The Deadlift: Simple, Honest, Powerful.

JW Fitness
Feb 18
5 min read

Pick something up. Put it back down.

That’s the deadlift.

Simple in theory. Not always simple in practice.

As the name suggests, the bar starts from a dead stop.

No momentum. You must break inertia, It’s you versus gravity.

I’ve been lifting for 24 years. Through my powerlifting days I built my deadlift to over triple my bodyweight with a lift of 257.5kg at a bodyweight of 81kg.

The deadlift was my favourite lift, probably because it was the lift I was best at but also because there was no better feeling than feeling a heavy bar in your hands and being able to stand up with it.

There is NOTHING subjective about a deadlift. You can either lift it or you can’t. I love that because it means you HAVE to put the work in if you want to make progress.

Well I want to give back and that's why we are running a Deadlift Workshop on March 22nd at JW Fitness.

Not a theory heavy seminar.

A practical, coached, hands on session where you will lift, be coached, and leave knowing exactly how to train your deadlift going forward.

A little about the Deadlift

The deadlift is a compound exercise that will work the whole body.

You may have heard the term posterior chain as well in relation to the deadlift which focuses down on some of the main muscles used such as:

Glutes & hamstrings that are the main hip extensors
Erector spinae helping to maintain a strong, neutral spine
Quads providing knee extension
Adductors helping to stabilise the pelvis (adductor magnus acting like a 4th hamstring)
Abdominals & obliques helping to stabilise the torso and pelvis
Lats providing shoulder and torso stability

In an efficient deadlift, main muscles should contract in relation to their strength / power in the lift such as:

Glutes → Hamstrings → Lower back

In reality, many people reverse that order and end up going:

Lower back → Hamstrings → Glutes

This can lead to an inefficient deadlift and you not reaching your potential.

Why Most People Struggle With the Deadlift

Not necessarily because of weakness, however that can be a limiting factor

Instead it is more likely they:

Don’t understand bracing and can’t transfer energy efficiently from the ground up
Don’t create tension before the bar leaves the floor leading to a jerk and movement from the knee before the hip
Don’t know which variation suits them. There is no one correct deadlift, instead it depends on the person and their goals
Don’t know how to address sticking points. Whilst the deadlift is the main exercise, understanding the parts that make up the deadlift allows you to break it up and work on specific areas to improve the whole lift.
Or simply overcomplicate it / buy into the fear mongering that deadlifts will hurt your back.

The deadlift doesn’t need to be complicated.

But it does need to be coached properly and given the respect it deserves.

What We’ll Cover in the Workshop

This is a 4-hour, highly practical workshop.

You will:

1. Warm Up Properly

We’ll go through:

Mobility drills to get the body ready

Activation drills for the main muscle groups or to focus on specific drills / cues

Breathing work to help understand bracing (crocodile breathing, 360 breathing)

We’ll run through the lift with individuals to help everyone see the coaching

You’ll pair up.

You’ll coach each other, to help you understand the deadlift even further.

Whilst the simplest warm-up for a deadlift is deadlifting lighter loads and building up to your working weights. But most people need better awareness before they load the bar.

2. Core Bracing & Tension

Understanding tension is everything when it comes to the big lifts, especially the deadlift.

Brace like you’re about to be punched in the stomach.

We will look at 360 breathing and how using a belt can help with this.

Before the bar moves, you should already be tight. We will focus on drilling this in to help with understanding.

3. Conventional, Sumo & Trap Bar

You’ll lift all three:

Conventional
Sumo
Trap bar

We’ll break down:

Pros and cons of each and how this may change based on your body type.
Who each variation is appropriate for
How to find your most efficient setup as this will change person to person.
Bar position and centre of gravity
Breaking the bar before it leaves the floor

When strength and fitness are the goal, efficiency is key, so understanding the fundamentals is key.

4. Sticking Points & Fixes

We’ll cover common sticking points:

Off the floor
Just below the knee
Lockout

And the drills that actually help. We will focus on covering what is appropriate for the attendees and progresses their lifts but we will touch base on most of the exercises below:

Pause deadlifts
RDLs
Block pulls
Deficit pulls
Snatch grip
Banded deadlifts
Staggered stance
Suitcase lifts

Plus accessories that actually carry over to the deadlift and why:

Hip thrusts
Hamstring curls
Lat pulldowns
Carries
Back extensions
Nordic curls
Reverse hypers

5. Common Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

We’ll break down things like:

Jerking the bar (no tension)
“The squatter” (bar too far forward, too much knee bend)
Knee cave (also known as knee valgus)
The shrugger at lockout
Hyperextending at the top
Slamming the bar down
Not respecting warm-up sets

And more importantly how to correct them and why correcting them is important.

6. Programming the Deadlift

We can’t only think of the deadlift as an individual lift if we want to improve it. We have to look at programming as well.

So you’ll leave knowing exactly how to improve it in the individual session but more importantly how you can train it.

We’ll cover:

How often to deadlift (1–2x per week)
Where to place it in your week

Where to place it in your session
Rep ranges based on your goals
When to use variations
4-week vs 12-week blocks
A simple 12-week progression model

Including:

Testing
Learning 5x5 phases
Learning 5x3 strength phases
Learning 3x3 + back-off work
Retesting properly

When you are looking at improving the deadlift and any lift for that matter every rep matters. Especially the warm-ups.

Who is the deadlift workshop for?

Members who want to go deeper into their training
Anyone who wants to get stronger in the deadlift
Personal trainers who want to truly understand how to coach the deadlift from the ground up

This is not just about lifting more weight.

It’s about learning to lift safely and efficiently.

Training to your potential without any ego.

The Details

Deadlift Workshop – March 22nd

• 4-hour workshop

• 12 places only

• Members: £45

• Non-members: £65

• Included in the Strength Workshop Bundle

The workshop is capped at 12. That way we will have lots of hands-on coaching. Plenty of lifting. Plenty of theory that is specific to the lift and what you want to get out of the day. However this will be followed by action as you train it and put the theory into practice.

Final Thoughts