Deadlift with a kettlebell is one of the variations of the basic exercise, aimed primarily at beginners, as well as girls. Unlike the classic version, the use of this projectile changes the center of gravity, which affects the distribution of the load.
Can be performed with either one or two weights. These two options are very different from each other and may well be called different exercises. When performed, they develop different muscle groups, so we will talk about them in turn.
When can you do the exercise?
In scientifically based fitness, there is only one criterion - the client can perform a bend with a perfectly straight back so that the bar goes below the knees, to the level of approximately the middle of the shin. If such flexibility is not yet available, it is recommended to stretch the hamstrings, buttocks, and back muscles, as well as isolated work on the back using hyperextensions, and on the hamstrings using curls. In this case, the buttocks are pumped with reverse hyperextensions. Any beginner, with proper attention to stretching, can perform his first deadlift with a light weight in a couple of months.
Important: stretching should not be “solo” in the training plan. It is performed after a set of strength exercises on the muscles of the back and legs. The simplest stretching exercise is to sit on your buttocks on the floor and bend your body towards your legs.
In terms of training, this exercise is not the first one. For those who do not have a goal to learn basic exercises, it is placed after the leg press with medium or narrow feet. For more balanced plans - after the classic deadlift, or sumo deadlift, if it suits the athlete more according to anthropometric indicators.
It is a misconception that deadlifts “cause lower back pain.” If such pain occurs, it is necessary to exclude hypertonicity of the piriformis muscle, hernia, protrusion and pinched nerves. “You can’t just continue lifting with light weights”; you need to consult a doctor. For many people, deadlifts really help with back pain, since holding weight in this way helps to “free” the nerve roots that are pinched from improper posture during sedentary work. But no doctor will recommend you to “treat cravings,” especially if there is no accurate diagnosis.
In fitness, any back pain is a reason to exclude deadlifts from the training plan.
Unique secrets of “power” deadlifting for powerlifters
The theoretical methodology itself cannot be ideal, since the athlete may have many questions about the details of the exercise. It is for this purpose, based on monitoring common questions among powerlifters, that this section was created.
Complete your exercise with the following nuances:
- Never perform this exercise without warming up your muscles. Do deadlifts after your body has warmed up through your regular workout routine; — The starting position of the body is the athlete’s stance, shoulder-width apart, with the toes of the feet under the bar; — The grip of the bar must be wider than the position of the legs. In this case, use a different type of grip, grab the bar with one hand from above and the other from below. - Watch your back. When performing a “power” pull, the back should always remain straight. If during this exercise you notice that your back begins to round, then you should additionally select a set of exercises that will help train your back flexibility. — Always maintain a balanced (stable) posture, do not make sudden movements. Perform all phases of the deadlift as smoothly as possible, without sudden jolts.
For those who have already tried deadlifts! You can only increase the weight of the barbell when you have thoroughly honed your deadlift technique. To do this, you need to consult with a powerlifting coach.
Working muscles
The deadlift is so loved by bikini athletes and their athletes for only one reason - it allows you to avoid working with the quadriceps, and therefore avoid increasing the volume of the hips “according to the male type”. In the classic deadlift, the breakdown occurs due to the quadriceps, which allow you to push off the floor. In the “dead” lift, the weight is lifted due to the work of the biceps and buttocks.
Working muscles:
- Back extensor;
- Biceps femoris;
- Gluteal;
- Soleus
The abs, latissimus dorsi, quadriceps, and oblique abdominal muscles work as stabilizers. This movement allows you to learn how to breathe correctly while deadlifting under load, but does not promote chest expansion. The muscles of the inner thighs are also included in the work during stabilization.
It's a STRAIGHT LEG DEADLIFT, baby!
Confusion in concepts
“Women’s and men’s” trainers are very fond of saying that deadlifts are for women. What. They can tell this to Phil Heath, who does this exercise regularly. Or the millions of not-so-famous powerlifters for whom the deadlift is the second auxiliary movement for the biceps hamstrings after the standing bend over with a barbell.
Common people often confuse:
- Deadlift, that is, deadlift with straight legs;
- Deadlift, a competitive powerlifting exercise;
- Romanian deadlift
This exercise is often called a “deadlift” in Russian coaching practice. The term came from English-language translated magazines. In Soviet textbooks on weightlifting, the movement was called “bending over with a barbell in hands”; the “Romanian” deadlift as such was not distinguished there; a similar exercise was called “push deadlift”.
For your convenience, the “Romanian” deadlift is a bent-over exercise with a barbell with slightly bent knees. Bending helps to overcome the dead point and lower the barbell lower. Therefore, contrary to popular belief, the “Romanian” is not an exercise that “isolates the hamstrings and buttocks,” but a movement that shifts part of the load to the lower back. Therefore, in scientifically based training plans, it is performed with light to medium weights, and is not used to set strength records.
The deadlift or straight-legged row is called so precisely because of the locked knees, this movement is more for the hamstrings and buttocks, and less for the lower back. The classic deadlift is different in that the weight is lowered to the floor each time and is lifted off it by pushing off the floor with your feet. It is a mistake to think that the classic deadlift is some kind of hybrid of a squat and deadlift. The angle of bending at the knees may not be large at all; the difference is in the movement, or more precisely, in the vector of application of force. The movement is initiated by pushing the legs into the floor, and always starts with the legs, not the back.
Romanian barbell deadlift
The Romanian deadlift is certainly one of, if not one of the top three, then one of the 5 most useful bodybuilding exercises for sure! Of course, the Romanian deadlift should be considered a basic exercise for the legs. In fact, the Romanian deadlift targets the back of the thighs, although this exercise also works other muscles in the back of the body.
The problem with any deadlift is that there are many similar exercises and many athletes do not know the difference between one type and another, and in the end they do not understand what, and they do not understand what muscle they are pumping. Today we will try to separate the Romanian deadlift from some others. But first, according to tradition, we will consider all the features and advantages of the exercise, and at the end we will analyze the varieties.
Nowadays, beginners who are just planning to master this exercise are especially lucky. If I had had such instructions in front of me at one time, I’m sure mastering deadlifts would have been more painless. I just started pulling, I don’t understand what and I don’t understand where (something between a Sumo, deadlift and Romanian). As a result, in the first stages of mastering deadlifts, I managed to break my back. By studying this postulate and applying the recommendations I described, you will be able to insure yourself against this kind of injury and pump up the target muscles. I guarantee it!
Execution technique
One simple life hack will help you perform this movement technically correctly. To begin, learn to lean forward with a straight back while standing on straight legs. The position of the hands is moving along the hips.
The order of execution is as follows:
- The barbell is taken from the racks with a straight grip or a lock grip; if necessary, straps are used. The grip is not a fundamentally important point of the exercise; greater concentration is required on the work of the legs and buttocks;
- While inhaling, bend forward with a straight back, due to flexion at the hip joint;
- The knee joints are straightened and “locked,” as it were; there is no need to move your knees;
- The depth of the tilt is determined by the ability to maintain a straight back; as soon as the back begins to bend in the lumbar region, you need to start moving up;
- Allowable tilt depth is any amplitude below the knee;
- Extension occurs as you exhale;
- The movement is performed the required number of times, movement in the knees is excluded;
- You should not throw your head back, you should try to keep it neutral, the neck is an extension of the spine, you should not look at the ceiling, as some athletes do when lifting heavy weights in the classical deadlift.
Important: you should not even try to lift the same weight in this exercise that you could lift in a classic deadlift.
Deadlift - execution technique.
What is the difference between the Romanian deadlift and the deadlift?
The difference between the Romanian and the deadlift is primarily that the classic deadlift loads significantly more muscles (about 80% of all muscles), while the Romanian deadlift is more aimed at pumping the back of the thigh (biceps) and gluteal muscles.
- The amplitude of movement in the Romanian deadlift is shorter (the bar is lowered to the middle of the shin), due to this the load on the lumbar region becomes several times less than in the classic version.
- Another difference between the Romanian deadlift and the deadlift is its priorities: the classic deadlift is more popular among men, and the Romanian deadlift among young ladies.
A very important point: the Romanian deadlift does not tolerate different grips . Different grips are suitable for powerlifters for record-breaking competitive performance in the classic deadlift, as it helps to hold large weights. But it creates a completely unnecessary torque in the spine, which leads to an uneven distribution of the load between the left and right parts of the body. It is best to use wrist straps, this will allow you to take the necessary weights without being distracted by your grip.
Differences between types of traction
What is the difference in technique between types of traction? It’s strange, but all three types of deadlifts are fundamentally different in starting position and execution technique.
How is Romanian deadlift different from deadlift?
The Romanian deadlift is popularly called a lower back exercise. This is not entirely correct from the point of view of the technique, but it conveys the sensations very accurately. When the weight of the barbell is lifted on bent legs, part of the effort is given to the lower back.
Technical features:
- The barbell is removed from the racks, and after moving away, slight flexion is performed in both knee joints. The stance is symmetrical, the heels can be placed under the pelvic bones, or a little narrower, the toes can be slightly spread or left parallel, as is convenient;
- The tilt is performed by bending the hip joint while exhaling. The task of the abdomen is to keep the spine stable, so you cannot push the anterior abdominal wall forward;
- The bar slides over the body, touches it throughout the entire amplitude, there is no point in “throwing” the barbell away from the body;
- The reverse movement “starts” with contraction of the gluteal muscles, exhalation occurs with effort;
- The Romanian deadlift resembles pushing the pelvis back and bringing it toward the midline as the athlete straightens.
Romanian deadlift from the classic
The Romanian deadlift does not involve completely lowering the weight to the floor. Therefore, in strength sports it is defined as “bending with a barbell in straight arms”, and not as a “pull”. In the classics, the athlete starts from the floor, he rests his feet, tears the barbell off the platform, and lifts it, moving the bar along the body. Fixation of weight - at the top point, with shoulders pulled back. Double movement of the bar along the body, that is, movement up and down during lifting, is not allowed.
The difference between classic and deadlifts
Here the differences are obvious. A deadlift is a bend over with a barbell with straight legs. You don't have to touch the floor with the pancakes. The classic deadlift is always performed from the floor, and there is flexion in the knee joint. Some athletes find it more convenient to perform classic deadlifts from the floor from a high start. They bend their legs minimally, but this is the only way their body takes the optimal position for removing weight from the floor, and the most stable support.
Main mistakes:
- Bending the legs at the knee joint in a deadlift is a technical error. Moreover, it is not recommended to change the angle of your knees during the exercise;
- Lowering the weight due to inertia, that is, throwing the barbell down, can lead to injury;
- Rounding the spine in both the thoracic and lumbar regions is a mistake. If in a classic deadlift rounding in the thoracic region is not a technical error, and only a “hump” in the lumbar region is not allowed, then in this auxiliary exercise the back should remain straight;
- Too small a movement is not allowed when the bar does not fall below the knees;
- It is necessary to activate your back so that there is no need to throw your head when lifting the weight up;
- Most technical errors occur due to the selection of inappropriately heavy weights. It is also not allowed to “twitch” the weight with the shoulders, that is, a shrug together with a deadlift.
We include it in our training
Introducing a simple and effective lower body workout program that includes the Romanian deadlift. Before any workout, remember to thoroughly warm up your muscles. You can modify it according to your preferences:
| Squats | 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of maximum weight) |
| Romanian deadlift | 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of maximum weight) |
| Single leg squats or lunges | 3 sets of 6-8 reps (75-80% of maximum weight) |
| Lying leg curls | 2 sets of 6-8 reps (75-80% of maximum weight) |
| Additional exercise: standing calf raises | 2 sets of 8-12 reps (70-80% of maximum weight) |
Which option to choose
The classic deadlift is an exercise for developing strength and growing muscle mass. Beginners are recommended to start learning deadlifts with this. The Romanian deadlift is for those who need to develop the muscles of the thighs and buttocks, plus strengthen the lower back, and the deadlift is for isolated work on the hamstrings and buttocks.
In the training plans of strength athletes, all three lifts occur to varying degrees. For a fitness specialist, the Romanian deadlift is considered the safest option, but the straight-legged deadlift is not available to everyone; it is mainly intended for people with good flexibility.
Romanian deadlift for girls
Dear girls, I hasten to please you: your butt will definitely become rounder and gain additional elasticity. In addition, the Romanian deadlift separates the muscles of the buttocks from the hamstrings, making the butt more defined. So the Romanian deadlift is the best for women and girls, because what young lady doesn’t want to twirl her elastic butt in front of the admiring gaze of her gentlemen?
I definitely say: the Romanian deadlift is great for girls, the main thing is not to confuse this exercise with the classic deadlift. Otherwise, the load from the buttock muscles will go to the latissimus muscle and lower back, and working with the problem area will be unjustified. Follow the correct technique and your butt will look appetizing and pleasant to the touch.
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