Improving Your Deadlift Lockout
Failing at the lockout is arguably the most frustrating place to miss your deadlift. You have done all of the hard work and you just need to put the icing on the cake!
What contributes to missing the lockout?
There may be a few reasons that contributing to missing the lockout including your form, and weaker muscles that extend the hip. At the end of the pull your glutes and low back muscle come into play so strengthening those muscles will go a long way in helping to improve your lockout.
Helpful Exercises
- Hip Thrusts
- Good Mornings
- Cable pull through
These three exercises will strengthen the muscles responsible for extending your hips.
Additionally, block pulls and rack pulls can also be helpful deadlift accessories because you can focus on the upper portion of the lift.
Make sure to watch the video at the top of the page for a summary on how to improve your lockout in the deadlift!
Learn how to beat your deadlift sticking points from the ground and knee
One other thing to note when it comes to your deadlift lockout is the strength of your upper back muscles. Another common factor which kills people’s lockout is rounded shoulders and having the inability to pull them back to complete the lift.
This can be a combination of not setting up properly. Or weaker upper back muscles and external rotators of your shoulder which cannot keep your shoulders back.
Exercises like rear delt fly’s, face pulls and lat pull downs can be great for developing your back muscles.
Lastly, no matter how strong you are if you don’t have a proper setup. Your form will break down and it will be very hard to lockout your deadlift.
If you need to take a step back and check out the definitive guide to deadlifting
