Many athletes and coaches debate the most efficient deadlift techniques and training methods. This is great and should be highly encouraged! Yet, sometimes in the pursuit of knowledge, the most basic fundamentals of what many consider “the king” of all exercises is overlooked. Bill Kazmaier, arguably the strongest man of all-time, had some very prophetic words about the deadlift. The great Kaz said, “Commit to the pull.” Among traditional barbell lifts, the deadlift is the ultimate test of mental toughness and testicular fortitude. Technique is essential to mastering this exercise, but in no other lifts does aggressiveness and internal rage aid an athlete as much as in the deadlift. Committing to the pull means walking up to the bar and knowing that the lift is complete. You have made a decision that you won’t drop the weight, come hell or high water. Heavy deadlifts hurt, but that’s OK! As you pick up the weight and you get to that point where something feels like it’s about to break, you pull through. You do this because you’ve made a commitment to the barbell! Once you make the lift, it’s pleasure, not pain, that makes up your personal paradigm. Pain is missing the lift and failing in your commitment to the barbell. Temporary discomfort will never match the pain of permanent cowardice in the deadlift. Remember, you have committed to the pull and that’s more than half the battle. I have alligator arms and small hands. Therefore, my body type is not conducive to being even a mediocre deadlifter. All the same, last year I had the biggest deadlift in the state of Texas (in all weight classes and raw or equipped). Moreover, it was performed raw. Aside from my training system, I credit my success in the deadlift to making a decision to commit to the pull.
Watch Michael Pyon Commit to the pull as he trains in 109 degree weather at Metroflex Gym and pulls a 25 pound PR.
“The Colonel” Brian Dobson, attacks a 650 deadlift at 53 years of age, watch Brian commit to the pull!
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Josh Bryant is one of the fastest rising names in the fitness industry. He works as a speed, strength, and conditioning coach at one of the top high school programs in Texas. Currently Josh is a personal trainer who works successfully with many clients, both in person at Metroflex Gym and via the Internet. By using the Joshstrength Method, he has trained world record setting powerlifters, women fitness competitors, Olympic athletes, professional fighters, NCAA champions, and a host of high school athletes who have received collegiate scholarships.
As an athlete, he won many national and world titles in both powerlifting and strongman, and at 22 years of age was the youngest person in powerlifting history to bench press 600 pounds raw. He squatted 909 pounds in the USPF, officially bench-pressed 620 pounds raw, and officially deadlifted 810 pounds raw. In 2005, he won the Atlantis Strongest Man in America competition.
Along with ISSA certifications in fitness training, nutrition, and conditioning, Josh has been awarded the prestigious title of Master of Fitness Sciences (MFS). He was also recently named the ISSA Director of Applied Strength and Power. In addition to being certified by the NSCA as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and by NASM as a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES), Josh completed his master of sciences degree in exercise science (July 2010). He has been published in numerous magazines, periodicals and websites.
Josh Bryant is the founder and owner of Joshstrength.com and The Joshstrength Method. To learn more about Josh Bryant or to contact him visit 
Needed this! Deadlift day is today. Inspiring I love it, great article.
Great article! I love them short and sweet like this.
You can’t be this aggressive while deadlifting. My deadlift was 420@198, it is now up to 505 after three years of learning self control. Be patient and control your emotions, aggression leads to failure.
Bryan: That may be what works for you, but that’s not what works for everybody. I think the professionals (not me) may know better than you. Personally, I’ve increased my pull ~250 pounds in 3 years and 80 pounds in less than a year by getting better at pulling and becoming more aggressive.
Edit: I don’t know where Bryan came from. I meant Barry. Sorry.
No offense, but when you look at Michael Pyon’s physique, you would never imagine he could DL 530 raw! I would put him around 205 on a good day. He looks like he just walked out of the high school chess club meeting. What’s he weigh, around 125-130? Someone needs to take him around the country and hustle his DL for bucks on wagers that he can DL 530 and then watch him destroy it and collect the winnings. Very impressive lift.
I agree with being calm before the lift, and then to let it all out. Michael has a back injury waiting to happen or its all ready there, I understand PRs, but having an 18 yr kid doing that with HORRIBLE form is not right. That is just nuts that trainers would stand behind him and feel ok with that.
I love that article, time to go pull a PR! Thanks Josh
ha ha ha douglas. You could definitely hustle a lot of people like that. Best would be to bring him into gyms to challenge people.
I find my deadlift goes up as more retards and general social ass-clowns enter into the powerlifting room to do 100 lb squats but hey its ASS TO GROUND. lol. It goes up even more if I hear them talking shit about my rep set scheme, or form. Anger is your friend in the deadlift. You walk up look at the bar, yell “fuck you” and lift it.
That first video was INSANE, such as small guy(from the looks of it) pulling so much weight! Good article as well.
Anger.. better still rage is an amazing weapon in a lifters arsenal when used correctly!
As for injuries.. they happen in this game, ‘just another bump in the road’ as quoted from Matt Kroc!
I agree about committing to the deadlift; if you’re not onto it the bar ain’t going nowhere. I like it so much just because it keeps you honest; IMO moreso than other lifts.
anyway, I admire that first kid’s strength but that is an injury waiting to happen to me. I’m not hating, he’s strong as hell, way more than I was at 18(I think my PR for that year was a whopping 100kg haha) but that form is painful to even watch!
that second guy is boss, though. I’m sure he’d whip my 22 year old ass!
I don’t think the first guy is small I think Josh is just such a monster that everyone around him just seems tiny.
Deff think that the Deadlift is a true show of strength, but for me personally the Squat is what requires the most testicular fortitude and respect. That may be partly due to the fact that the weight is resting on my shoulders, and if I f-ck up it could crush me.
That is crazy. Wasn’t there an article here recently about sciatica…this is how to find out all about it using form like that.
I think I might be getting too commited to the pull. Its leaving my squat in the dust. I just really enjoy the DL and all variations of it. On a heavy day I’ll do DL beyond ROM DL’s and rack pulls and then Z-squats. Looooooove it.
Matthew and Dumisani: You can criticize my form all you want but the bottom line is that at 163lb/74kg I was able to stand with a deadlift that is 3.25x my bw. I appreciate the concern for my health and safety. However, I am no amateur and I know what I am doing. I have experimented with different forms, grip widths, and feet spacing. I’ll admit, my form doesn’t look pretty at all but through constant trial and error this is the method I have discovered to maximize my one rep pull. Nobody said or even implied that you or anyone else must use the same form as I. The point of the video is to show how to man up and pull aggressively. If, after watching the video, all you have to say is a comment about my form; then I suggest that you read the article again because you’ve missed the entire point gentlemen.
Nice point Mr. Pyon……Now the ball is in your court Dumisani and Mathew. Yeah Pyon your form is ugly in the video but I was once told by a mentor that when it comes time to do the work sometimes form goes out the window and you just have to lift the damn weight.
Ok, on to video number two. The dude in the cowboy hat in the background is quite entertaining as he cheers on the DL attempt. Had to watch that one four or five times I kept laughing. Good pull though.
Michael, revisit this in about 5 years of doing that.
Its great that you keep going, even though the coach behind you encouraged it.
“I am no amateur and I know what I am doing. I have experimented with different forms, grip widths, and feet spacing. I’ll admit, my form doesn’t look pretty at all but through constant trial and error this is the method I have discovered to maximize my one rep pull. Nobody said or even implied that you or anyone else must use the same form as I. The point of the video is to show how to man up and pull aggressively”
Standing with heavy weight is not the problem issue. Well since you know what your doing and have a purpose which compromise tech, form, your back and knees to get a heavy pull spearing no expense to lifting for years to come, then cool, at least you have a purpose to what your doing.
Its not you that i question its the coachs behind you.
end of story.
This not a debate, or a call out.
Tyler,
well i guess what you said is right
Shoot it would embed the code. What i was trying to post this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSvaUTOTdc4
Michael-
Props on a very heavy gym pull. However notice how I say GYM pull. The only reason I am commenting on this thread is because you mentioned how you are no amateur and you know what you are doing.. I’m just curious as to what you mean by that because that pull would get 3 red lights in any meet….If you meant you are no amateur in getting hyped up and standing up with heavy ass weight with whatever technique necessary that not only is a safety hazard to yourself but is not even a legal lift, then again… much respect… it is still quite impressive I just hope you are able to do it for many more years to come….. I do not mean that sarcastically….
It is very very impressive. Its just hard to appreciate the lift with that form. You are no doubt lifting it and its legal.
Even Eric Cressey’s video of his 600 something pull had terrible form and he’s known as a rehab/prehab guy. How would you ever expect somebody to have 100% perfect form when pulling a PR? It’s not like these pulls are happening every day or every time you do deads. I think it’s prefectly acceptable when going for a new max as long as the lifters experienced and knows their own body. Also, if you can manage a new PR with perfect form I don’t think you have the intensity mentioned in this article.
Kyle,
Agreed. I would not advocate that form to an athlete (liability and safety reasons), but if your goal is to lift big and you are going max effort then your form is going to break somewhere (where ever your weak link is) and then you just have to move the weight, however possible.
man, i happily gave you props for being strong as hell – I just said that the video looks painful. did i detract from your lift? No. what else do you want me to say? I know that a 1RM = just getting the damn weight up. truth is, i can’t imagine pulling 3.25 times my current bodyweight, you’ve got me beaten there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOkiMNxdirs&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5groVHlMkRE
Two of the best deadlifters in the world with “bad” technique
Whomever said this lift is legal (MIKE) is wrong and must not know anything about powerlifting judging.
Hitching and resting the bar on your thighs will not get you white lights in any federation.
It was a fantastic article! I love the dead lift. It is by far my favorite exercise and when I was injured it depressed the hell out of me that I couldn’t do it.
you need to show a video of kutcher when he pulled 793 at 165, I have never seen anyone commit to a pull more than that guy. simply inspiring
Matthew, here’s a video response to your post, in which you included my old training video from 2006.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STlEb6LjhMg
^ That’s an official 3.25x BW raw deadlift in a PL meet, performed by the joke of the interwebz, DW.
Major props to Michael Pyon. His DL and built reminds me of Frank Yang except he is less flamboyant.
Here’s a 3+ x bodweight RAW deadlift, by 50 year old, Lifetime drug-free lifter Mike Francis. This shows his opener of 700; then the 800. Now THAT’S proper form! Mike weighed 260 the day of the meet, which was 3 weeks ago.
Michael,
Great pulling man. However, I’ve been down the exact same road you are traveling. Yeah, a 3x bw pull is great, but you’re not the only one. Not touting my accomplishments, but I pulled 565 @ 165 raw when I was 22. My deadlift was going up like crazy, I was pushing it every week. Finally hit 525×5 in prep for a meet that I want to pull 600. Never had a back issue before, but it all developed after one session. And, I’m not trying to be a jerk, but DAMN, my form was never ever close to that bad. I have found myself getting MRIs, going to PT, chiros, etc etc. They still don’t know what’s wrong or why it’s constantly bothering me. Needless to say, I haven’t pulled anything substantial in a few years. Everything can change in an instant, so I hope you don’t say “piss off dude” and find yourself with an issue like mine. It’s only a matter of time until biomechanics like that produce a serious problem. Just judging from some of the questionable Q/A responses I’ve read on Josh’s log, I’m not surprised he let’s stuff like that go on. Good luck.
530 lb. that´s cool, but really, pushing form like that on a website dedicated to perfecting the wightlifting technique… I get intensity and, rage, but it´d be nice to present it more than once…
Michael -
I can tell you that I used to DL with a form very similar to that one when I started lifting. I made awesome gains in DL for a few years. Then I hit a wall, my DL refused to go up. I took video and showed it to a very, very experienced and knowledgeable person who I respect and trust. He looked at it, and in 30 seconds told me everything that needed to change. I resisted. “I’ve been pulling like this and it’s been working great for a while, why does it need to change?” My DL still wasn’t moving. I tried his advice, and my DL actually went *down*. I stuck with it. A month or two later, I hit a *50* lb. PR, on a lift that I was only trying for a 20 lb. PR on (I mis-loaded the bar).
Yes, a max effort lift is not going to have perfect form. But your form should fall apart AFTER the lift starts. Your form has from the moment *before* you start pulling. Drop your hips a bit. As others have pointed out, you hitched the weight. This is a direct result of not using the right technique. Your coach should not be letting you get into this bad habit at all, if your goal is to compete, you need to learn to not hitch the weight. You’ve got awesome strength for your age and size, and a good attitude regarding dedication, but you *need* to get your technique improved and drop the “I know what I am doing” attitude, because the fact that your lift is completely no good for competition is a huge warning flag. The fact is, nearly every one of these commenters probably has a better *competition* lift that you over these issues.
The ironic thing is, if you just calm down, approach the bar slowly, drop the hips a bit more, and allow yourself to build tension pre-lift, and save the “rage” for the long, slow lockout (true DL intensity is a 30 second battle from thighs to lockout…), you’ll be at 600 lbs. in a few months, I promise.
J.Ja
Wow. Such a debate….grown men “commenting” on an 18 yr old’s form. Some of this “criticism” will send this kid in the wrong direction. You guys know what it is like to be 18. No 18 yr old wants to hear this, in the manner it has been displayed. Some of you were very constructive and that is the way it should be, however, some of you sounded like jealous bitches.
Michael,
I say congrats. Only you know your body and it’s limitations. Continue to challenge yourself and best of luck. I think it’s great to see an 18 year old with that much intesity. I hope you can take from this an important lesson. No matter what you do there are always going to be people who want to point out where they think you have done wrong. A better man than myself put it best:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
-Theodore Roosevelt
i hate to say it but m. pyons lift would get 3 red lights in a meet,but that was some effort!
to all of yall that are trying to down michael, if yall actually knew what yall were talking about you wouldnt be saying what you have, if you were lifting that much more than your body weight you wouldnt be having completely perfect form, oh and he doesnt have back problems he’s one of the most healthy guys i’v seen, good job pyon, if you see this its d-po
You guys are incredible. Nobody is trying to take anything away from the kid. Sorry, but no, you can’t possibly understand the the limitations of your vertebral discs, nor can you feel or predict what will happen. Does he have a stress strain curve for them or perhaps a relationship to predict cycles to failure? Didn’t think so.
And Derrick, I was in the same boat. Never a serious injury to speak of until it all hit at once. And yes, I have pulled well over 3x my body weight, as I said it my previous post. What is this continuous load of crap I hear spewing from people’s mouths about preaching that it’s okay to pull with shit form. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but hey if the kid and the rest of you want to take the chance of a lumbar fusion or (God forbid) something worse in the future, be my guest.
Sometimes form goes out the window on a max lift. It happens . As long as Michael strives for good form during training , he’ll be fine.