Deadlifts are one of the fundamental exercises that you are likely to see in any gym. Despite their popularity, this exercise and other variations of hip dominant exercises require an understanding of what joint movements take place. This knowledge will help you perform these exercises correctly and safely to build strength and hypertrophy.
How to perfom hip hinge
As the name implies, hip dominant or hinge movements occur at the hip joint. Meanwhile, your knees should stay in the same, slightly flexed position throughout the movement. You should maintain a flat back while pushing your hips back during this movement pattern. And it’s the movement of your hips that will allow you to lower your torso.
How far forward (or how close to parallel) you lower your torso will depend on the type of exercise you do. For example, you will stay more upright during sumo deadlift compared to Romanian Deadlift.
Hip dominant movements primarily target your posterior chain. This includes low back, glutes and hamstrings. This movement pattern will also challenge your core and make it work to resist the bending of your lower back. At the same time, performing core-specific exercises to build strength and stability will help protect your spine during hip dominant exercises.
Hip dominant exercises
Deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, good mornings, cable pull-throughs, kettlebell swings are all exercises that require movement to come from your hips for proper execution. All of these exercises are a great way to build strong glutes, hamstrings and lower back. However, it is crucial to master a hip hinge pattern before adding weight/resistance to the movement.
Main issues
Given our sedentary lifestyle as well as a habit of bending at our waist to lift things off the floor, a lot of people might find hinge patten or hip dominant movements challenging. This is one of the reasons why so many deadlifts are performed incorrectly in gyms. This is also a reason not to jump straight into deadlifts or kettlebell swings without mastering the movement first.
Tight hamstrings
Tight hamstrings might be one of the limiting factors in performing hip hinge movements. While a passive hamstring stretch can help to an extent, it is important to strengthen hamstrings in their lengthened state. This can be achieved by performing a hamstring stretch followed by an isometric contraction at the end range. This stretch is performed by first holding a passive hamstring stretch for 1 minute. Follow this by pressing your heel against the wall/floor while contracting your muscle at about 70% intensity and holding this position for 10 seconds. You can repeat this 2-3 times.
During a half-kneeling variation of this stretch, it is important to create a slight anterior pelvic tilt to achieve a hamstring stretch instead of bending your back. Keep the knee slightly bent and avoid forcing the stretch.
Struggling to bend at the hips
When learning to hinge at your hips, it is important to focus on your hips moving back rather than your body moving forward. Being focused on moving your torso forward and trying to move the weights below your knees might lead to flexion of the knee to compensate for lack of mobility. Instead, practice hip hinge by only pushing your hips as far as you can without bending your knees. Wall tap exercise is a good way to get a feel of the movement. As you feel more comfortable performing it, you can step away further from the wall to increase range of motion.
Rounding the back
Another main issue that can occur during hip dominant movements will be related to your spine. You might be rounding your back or hyperextending the cervical part of your spine (neck). To address this issue you can perform hinge movement while holding a gym stick along your spine, making contact with your head, between your shoulder blades and your low back. Performing this drill will help you create an awareness of what your spine is doing during the movement and improve your form over time.
Once you feel comfortable performing the hinge pattern you can start performing some of the loaded exercises such as Romanian Deadlifts. You can make this exercise even more effective not just for strength and hypertrophy but also to continue improving your mobility, by slowing down during the eccentric phase (lowering) and pausing at the bottom. For example, you can lower on a count of 3-7 seconds and pause for 2-5 seconds at the bottom. Make sure you use an appropriate weight that allows you to focus on the execution.
Progression
Bodyweight hinge is a good place to start when learning to perform this movement pattern. When you feel more comfortable with hinging at your hips while keeping a neutral spine you can move onto kettlebell or dumbbell Romanian deadlifts. I personally prefer the kettlebell as it’s easier to hold. This means your grip won’t distract you from focusing on good technique. You can then move onto barbell Romanian Deadlift.
Similarly, with traditional or sumo deadlifts, you don’t want to go straight to a barbell. Kettlebells are an excellent tool to use when learning either of these moves. They provide a comfortable height off the floor and are easy to grip. When you are ready to move to a barbell, you might want to lift from blocks or plates first instead of lifting off the floor.
It is also important to remember that depending on your body type, you might not be able to perform some deadlift variations with a neutral spine. That’s why it’s important to follow the progression. It will help you learn what works for your body before loading up a barbell and performing an exercise that simply isn’t ideal for your build. And while the deadlift is a great exercise, you can still build your posterior chain using other hip dominant exercises. The key is to master the hip hinging movement.