Jason Wood and the team at Strong Bodies hosted another great clinic by Dan Gaudreau. This one was on the deadlift. I had the opportunity to take his bench press clinic in March and was looking forward to this clinic.
Dan is an IPF world champion and world record holder. He is currently the Colorado Chair for USA Powerlifting and owner of the Rocky Mountain Lifting Club.
He started by going over some of the unique features of the deadlift, relative to the squat and bench press. First there is no eccentric component. In the squat and bench, you first lower and then raise. Second, you can change your 3rd attempt up to 3 times. the lift is complete when standing erect with non-slumped shoulders and locked knees.
A lifter must wear socks that come up to the knee. The lifter must also have footwear that has a sole. Favorites are wrestling shoes, deadlift slippers and Chuck Taylors.
He discussed Sumo and Conventional Deadlift. He always trains new athletes in Sumo. Sumo requires a reduced back angle and favors most lifters, especially those with short legs and a long torso. The low back is the weakest link of the intramuscular deadlift chain.
The fundamentals of deadlift are all in the set up. The center of gravity of the weight and the lifter must be correctly aligned. 1" of accommodation can result in an increased perceived load of 10%. That is if you are off 2 inches on a 300# deadlift, it will feel like 360#. A lifter cannot get tight by pulling, the lifter must project their center of gravity backwards and then lift.
Arms must be straight for the deadlift. This will provide the smallest back angle. When the weight breaks off the ground, the hips should not raise relative to the shoulders.
Dan concluded the lecture part similar to the Bench Press Clinic by emphasizing Recovery to complete the triumvirate started with Workouts and Nutrition.
Hypertrophy, Intermuscular coordination and Intramuscular coordination are the keys to lifting more weight. We are seeking a Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand (SAID). The demand is created by intensity and frequency of stimulus. Dan recommends undulating periodization for most of his athletes.
PEDs = Augmented Recovery
Book recommendations - "Nutrient Timing" by John Ivy and "Practical Sports Nutrition" by Louise Burke
It was a large group of about 20 of us and the clinical portion was in groups of 5 on 4 platforms. During my set up for conventional deadlift, I sought a narrower stance to allow my arms to hang straight and slightly lower hips than I am used to. I also tried a Sumo deadlift and I want to position my feet at angle of 10:00 and 2:00 at about the 81 cm powerlifting knurl marks. I grab the bar at the same spot and lift much the same way. Hips down slightly, look up, create tension and extend my triceps, project center of gravity back and then pull. I would like to train with it to see if it works for me. Most conventional deadlifts fail at the knees. Most sumo deadlifts fail at the floor.
We talked about grip. Most of his lifters use a mixed grip when the weight gets heavy. If you choose a double overhand grip, he suggests a hook grip.
Finally we talked about reversed band deadlifts. Hang bands from the top of the power cage to assist pulling off the ground and over the lift, the bands shorten and the lifter supports more of the weight. Train with 400# to lift 300#.
During Q&A people asked about how frequently to train in terms of days/week. Dan pointed out that competitions vary significantly in terms of being shorter and longer. He also noted that the knurling is not always consistent on bars and should not be used for set up. At the IPF, there is a standard bar.
I feel like it was a good value at $40, but less insightful than the bench press. I am starting to get more interested in participating in a powerlifting competition.
Top 3 Insights:
Dan is an IPF world champion and world record holder. He is currently the Colorado Chair for USA Powerlifting and owner of the Rocky Mountain Lifting Club.
He started by going over some of the unique features of the deadlift, relative to the squat and bench press. First there is no eccentric component. In the squat and bench, you first lower and then raise. Second, you can change your 3rd attempt up to 3 times. the lift is complete when standing erect with non-slumped shoulders and locked knees.
A lifter must wear socks that come up to the knee. The lifter must also have footwear that has a sole. Favorites are wrestling shoes, deadlift slippers and Chuck Taylors.
He discussed Sumo and Conventional Deadlift. He always trains new athletes in Sumo. Sumo requires a reduced back angle and favors most lifters, especially those with short legs and a long torso. The low back is the weakest link of the intramuscular deadlift chain.
The fundamentals of deadlift are all in the set up. The center of gravity of the weight and the lifter must be correctly aligned. 1" of accommodation can result in an increased perceived load of 10%. That is if you are off 2 inches on a 300# deadlift, it will feel like 360#. A lifter cannot get tight by pulling, the lifter must project their center of gravity backwards and then lift.
Arms must be straight for the deadlift. This will provide the smallest back angle. When the weight breaks off the ground, the hips should not raise relative to the shoulders.
Dan concluded the lecture part similar to the Bench Press Clinic by emphasizing Recovery to complete the triumvirate started with Workouts and Nutrition.
Hypertrophy, Intermuscular coordination and Intramuscular coordination are the keys to lifting more weight. We are seeking a Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand (SAID). The demand is created by intensity and frequency of stimulus. Dan recommends undulating periodization for most of his athletes.
PEDs = Augmented Recovery
Book recommendations - "Nutrient Timing" by John Ivy and "Practical Sports Nutrition" by Louise Burke
It was a large group of about 20 of us and the clinical portion was in groups of 5 on 4 platforms. During my set up for conventional deadlift, I sought a narrower stance to allow my arms to hang straight and slightly lower hips than I am used to. I also tried a Sumo deadlift and I want to position my feet at angle of 10:00 and 2:00 at about the 81 cm powerlifting knurl marks. I grab the bar at the same spot and lift much the same way. Hips down slightly, look up, create tension and extend my triceps, project center of gravity back and then pull. I would like to train with it to see if it works for me. Most conventional deadlifts fail at the knees. Most sumo deadlifts fail at the floor.
We talked about grip. Most of his lifters use a mixed grip when the weight gets heavy. If you choose a double overhand grip, he suggests a hook grip.
Finally we talked about reversed band deadlifts. Hang bands from the top of the power cage to assist pulling off the ground and over the lift, the bands shorten and the lifter supports more of the weight. Train with 400# to lift 300#.
During Q&A people asked about how frequently to train in terms of days/week. Dan pointed out that competitions vary significantly in terms of being shorter and longer. He also noted that the knurling is not always consistent on bars and should not be used for set up. At the IPF, there is a standard bar.
I feel like it was a good value at $40, but less insightful than the bench press. I am starting to get more interested in participating in a powerlifting competition.
Top 3 Insights:
- Project Center of Gravity back before pulling
- The eccentric portion prior to touch and go will make the weight easier to pull
- It is very challenging for masters athletes to make progress without tracking recovery
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