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July 18, 2005
To pause your deadlift or not to pause the deadlift, that is the question
Question: Should I pause on the platform between deadlift reps or touch and go?
As a rule of thumb, pause. First, you need to develop starting strength for a big pull and you will never do that unless you pull a dead weight. FYI, in the olden days the exercise was known as ‘the dead weight lift’.
Second, to do a touch and go rep you must lower the barbell in perfect form to set yourself up for a clean next rep and to protect your back. Doing a negative in the deadlift takes experience. Otherwise it is plain dangerous; the bar tends to pull the deadlifter forward on his toes and round his back.
Even if you have succeeded in not letting the bar run forward and bend you over, do not think your troubles are over. You probably have assumed an exaggeratedly upright stance. Your knees have slipped forward and got banged up while your hamstrings have lost tension. You have got yourself into a hideous position for the next rep. Which is why I recommend quickly pushing your hips back, dropping down with the barbell after each repetition, and resetting for each rep as if it is the first one in Power to the People!
Nevertheless, experienced lifters have legit reasons to periodically do touch and go deadlifts with controlled negatives. First, it is well known that eccentric contractions are important for stimulating muscle growth. Second, touch and go reps are good for cleaning up one’s technique. Prominent Russian powerlifting coach Askold Surovetsky recommends just that.
An interesting wrinkle in his program is alternating two types of deadlift workouts: heavy ones with full stops and dead weight starts, and lighter, high volume ones with touch and go reps. Pay attention: do touch and go deadlifts only with lighter weights and make sure to practice deadlifts with full stops between reps as well! For instance, if you follow the Power to the People! program, pull the first set with dead stops and the second, lighter, set in the touch and go manner.
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Posted by james at July 18, 2005 9:22 AM