The "Core" Exercises for L&L System 2 - The Deadlift

The Deadlift was one of the most under utilised exercises in sports for a long time. Rugby Union in this part of the world was well aware of its benefits since the age of professionalism, but Gaelic Games has been very slow to catch on. While this is number 2 on the list (there is no real order) i would consider it the No.1 exercise for field sports, for developing Posterior strength and for speed. Now all the exercises are necessary to max your potential. Posterior Chain Training and Posterior Strength could well be the most important thing in field sport for both performance and preventing injury. I will discuss it more in time, but basically its the back of your body from the your calf muscles to your Traps and everything else in between. The Pittsburgh Steelers (recent NFL Champs) do virtually no frontal body training, they work very hard on their Posterior Chain, and they have impressive results to show for it. We will be using primarily frontal exercises in our system & program of course, but as we develop an overall strength & balance you will notice more Posterior exercises.

While The Deadlift is to regular gym goers a Glute, hamstring, lower back targeted exercise it is really a whole body exercise,and can also be adapted to target different areas a bit more specifically like the hamstrings (e.g.Stiff legged DL). One of the major reasons for ACL, lower back & hamstring injuries in GAA can be traced back to poor strength, mobility and development of the hamstrings and glutes, this is why in my opinion The Deadlift properly learned and executed is the King of Exercises for GAA players, particularly Footballers. It will also help keep your body well balanced and when your strengths are balanced you have a better chance of avoiding injury and you will be able to maximize your speed. I have seen many GAA Programs in the past that ignored specifically strengthening the Glutes & Hamstrings and saw the very same players using these programs getting injured. Then you would hear silly comments like "he did too much weights" or "that's what weights do to you" in an often gleeful stamp of "i told you so". Well lifting weights wasn't the reason, it was lifting weights wrongly with poor technique or indeed the wrong exercises that cause most injuries. Unfortunately the vast majority of programs were given out Gym Instructors or Personal Trainers who very rarely took much notice of the sport you were actually playing, and many programs were aimed at getting a "Beach Body".

Back to the Deadlift, see this video below to get a better understanding of the exercise (ignore the fact he says your posterior chain starts at your lower back!!!)

That is a very good straight forward video and really its that simple. Watch, learn, practice, watch (get instructor/trainer/partner to watch), learn, practice and so on. Only add weight when you are very comfortable with the movement, but through my system we will develop it with other related exercises first before we ever put any weight on it. What i would add to that;

• Tighten the core (tense your gut, glutes & lower back) before you even bend doe to put your hands on the bar.
• Keep the Glutes engaged at all times, remember they are the primary target, all the other muscles used will automatically kick in once the glutes are active
• Always look forward, it helps with alignment
• Do not round your back, at any stage, keep the natural curve
• Don't rock back and forth

Next up is the Bench Press.