Do you have pain with deadlifts?

The deadlift is an excellent movement pattern that humans use to lift very heavy things, but sometimes people can have pain with this pattern.

Fortunately, there are modifications that I teach many of my clients so that they can still practice the pattern, work their posterior change aka glutes and hamstrings and keep their bodies functional and strong.

Deadlifting is about hinging at the hips and using the strong, big muscles to lift. In this video, I teach you the pattern and if you don’t deadlift now, this will be a great video for you to watch and practice using the Hotdog In A Bun method.

But…what if you already deadlift, but you have pain when you do them? 

1. Limit the range of motion. ​​

​Lift from an elevated surface or  use a band attached at hip height. This enables you to maintain low back and hip position without losing core control.

2. Lighten the load.

This might sound obvious, but sometimes people just want to do what they’ve always done and when you have always done a certain thing, it can bruise the ego to have to take a step back. I think if you keep in mind that going lighter doesn’t equate to failure, but to caring better for yourself, than you realize it’s the right and best thing to do.

3. Lower the volume.

Similar to lightening the load, except you may (or may not) be able to use the same amount of weight, but you do fewer reps and sets, giving your back more time to rest and build up.

4. Slow down.

This is again, about owning the pattern and having core control throughout the entire range of motion. Take your time on the decent, pause and re-set or check your posture, then start the ascent.

In some instances, when pain can’t be avoided, we make other modifications and train the body In a different way to build up to being able to do the deadlift. 

These modifications are typically mobility and core control related.

We never “skip” – there is always a way to do something that is beneficial.