Deadlifts off Mats performed by Elitefts.com™ Founder and CEO Dave Tate, Elitefts™ Advisors John Meadows (owner of Mountain Dog Training and Nutrition) and Dr. Ryan Smith.
Technique
Performing deadlifts off elitefts™ deadlift mats reduces the range of motion for the lifter allowing for 1.) better posture at the start position and 2.) more weight that can be used than a full range-of-motion deadlift. Starting the deadlift just below the knee in this example can allow the lifter to address sticking points in the lift. Pulling off mats is also an excellent way to teach young athletes proper start position in the pull who may not have the flexibility or mobility to do so otherwise.
Using accommodating resistance like the elitefts™ chains are an excellent method of correlating the force of the lift with the typical strength curve. With the chains on the ground, the total weight of the bar is less, better enforcing proper pulling technique off the mats. As the bar is lifted, more links of the chains come off the ground and the weight is increases incrementally for every inch of the pull. The elitefts™ EZ Deadlift Loaders makes adding chains simple.
Programming
The group performed warm-up sets of 2 up to 255 pounds. From there, 1 chain was added per set for 3 reps up to 5 chains. Once 5 chains were added, the group performed 2 more triples and then a max rep set at the end.
