The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [143]
Before using just one arm, though, you need to become comfortable on one leg.
Learning with the Two-Arm
Single-Leg Deadlift (2SDL)
Start and finish of the 2SDL. Note that the toes of the rear foot must be pointing at the ground, not outward.
Though we’ll use the 1SDL in training, it’s a good idea to first become comfortable with the single-leg deadlift using two arms. Two loaded arms create balance, and this allows you to focus on the most important element of the deadlift: the hip.
Learning with two arms takes less than 15 minutes. Here’s how:
Using a set of light dumbbells (10–30 pounds each), do 3–5 sets of 3–5 reps of the 2SDL to become comfortable with core stabilization and balance on one foot. The guidelines are identical to those for the 1SDL below but involve two hands and two dumbbells.
It will feel unusual. Prepare for your arches to be sore afterward. This brief time with the 2SDL will help prevent undue frustration when you move to the 1SDL, which involves many more forces, such as counter-rotation and counter-sidebending.
Use the below guidelines for practicing the 2SDL first, with two hands and two weights.
Performing the One-Arm Single-Leg Deadlift
• Stand on one foot, with about a 20-degree knee bend, and with the dumbbell or kettlebell placed to the inside of the supporting foot (elevated if needed to accomodate flexibility). The other leg is in full extension behind the body and is not allowed to be externally or internally rotated. In other words, the toe of the rear leg should point toward the ground at all times. External rotation of the leg will allow the hip to open up and throw off the mechanics.
• Hinging at the hip, mimic a sitting movement and push your buttocks backward. Reach down and grab the weight with the arm opposite the standing leg. Use the free arm to balance. Imagine lifting the weight in a see-saw-like motion.6 A significant amount of rotational torque is generated when you stand on one leg and pull a weight with the opposite arm. Preventing this rotation requires core stability, which is exactly what we’re trying to develop.
• Set the weight down between each repetition. Gray works with high-profile athletes, and his deadlifting injury rate is zero. This rule (sets of one) is why.
If you are aiming for a set of five repetitions, for example, what you’re really performing is nine repetitions, five loaded and four unloaded interspersed between them. Here’s what it looks like: Reach down, deadlift the weight up to standing, set it back down under control, stand back up without the weight, regain your composure and posture, clear a breath, then go back down and repeat. Learn to hinge the hip and push into the floor with your foot before regrabbing—setting up the rep is as important as the rep itself. Just as with the chop and lift, going from unloaded to loaded is the whole point.
Deadlift Guidelines from Gray
1. The deadlift is a forward bending motion in appearance only. It is actually a sitting-back motion that puts the rear end far behind the heels. If deadlifting with one or two legs, the tibia (shin bones) should remain as close to vertical as possible.
2. Keep the grip strong, as that will keep your shoulders safe. Retraction (pulling back) of the shoulder is not necessary. Using a heavier weight, and therefore a firm grip, will allow proper reflex contraction of the rotator cuff musculature.
3. Fully extend and straighten the back leg. It should look like an extension of the spine. If your chest goes down two inches, you lift your back heel two inches. If your chest goes up two inches, you lower that back heel two inches. They should be perfectly connected.
4. Lift a respectable amount of weight, even if you must reduce the range of motion to do so.
Gray is constantly amazed how some personal trainers use five-pound chrome dumbbells on individuals who routinely carry