. Keep in mind, if you are having a day or two off for your rest days, your back will still not fully recover. You need to incorporate de-loading in your workouts where you decrease the volume of your reps that you perform per week. De-loading is important to let you perform well and decrease the chance of injury. Also, this helps to prevent the central nervous system break down.
All in all, if you have started deadlifting and have been experiencing unwanted strains and tensions in your muscle i.e., rotator cuff, neck, lower back etc, you should go to our home page to seek easy help before the need to go to a doctor. Undoubtedly, our simplified professional help will help you to stay on track with increasing your deadlift without injuring yourself. It is pertinent to notice that your comfort and health should always be your priority. Getting stronger and staying fit often gets challenging as a beginner. However, we are always here to help you in becoming the best version of yourself without deteriorating your body functions. Health is wealth, HenceHealth!