It’s that time again… time for your favourite personal trainer and diva of demonstration Jana McDermid to teach you another Move of the Week! Each week, Jana teaches you the proper form for an important exercise. To book a session with Jana or any of our other personal trainers, call our Pickering location or fill out our online form.
This exercise is an amazingly effective move for your lower body, especially your glutes, hamstrings, and quads. Not only that, it’s great for your core muscles, too. Just the act of keeping a tight core while the load is trying to pull you forward is extremely beneficial.
Also if you spend a lot of time at a desk, regularly doing deadlifts also does wonders for your posture. Another great reason to add these to your routine!
Here’s how to do a perfect deadlift:
1. Holding the barbell, keep your arms straight and knees slightly bent.
2. Slowly bend at your hip joint, not your waist, and lower the weights as far as possible without rounding your back, which should remain straight. Make sure you keep your spine neutral with a natural low-back arch, with shoulders down.
3. Keep the barbell close to your legs, almost touching them.
4. Squeeze your glutes to pull yourself up at a quicker pace than it took to bend down (It’s recommended that beginners take four seconds to bend down and two seconds to pull up). Don’t use your back and do not round your spine.
5. You should be using a weight where you can do three sets of 12 to 15 reps before fatiguing your muscles — but remember that you should be able to still do the move correctly on your last rep.
