The "Olympic deadlift" is an exercise I created that's a hybrid between deadlifts and the traditional Olympic clean pull. The grip width and the starting position is the same as it is for a regular deadlift with the bar above your toes and your shoulders over the bar, but your finishing position is like the end of a clean pull where you end up on your toes and your shoulders almost touch your ears. There's also a pause at the end of the movement to put more emphasis on the calves and traps.
This movement has several benefits:
I've never done shrugs or calf exercises but surprisingly, calves and traps are two of my best body parts. Why? Because I was an Olympic weightlifter before I started bodybuilding. Doing exercises like clean pulls or snatch pulls involved those muscles in a different way than traditional exercises. My Olympic deadlifts work the same way. Give them a shot and you'll notice that your calves and traps will grow really fast, in addition to making you stronger and giving you a larger back.
What makes this exercise different from the traditional deadlift is that it involves a much greater range of motion. You'll finish on your toes with your "shoulders touching your ears" and all of your joints locked and the body straight. It's almost like a vertical jump, except your feet don't actually leave the floor. Since they're so explosive, 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps of Olympic deadlifts will leave you huffing and puffing as if you'd just finished a grueling HIIT cardio session.
That's no surprise, because the speed and explosiveness this exercise requires will force you to activate almost every muscle group in your body from head to toe, in addition to your CNS. As a result, nothing prepares you better for a subsequent heavy deadlift session.
Since the Olympic deadlift and the conventional deadlift share some similarities, you can transition straight into deadlifts after finishing your Olympic deads without any warm up or "feeder sets." For example, if you finish your Olympic deadlifts with 315 pounds, you can start your deadlifts at 365. The Oly deads won't take any extra energy from your workout; they're just a natural progression into your deadlift.
Leave your ego at the door and warm up with a wooden stick to get a feel for the movement. Then continue with the Olympic bar. Do 4 sets of 6-8 reps, increasing the weight every set. When you get to a point where your speed and explosiveness are compromised by the weight, it's time to transition into your deadlifts.
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