Is APT Killing Your Deadlift Lockout?
People with slow deadlift lockouts often have anteriorly tilted pelvises.
Though it is normal for strong people to have a bit of anterior pelvic tilt (APT), it can leave them grinding through their lockouts with an arched lower back. They rely on their spinal erectors more than the powerful glute muscles, and may also be tempting to re-bend the legs (hitch).
On heavy deadlifts, this can turn into a difficult position to muscle through. The hips are too far back while the bar is dragging them down in front.
Rack pulls, block pulls and lockout-specific exercises won’t help much in this case. Due to the ATP, the grabby spinal erectors will still be taking on the load. Spinal erectors do not have as much capacity as the glutes for moving weight, so it’s likely that the person’s deadlift progress has stalled.
Though watching someone muscle through a conventional deadlift grinder can be a lot of fun, there is a simple technique adjustment that might help to smooth them out a bit and add pounds to the bar.
Try Starting the Lockout Earlier
Instead of starting the lock-out as the bar nears mid-thigh (or wherever the instinct naturally kicks in), begin to posteriorly tilt the pelvis earlier. Depending on leverages, this may be somewhere around knee-height, or just as the bar clears the knees.
Do not just push your hips forward or concentrate solely on a glute contraction. This can still result in lumbar hyperextension for those of us who are prone to it. Imagine the pelvis as a thick, heavy gear that is rotating tightly. The hips pull up in the front and down in the back (posterior pelvic tilt- which in our case lands us at neutral), cranking hard to its final notch.
Training Methods to Consider
A great way to enforce this is by adding bands to the bar. If you are not in position before the band tension fully kicks in, the hips get left out in the cold.
If you find that you can’t do this at all, then movements such as cat/camel, where your pelvis goes into both anterior and posterior pelvic tilt, might help to establish more awareness and control over pelvic positioning.
Conclusion
I first stumbled across the pelvic tilt correction via JL Holdsworth’s Technique Series on elitefts. Being an anteriorly tilted deadlift grinder myself, I had been stuck in the mid-300’s for long enough that I was wondering if I hit my ceiling. I was able to apply this and see my deadlift start moving again.
You still might have to grind on max attempts. But by thinking about lockout and tilting the pelvis a little sooner than what may be instinctual, you will be in a better position to grind through.
Failed Deadlift Without Tilt Correction:
Successful Deadlift With Tilt Correction: