Tighten
Your Core and Build Your Legs With Suitcase One-Arm Deadlifts
With Self-Spotting Bar Grip
Now this is an interesting
one...if you've never seen Suitcase Style One-Arm Deadlifts
before then the whole concept may be a bit new to you.
The "normal" Suitcase
One Arm Deadlift has you deadlifting a barbell with hand,
holding it on the outside of your body like a suitcase.
The exercise is GREAT for the entire body...core, legs,
back, grip, you name it.
With this version of the exercise,
I decided to see if, with the other bracing the body on
the other side, I could get just as much or more out of
the exercise without as much torque on the core area.
Because when you start using
150 to 200+ lbs on the Suitcase One Arm Deadlift, it does
tend too put a lot of pressure on the body and is tough
to balance, especially when you get to the point where the
barbell weighs more than you do you and it's mostly outside
your base of support.
THIS version solves the problem
of having the weight outside your base of support by having
you grip onto a solid object/bar in front of you while at
the same time, keeping that uneven tension on the body.
Because with that other hand,
you can very easily adjust how much or how little help you
want to give yourself balance-wise and pulling to help stand
up with the bar.
If you like the Suitcase One
Arm Deadlift, definitely give this one a try. And if you've
never tried the Suitcase One Arm Deadlift, this is a good
variation to test it out on because of how you'll be able
to basically spot yourself and control the torque on your
body.
So the first thing you'll
do is set up a barbell on the floor. I did this one in the
power rack, with another barbell set about chest height,
to grip onto as the anchor to pull myself up. You don't
necessarily need a rack for this but you will need something
solid to grab onto.
You can also do this one-arm
bar-grip deadlift exercise with a dumbell, just fyi. It'll
start down lower to the ground but the dumbell will be easier
to grip onto than the barbell and might be a better place
to start.
When you do this exercise
with a barbell, you have mess around a bit to find the very
center balance point of the barbell so that it doesn't tip
forward or backward as you stand up. You'll see this in
the video - the first few reps, I have to adjust my grip
a bit on the bar in order to find that center point when
the bar tilts.
They're grip assistance hooks
that I HIGHLY recommend - I use these things all the time.
In the demo, I'm using a barbell loaded to 185 lbs. The
first set I did was with 225 lbs. It's tough to grip that
heavy of a barbell without it rolling out of your hands,
let me tell you. That's where grip asssistance really comes
in handy.
So here's the start position.
The barbell I'm lifting is set perpendicular to the bar
I'm gripping on. I use an underhand grip on the bar I'm
gripping on, just fyi. Set your feet by the center of the
bar then grip onto the barbell (or dumbell, if that's what
you're using).
By gripping onto the bar in
front, as I mentioned above, you change the base of support
of the exercise, making for better balance when you do the
deadlift. Believe me, you still get plenty of uneven tension
on the entire body with the barbell on the outside of your
body...this gripping just makes it easier to control and
work with.
One thing I also found with
the gripping is that it allows you to sit back into the
deadlift more, making this more of a thigh exercise than
the standard deadlift (which tends to hit more the lower
back).
So once you've gripped the
suitcase barbell, beging the deadlift. The moment you start
to stand up, you'll know whether your grip is centered or
not. If the bar tilts down to the front, move your grip
forward on the bar a bit. If it tilts back and down, move
your grip back a bit. If you're using a dumbell, it won't
really matter at all (which is why that makes it a good
starter exercise for this style of training).
If you're WAY off of center,
you'll need to reset yourself right away. If you're only
a little off, you may be able to complete the rep before
re-adjusting your grip on the bar.
Come all the way up to the
fully standing position. As you come up, use your "bar
gripping" hand to help counterbalance the weighted
barbell. You can also use it to help pull your body up,
bring the lats and biceps into play in the exercise.
Now lower back down under
control, reset yourself and do another rep! Do all your
reps on one side then step over the bar and work the other
side.
You can really see in this
picture how my grip on the bar in front really allows me
to sit back into a squat position, keeping a more upright
torso and making it more of a leg exercise than the normal
Suitcase One Arm Deadlift. That's why I would actually classify
this as more of a leg exerise - I really did feel it more
in the thighs than in the lower back.
Same deal...grip the weighted
bar and stand up with it, using your other hand to stabilize
and help pull, if you need it.
This is truly a total-body
type of exercise. It's a very valuable alternative to the
barbell squat, if you train at home and don't have a rack
but DO have something to grab onto. And holding onto a dumbell
makes this exercise even more practical for that purpose.
I'll definitely be shooting pics and video of the dumbell
version of this exercise in the near future but the execution
is basically just the same.
