Deadlifts

First of all, Annie Sakamoto is no slouch. She is one of the original hand trained CrossFit athletes by Greg Glassman in the Santa Cruz days and a phenomenal athlete and trainer. In this photo sequence, she demos a series of Deadlift positions to help ascertain what is good and not so good at an old CF Level 1 Cert.

Phase 1- The feet are directly under hips for maximal power transmission. The toes are turned out slightly to allow natural movement of the knee and subequently the hip.

Phase 2- The bar is out in front of the shoulder and the torso is more upright.

Phase 3- This looks very typical of a heavy deadlift where the shoulders get “stapled” to the ground by the weight of the barbell.

Phase 4- BAD FORM- The bar started waaaay too far out in front of the body and/or the athlete did not engage the lats to keep the bar in and close on the way up.