Many lifters begin the pull with a good arch, approach lockout, and then exaggerate the finish position with overextension of the lumbar spine. This is a good way to become injured and weaker.
These elite lifters share some fundamental characteristics at the start of their deadlifts—hips high, arm length maximized, shins very close to the bar, and torsos not vertical.
At IPF Worlds last year, the American men and women’s teams finished in ninth place and fourth place, respectively. This is the third consecutive year that neither team has placed in the top three at Worlds.
Powerlifting isn’t a sport that lacks for melodramatic opinions.
Squat depth has been a matter of controversy in powerlifting since the 1970s and continues to be so.
One of my favorite moments in the history of powerlifting is Doc Rhodes’ third deadlift at the 1977 IPF Worlds in Australia. Rhodes was in the 165-lb weight class and had squatted 512 lbs and benched 374 lbs.
With astounding strength, brilliant technique, and a champion’s will, Andy Bolton returned to the platform and showed us who he always was. And looking at the speed of the 1008-lb deadlift, he’s not finished.
What you’ll see is that he takes about two or three pulses of pull in order to get his weight from his toes back onto the middle of his foot before the bar leaves the ground. In other words, he’s using those little tugs to pull the slack out of his hamstrings after he sets his lumbar spine.
In the November 2006 issue of CrossFit Journal, Mark Rippetoe published, “A New, Rather Long Analysis of the Deadlift.” He concluded this breakthrough article by identifying three criteria for a correct deadlift starting position:
I’m becoming a deadlift supremacist more and more. Louie Simmons recently wrote in Powerlifting USA, “A weak man has a weak back, and a strong man has a strong back. It’s that simple.”
Fans of Run Lola Run might recall a piece of wisdom featured in the beginning of the movie—“After the game is before the game.”
“Carryover” is a word often used to describe how equipment improves lifts. What kind of carryover has powerlifting had in other aspects of your life?
You can’t choose your potential. But you can choose to fulfill the potential you do have.
Mike Stuchiner is a paragon of tenacity. In 1991, the native of Long Island, New York entered his first powerlifting meet. On August 18, 2007, he earned his first elite total at the Cincinnati Pro Am with a 775-lb squat, a 555-lb bench press, and a 620-lb deadlift in the 275-lb weight class.
If you needed an expert on Russian writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, you might contact Daniel Mahoney, a professor at Assumption College. For an expert on squatting, there’s Fred “Dr. Squat” Hatfield of the International Sports Sciences Association.