Why Seniors Need To Learn The Deadlift & How To Teach It

The Deadlift is known in the Fitness world as the "king of strength training" and would have to be the most effective exercise for building strength in the glutes and posterior chain.
See the article Best Deadlift Tips for more on this
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
But as much as the deadlift is known for great strength gains it is also known for creating horrible back injuries like bulging discs. We do not avoid using this exercise with people in our rehabilitation programs for back pain, instead it makes up a big part of the program for we know they need to learn how to do it right.
See articles about bulging discs below
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
And for this reason it is often labelled as too difficult or dangerous for the older adult or senior who wants to workout and improve their strength.
As with the squat the deadlift is a pattern of movement first and an exercise second. This means it is not something we just do in the gym. We use this movement pattern all the time to pick things up off the ground. Once we stop trying to improve and maintain this pattern huge problems are not far away.
See article about patterns of movement here
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
I would argue it is dangerous NOT TO SHOW the older adult how to deadlift!
But where do you start?
For you cannot go straight to a trap bar or loaded barbell deadlift off the floor.
What are the progressions so the senior can learn this amazing exercise with little risk?
In this video we show you a few simple ways you can teach this. To be honest this is great for anyone who wants to learn the deadlift but we had this video in mind for several of the older adults we have join in our Stronger For Longer Strength Training class.
Great articles to read with tons of detail about the deadlift and older adults strength training are below.
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....
Deadlift Technique
1. Stand with your feet hip width and your shins against the bar ( very important to have shins touch the bar )
2. Grip the bar just outside the knees with the elbows turned back so that the biceps face towards the front
3. Hold your chest high in good tall posture and slightly encourage your shoulder blades to pull together
4. Make sure you don’t tilt your head back too far as you can strain your neck. However sometimes I let my clients do this the first few times while they are concentrating on all the other components, otherwise it feels like paralysis by analysis.
5. Take a good belly breath, hold that breath and pull the belly button in towards the spine to activate your stabilizers.
6. Lift the bar off the blocks with the emphasis on your legs “pushing” the bar up as opposed to trying to pull it up with your arms. This is very important to get right and is the most common cheating tactic used by big blokes in the gym who do lots of arm work and little leg strength.
If you have back pain I do suggest getting a copy of our special online report that shows you all the assessments, mobility and stability work you need to get on top of your problem.
shop.noregretspt.com.au/au/Ba...
And if you live in Melbourne and would like to know more about our Personal Training programs or older adults program go to our website to request a free consultation
www.noregretspt.com.au/index....

[@AlSherman47]

Thanks lots - excellent video!

[@Noregretspt]

Glad I could help you out

[@catherinecooper6378]

An excellent video, not just for seniors! A great reminder for me of how to bend to pick up my shopping and other heavy objects. I slip into bad habits so easily.

[@Noregretspt]

So true

[@kingfisher2415]

Back injury and problems for 7 years. I'm 44. Introduced to dead lifts by a exercise physiologist 12 months ago. Started with a broom stick, now I can max 60kg but consistently do sets of 40kg. Done safely it's been fantastic for me. That's why I checked this video, I want to do them when I'm much older. Good video mate

[@Noregretspt]

Great stuff! That is awesome

[@MelissaJackNoRegrets]

An excellent topic to cover!!!

[@johnnyt1196]

great video, this information can help a lot of people out there, making sure they lift things safely and not blow their backs. great interpretation of the poor form bag lift, looks like the spine is going to buckle lol

[@brandtbrian123]

Another video where an extremely fit athlete performs a difficult move/stretch recommending it for people who are not strong and fit.......... Would love to see more videos of weaker, less-able bodied people attempting a move while a strength training coach guides them through how to do it. Those videos would be EXTREMELY helpful I'd think for people who are intimidated to start these exercises because the only visual model they see are extremely fit people who can already do these exercises/stretches with ease.

[@Noregretspt]

I appreciate what you are suggesting but it is not easy to get older adults to do these videos. Many do not want to be seen on You Tube or social media performing exercises. Especially if they are doing them poorly. Having said that I have been able to film many videos with older clients on my channel before and you will see a ton of these videos features in these articles noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/317-using-reflex-stability-agility-training-to-prevent-falls-with-older-adults
noregretspt.com.au/index.php/resources/blog/43-2014/344-the-best-leg-strengthening-exercises-for-seniors-to-improve-quality-of-life