Well, hello. Welcome to my channel. Welcome back if this isn't your first time. Today will be a
first in what I hope will be a series here on my channel called the how-to guides, and we'll
be starting with how to deadlift. We're going to go over the different ways you can deadlift, what
muscles they work, answering some frequently asked questions, and stay till the end of this video to
hear more about the giveaway I'm currently running on my channel. Okay, let's get started.
So the deadlift is a compound exercise. That means it works multiple groups of muscles
at the same time; so, we're going to go through the different ways to deadlift, and as we go through
them, I'll mention which groups of muscle each type works. Okay, so we're going to start off with
a stiff leg/straight leg deadlift. Okay, this way of deadlifting focuses mostly on your back
muscles, but it also works your hamstrings and your glutes. Okay, to start off this exercise, you're going
to have your feet about hip width apart. As you come down to pick up the bar, your hands should be
right next to your hips with an overhand grip, that means you can see your knuckles from the front.
Okay, as you go through to come up, your knees should have a slight bend in them if that's
more comfortable for you, but not too much, you should try and keep them as straight as possible.
Stand up. Make sure when you get to the top, you squeeze those glute muscles so you can
really get a good amount of contraction in them, to really make sure they're activated through
this exercise. As you come back down, you should find you have a slight arch in your back as you get to
the bottom of this exercise. Now, with this one, you should ideally take be able to take the bar all
the way to the floor, but depending on the kind of equipment you're using, you might find that you get
just above the floor before you have to come back up, because you really have to be protective of
your back and make sure it doesn't arch too much or you can expose yourself to getting injured.
Now, this workout I find is really great to incorporate into days when you're looking to
do some bark workouts. I tend to kind of start with this particular exercise, as it's a compound movement,
so it kind of wakes up all those muscles back there before you go into more specific muscles.
The second way to perform a deadlift is the romanian deadlift. Now, this is slightly similar
to a stiff leg deadlift in the setup, in that you start off with your legs about hips width apart,
but your hand placement is different. Okay, so your hands should be about shoulder width apart;
same overhand grip as before.; okay, this is to help protect your bicep muscles as you
perform this workout. Okay, with this as you're coming up you find you have more of a bend
in your knees, so you really feel that stretch through your hamstrings.
As you come up again, ensure to squeeze those glute muscles at the top get those muscles working.
As you come back down again, you will have a slight arch in your back, but with this you want to don't want
to go all the way to the floor, you want to stop just at your shin before you come back up. This
exercise is great at working the glutes and the hamstrings, a little bit of the back as well in
there. The third way to perform a deadlift is one of my personal favourites to use, the sumo deadlift.
In this one, you find your feet are wider part with your toes pointing outwards, same overhand grip,
but this time you have to ensure to keep your hands within the space created by your legs.
As you come up again, when you get to the top give those glutes a nice squeeze. As you come back
down, you find you have a slight arch to the back but not too much, your back will be a little bit
straighter than with the other two. Again, you want to ensure you get the bar all the way to the floor
to get as much of a stretch through your muscles as you can before you come back up.
Now, this exercise is great for working out the glutes in particular. It's fantastic to add in
if you're looking to build up those glute muscles. It's also good for the hamstrings, the back and the
quads and inner thighs, so this to me is one of the ultimate compound exercises, Okay, next we're going
over some questions, and I will do my best to cover as much as I can, and answer them, starting off with
your core. Now, it is very important to keep your core engaged as you perform a deadlift. To do this,
you just simply imagine your belly button moving towards your back, but in a way that you're still
able to breathe. This will help provide you with more stability as you perform this movement. Okay,
next is, is this okay to perform if you have a knee injury? Well, ideally, this is something that you go
over with with your doctor or physiotherapist depending on your level of injury, but usually I
find it's okay to perform because your hamstrings are quite good protecting your knee injuries,
but if you're really worried, I would definitely start with something like the romanian deadlift
because that puts less tension on the knees. Okay, the next question is about breath control.
Sometimes, I find when I'm working with people, they struggle a little bit about trying to
figure out how to breathe when performing this exercise, especially if this is your first go.
What I would, what I often say to them is
just remember to tell yourself inhale, exhale. So, ideally, inhale on your way down, exhale on your way
up. It's a great way to get into the habit of it, and eventually your body will catch on.
Another question I get asked about is weights. Now, I know there is a temptation to run into the gym
and pick up the heaviest weight and perform this exercise, but I strongly, strongly advise against
doing that. I would start with a very low weight, because with this you want to ensure you have the
form and technique down before you start to pick up anything heavy, to avoid risking injuring your
back and your knees. Start low, get the exercise down, and then build up the strength from there.
Alright, that's all I have for you today. Remember our giveaway is still going on
for a 50 euro gift card to any activewear brand of your choice. Now, how to get into this giveaway
is; one, like this video, two subscribe to my channel and three leave me a comment down below
about which activewear brand is your favourite and why. If you're looking for some bonus entries,
follow me over on my socials, I'll leave the links to those down below as well. Thank you so much
for watching. Please like, share, subscribe, watch my other videos, they're all right there. I'll leave them
all right there for you, and come back for more fun stuff, we have tons more planned. Alright, bye.