Larry Wheels Explains The Biggest Deadlift Mistake… And How Fixing It Made Him A Lifting Beast

“ONE OF THE BIGGEST MISTAKES I MADE WHEN I FIRST STARTED WORK WITH COACH GAGLIONE WAS I WOULDN’T SET MY BACK POSITION BEFORE I LIFTED. I HAD A BAD HABIT OF YANKING THE WEIGHT OFF THE GROUND WHEN I LIFTED AS A TEENAGER… BEFORE I GOT ANY COACHING IN THE DEADLIFT, I WAS SO FOCUSED ON MY FLOOR SPEED; I NEVER ACTUALLY GOT TIGHT AND MY BACK WOULD ROUND WHEN PULLING OFF THE FLOOR.”

For many newcomers, the deadlift can be one of the more intimidating exercises to perform. Or, for those more cocky, they can see it as a simple maneuver – you just pull the weight off the floor, right?

But performing a perfect deadlift is far more complex than it may seem. It’s also a powerful compound exercise making it worthy of the popularity and praise it receives as a bodybuilding, powerlifting, and strongman staple. Correct posture, controlling your core, and ensuring that you push your feet through the floor is essential. All of this must be done without becoming too tense and over-focusing on form and psyching yourself out.

Larry Wheels goes into surprising detail (for an Instagram post at least) explaining how bracing properly before a lift is essential for optimizing the deadlift. It’s what separates a good lifter from an elite lifter. It’s the kind of advice that was a game changer for Wheels – and likely helped him rise up to the hardcore lifter we know today.

Larry Wheels breaks down how any aspiring lifter can try along at home:

“THIS MAY SOUND CONFUSING AT FIRST YET YOU CAN TRY YOURSELF AT HOME.

FIND YOUR HIP BONES AND PLACE ONE HAND THERE

THEN FIND THE BOTTOM YOUR RIB CAGE.. THE BIG FELLAS MAY NEED TO DO A LITTLE DIGGING LOL

ARCH YOUR BACK AND NOTICE THE DISTANCE INCREASES

ROUND OVER AND YOU WILL NOTICE THE DISTANCE GETS SHORTER

NOW FIND THAT MIDDLE GROUND

THIS IS A GREAT WAY TO LEARN HOW TO POSITION YOUR BACK PROPERLY WHICH IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN BOTH THE SQUAT AND THE DEADLIFT”

The kind of advice for positioning your back properly that Larry Wheels gives here is a very helpful alternative to trying to find your middle position in the mirror. Different body types, shapes, and sizes all have a different “neutral” – making finding the position challenging until you’ve mastered it for yourself.

Ultimately, this is what is best about Larry Wheel’s post and advice. It’s one coming from experience and admitting past mistakes – rather than a generic catch all instruction manual that you can often find online. By making spine alignment more personal to his experience – and sharing tips on making it personal for anyone watching – Wheels proves that a few “secrets” to better lifts really do exist.

You can review his full post and breakdown of deadlift back and spine alignment above. And make sure to stick around the Generation Iron Fitness Network for news and updates on all things bodybuilding, fitness, and strength sports.