Image credit: Powershotsmag.com

Lowering the bar is one of the things that goes bad most often on the Deadlift. Waking up with knee pain the day after because you hit your knees again. Or worse, back pain because you rounded your back on the way down.

I see both errors over & over in the Forum: rounding back, hitting knees, hitting knees again, more back rounding & another pair of knees that will hurt the day after. Here’s how to lower the bar correctly on Deadlifts.

How NOT to Lower The Bar on Deadlifts. If you don’t lower the bar correctly on Deadlifts, you’ll rarely Squat correctly neither.

• Rounding Your Back. Puts anterior pressure on your intervertebral lumbar discs, which can cause spinal injuries like herniated discs.
• Hitting Your Knees. Hurts and puts the bar away from your shins. You’ll pull with your shoulders above the bar, turning Deadlifts into Squats.

Here’s a video of how NOT to Deadlift. I hit my knees on the way down which puts the bar away from my shins. Unless you pull the bar against your shins, your shoulders end up above/behind the bar with your hips too low.

Why You Don’t Lower The Bar Correctly. This is where individualization comes in. There are lot of reasons why you could do things wrong.

• Bad Technique. You forget to keep your shoulder-blades back & down and chest up. You look at your feet on the way down. You don’t know how to lower the weight using your hips.
• Tight Hips. You lack hip mobility: tight hamstrings & glutes. You feel your hamstrings pull when you lower the bar.
• Bad Posture. If you have posterior pelvic tilt, your lower back will round when bending over. This is linked with tight hips and weak Psoas / abs.

How to Lower The Bar Correctly on Deadlifts. Move your hips first on the way down, not your knees. Push your hips back as far as you can. Flex your knees once the bar reaches knee level to bring the bar back to the floor.

• Keep Your Chest Up. If your upper-back is straight, rounding your lower back gets harder. Chest up, shoulder-blades back & down.
• Head up. Looking at the ceiling will hurt your neck. Looking down rounds your back. Keep your neck inline with your spine. Don’t look at your feet.
• Bend Your Hips First. Lower the weight by bending your hips first, not your knees. Use the same technique as when you Squat down.
• Push Your Hips Back. Think of sitting on a toilet. Push your hips back as far as you can. Flex your knees once the bar reaches knee level.

Check the video below. Hips go back first on the way down. Knees flex once the bar reaches knee level. The bar doesn’t hit the knees. The pull starts with the bar against shins and shoulder- blades above the bar.

If You Still Can’t Lower The Bar Correctly. Chances are your lower back will keep rounding even though you do all of the above.

• Improve Hip Mobility. If you have posterior pelvic tilt, exercises like the Seated 90/90 Stretch & Knee Hugs will help a lot. Check the hip mobility post & magnificent mobility for more.
• Lower The Weight. Some people Deadlift with a round lower back for years without getting injured. They’re exceptions. Lower the weight to practice technique rather than taking risks.
• Rack Pulls. Substitute Deadlifts by Rack Pulls until hip mobility improves. Do lots of dynamic stretching. Get back to Deadlifts as soon as you can.

Never substitute an exercise by another because you can’t do it correctly from the start. Spend time practicing technique. If you don’t see any improvements after several weeks and you did your best, then consider switching.