Hunters Strength & Conditioning Blog

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Do You Need to Deadlift from the Floor?

February 27, 202410 min read

This is an article I never imagined I’d write. I was a deadlifting zealot for years, chasing the goal of pulling 600 pounds, and eventually deadlifting 615 at a body weight of 203. I’ve done a lot of goddamn deadlifting, and I’ve studied it from just about every angle. I’ve suffered it as a little more than a mild obsession. So, I never thought I’d write an article about why you don’t need to deadlift from the floor.


I’m sure some of you felt a pang of indignation as you read that last sentence. I get it. I would have felt that same pang a number of years ago. But after spending the past 18 years training, coaching, and teaching over 1,000 people from all walks of life – from NFL linebackers, to special operators, to hunters, to everyday folks, to other coaches at the top of the fitness industry – I can’t in good conscience say that you must deadlift from the floor. I can’t even say that it’s the best thing for you. 


I know my stance contradicts a lot of internet gurus and other hunting fitness coaches. But I won’t relent. I’m confident I’ve done more work on this front than they have. I’m also confident that you’ll see the light by the end of this article. 


We’ll start by covering why deadlifting from the floor is arbitrary and not at all scientific; we’ll chat about the deadlift’s goal for our application, and we’ll chat about joint control. Then we’ll finish up with the caveats to my argument.


Plate Size Has Nothing to do with Human Anatomy or Biomechanics


A full range of motion deadlift starts with a barbell resting inside of 45-pound or 20kg plates, which are resting on the floor. It finishes back on the floor after the lifter picks the weight up and stands to full height. The question is, what is significant about that range of motion? Well, nothing. There are two common tales that explain why Olympic and standard lifting plates are cut to their size. 


First, that’s just how big the machines could cut them when they were first manufactured. Absolutely zero science behind that. Second, they were cut big enough that they wouldn’t crush someone’s throat if they dropped the bar from overhead and fell. Which is a good thing. Notice, however, that neither of these explanations has anything to do with human limb length, torso length, or human leverages at all. The “need” to deadlift from the floor is arbitrary unless you’re competing in powerlifting or Olympic lifting. Well, it’s still arbitrary, but you must train yourself to lift within the competition’s parameters.


Since “full range” doesn’t truly mean anything in regard to human biomechanics, there’s no need to put so much stock in it. What matters is using the movement to achieve the goal and to do that within the constraints of your individual joint mobility, joint stability, and skill. What also matters is balancing risk vs reward. Let’s talk about the deadlift’s goal for us as hunters (and humans) and then we’ll cover risk vs reward, joint mobility and stability, and skill constraints.

The Goal is Systemic Strength


The deadlift recruits more muscle mass than any other movement. That means it has the most dramatic effect on the nervous system. And that means it’s about the best tool we have for building systemic strength. We use it to train the nervous system to generate as much force as possible. That raises your overall strength potential. Knowing that, it’s important to put you in the best position to move the weight through enough range of motion to make it worthwhile. Pulling from mid-shin to the knee is enough range of motion to do that. You recruit plenty of muscle mass and are able to use, potentially, more weight than you would while pulling from the floor.


A secondary goal is grip strength. We know that grip strength is important for longevity and, well, important for just living your damn life right now. Gripping the bar is also a big part of why we think deadlifting has such an effect on your nervous system – more so than the squat. It’s also why deadlift volume must be kept in check so that you don’t totally trounce yourself.


Since the goal is systemic strength, and we can build plenty of that while pulling from an elevated position, we don’t need to pull from the floor to achieve the goal. 


Alright, we know that the full range of motion has nothing to do with human anatomy or biomechanics. And we know that we don’t need to pull from the floor to achieve the goal. Let’s talk about why it’s a good idea to shorten your heavy deadlift range of motion.


Risk vs Reward


There are two main forces enacted on the spine while deadlifting – shear and compression. Now, you need some of each of these forces to make your spine, and the rest of your back, strong and resilient. Avoiding them completely is a bad idea. However, we do want to limit their effect so that we don’t shoot a disc out of our asses or strain a spinal muscle. Most deadlift injuries are lumbosacral, meaning low-back. So, we have to do our best to give the low-back an appropriate amount of stress while limiting injury risk.


There’s not much we can do about compression, but we can manage shear force. We do that with technique by creating as much tension as possible while pulling the bar into the body. But, likely more impactfully, we do it with position. Maintaining an upright torso angle limits shear force. You can do that by using a sumo stance – which only works well for people with short limbs and long torsos. Or, you can limit the range of motion by elevating the bar to the upper part of the shin or just below the knee, which puts the torso in a more upright position. Less shear force means decreased risk of disk injury and decreased risk of muscular strain. 


The hex bar is also a great tool for limiting shear force. It works because the weight is on each side of your body instead of in front of your body. Bonus: hex bar deadlifts typically allow you to use more weight and are more adaptable to bodily proportions (short vs long torso, etc.). These days I do most of my deadlifting with the high handles on the hex bar.


Let’s also think about this in the context of hunting-specific tasks. We do a lot of rucking during the offseason, and we do a lot of packing in and packing out during the season. Each places a lot of shear, rotational, and compressive forces on the lower back – even if you have the load appropriately distributed and are carrying it well. So, we need to use the deadlift to strengthen and maintain strength to deal with those stressors. But we can’t turn the deadlift into a detriment by over-exposing our backs to potentially injurious stressors. Full range of motion deadlifting over-exposes our backs to potentially injurious stressors.


We also have to consider joint mobility, stability, and skill.


Joint Mobility, Stability, and Skill for Deadlifting


Full-range deadlifts require sufficient ankle mobility, hip mobility, and hamstring extensibility (the ability of your hamstrings to stretch). They also require solid levels of low-back and core stability, grip strength, and skill. All of these elements lay the foundation for good deadlift form. 


The problem is many folks who try to full-range deadlift don’t have enough of these elements to put their body in a good lifting position. Their ankles don’t flex enough so they have to sit back on their heels. Or they lack the hip flexion necessary to drop their butt into a good starting position. And they go on lifting with these issues that lead to poor positioning. Then what typically happens is the low-back and the quads/knees are disproportionately stressed. This sometimes acutely causes injury. But what most often happens is that lifting with poor positioning accrues stress over time and leads to an overuse injury like a low-back strain or a disc issue.


Reducing the range of motion reduces the need for mobility in most cases. (We also test hip and ankle mobility to determine mobility needs.) It doesn’t, however, reduce the necessity of core stability, grip strength, and skill. That’s why we use a deadlift progression that begins with RDLs and progresses to rack pulls and hex bar deadlifts. We test to find out where a Backcountry Ready member should start with deadlifting. And if they aren’t ready to rack pull or hex bar deadlift, they train RDLs, which builds the skill and stability necessary for the more intense variations.


The best thing to do in any training situation is to find the exercise that puts you in a position where you can train safely and hard. Elevating the bar in the rack or doing a hex bar deadlift does that for most people even with mobility constraints. And if you need to improve your deadlifting skill, it often helps to follow a well-designed progression.


There are a couple of other factors that matter for avoiding deadlifting injuries. While I have you, let’s cover them.


Weight Matters (So Does Fatigue)


Many deadlift injuries occur because folks get a little too big for their britches. They were using more weight than they should have been. That overshot the capacity of their muscles and connective tissues, and they ended up with an ouchy. Remember, deadlifting recruits a ton of muscle mass. That means the impact on your nervous system is greater than with any other lift. So, you need to be judicious with weight, and also it takes less weight than you often think you need to have a training effect. It’s best to leave at least 3 reps in reserve at the end of each set most of the time. That means if you’re doing a set of 3, you do that set of 3 with a weight you could have done for 6 reps.


Fatigue is also a common factor in deadlift injuries. You can partly overcome this with training organization. Do your heavy deadlifts early in the training week before you’ve accrued a ton of training fatigue. Also, do them at the beginning of your training session after a good warm-up and a power training primer. Additionally, make sure your form is good and you’ve built some capacity before you do higher-volume deadlift sessions


Okay, with all of this covered, let’s have a quick chat about what to do if you do plan on deadlifting from the floor.

If You Plan to Deadlift From the Floor…


First, make sure that you have all the mobility and stability that you need. Second, choose low-handle hex bar deadlifts. These allow for the best torso angle while also limiting shear force by placing the weight laterally instead of in front of you. Additionally, this variation has more carryover to everyday life and hunting. You will most often pick up and carry things that are at your side, not things that are in front of you. Yes, I know, there are times when you’ll lift couches and dressers and the like that will be in front of you. But, for the most part, the things you pick up are at your side. And RDLs and rack pulls, along with strength training in general, will more than prepare you for that couch or dresser.


Also, if you’re really short, like a man under 5’5” or a woman under 5’3” or so, it’s probably fine if you deadlift from the floor. It’ll likely put you in about the same position as a taller person would be to do a rack pull.

Deadlift, But Be Smart About It


Listen, I think the deadlift is a great tool and will remain a staple in HPPM programming. But we must be smart about how we use it. Rack pulls and hex bar deadlifts achieve deadlifting’s goal of building systemic strength and grip strength while limiting the potentially injurious effects. So, pick up heavy stuff. Just stop doing it from the floor.


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Todd Bumgardner

Todd Bumgardner, the renowned strength and conditioning coach specializing in fitness tailored for hunters, has an exceptional background rooted in Central Pennsylvania's hunting culture and sports. Having honed his skills through both hunting and collegiate football, Todd pursued his passion by obtaining a master's degree in Exercise Science. With an impressive 17-year tenure as a dedicated strength and conditioning coach, he has catered to a diverse clientele ranging from aspiring young athletes to seasoned NFL veterans. Aside from his pivotal role at HPPM, Todd is a proud co-owner of Beyond Strength, a prominent training gym nestled in Northern Virginia. Notably, he also serves as a human performance coach for a prestigious tier 1 unit. His adventurous spirit extends beyond fitness, as he traverses North America in pursuit of hunting endeavors. Todd Bumgardner truly embodies a harmonious blend of expertise, experience, and a deep-seated passion for optimizing the physical prowess of hunters.

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