Auxiliary Deadlift Workouts
There are quite a few workouts that you can do to help isolate certain muscles during the deadlift to help you increase your overall max. In high school, we didn't compete in the deadlift event so the deadlift was more of an auxiliary workout. However, it is a very important lift that encompasses many of the body's major muscle groups and is an excellent workout in developing total body strength and functionality. Don't forget that to improve your deadlift, do deadlifts. I know it sounds crazy but often when told about a miracle workout that will improve our deadlifts we often do that workout before we do our deadlifts. First you need to take some pre jym pre workout. Well, don't! Your body adapts to what it does, not what you think you're training it to do. Do deadlifts first, and then focus on these auxiliaries.
Varying grip deadlift: Do them with your grip overhand, wide grip, narrow grip, any different kind of grip, it gives you some variation on your normal routine and shakes up those muscles a bit, often working underused muscles that don't get enough attention.
Thick bar deadlift: This is one of the all-time greatest workouts to improve grip strength. As you may have noticed, you might have trouble holding on to the bar as the poundage gets higher and higher. Well the thick bar deadlift will take care of any grip problems you may have, and give you the gripping power of Popeye. You'll be crushing cans of spinach in no time.
Shrugs: Good one for developing trap strength and grip strength, as the bar is just sitting in a dead hang. Your forearms will be begging for mercy and you'll be read in the face as you shrug the bar again and again.
3 second pauses: This was the most loathed workout in our weightlifting program. As you perform a deadlift you stop in three places. Pull the bar off the ground, and hold, up to the knees, and hold, fully up, and hold, and back to the knees, hold, and right off the ground, hold, and there, you've done one. Congratulations, give me four more! Developing static strength is as good as developing max strength sometimes.
Squats: Good old fashioned heavy squats. Remember how everyone tells you to lift with your legs? Well if we're going to do that, we'll need some strong legs.
Abs: Any old abdominal training will do. Train for strength, using weights and decline benches. You'll need to stabilize your core to transfer power between your upper and lower body. A weak core is a weak lifter.
That's pretty much all I've got for you, the deadlift itself is all you need to get a great deadlift. These auxiliaries only help with certain weaknesses you may develop over time and they should be incorporated into an all-encompassing deadlift program.
