Shovel deadlift as a deadlift assistance exercise

BrianD3

I've had three (sumo) deadlift PRs in a the last few weeks - 270 @ 75 this evening - and these PRs have coincided with me doing a lot of shovel deadlifts.

As a result I believe that these shovel deads could be a great assistance exercise. I do them heavy with 2-5 reps each side with a medium sumo stance.

One thing i like about them is while they are challenging I don't find them in any way mentally draining or intimidating possibly because there is so little weight on the bar - 40 kg on a 5 foot bar is the most I've used.

Anyone got a comment, is anyone else doing 'em. Do you think there would be carryover to the conventional stance deadlift. I don't train the conv. stance much and haven't tested my max for a while, IIRC it was 235 kg a few months ago.

Hanley

BrianD3 wrote: »

I've had three (sumo) deadlift PRs in a the last few weeks - 270 @ 75 this evening - and these PRs have coincided with me doing a lot of shovel deadlifts.

As a result I believe that these shovel deads could be a great assistance exercise. I do them heavy with 2-5 reps each side with a medium sumo stance.

One thing i like about them is while they are challenging I don't find them in any way mentally draining or intimidating possibly because there is so little weight on the bar - 40 kg on a 5 foot bar is the most I've used.

Anyone got a comment, is anyone else doing 'em. Do you think there would be carryover to the conventional stance deadlift. I don't train the conv. stance much and haven't tested my max for a while, IIRC it was 235 kg a few months ago.

KevPants used to love these. I was completely uselss at them. Could never get a handle on it.

If you've seen a big increase in your DL, and that was the only factor that's radically changed, it's obviously a good choice for you. It's a cool exercise anyway tho.

Da Za

Suitcase Deadlift but with a BB?

Dathai

Hanley wrote: »

Could never get a handle on it.

I see what you did there.

Hanley

Da Za wrote: »

Suitcase Deadlift but with a BB?

No...

Stand off centre, one hand pretty much goes in the middle of the bar, one hand on the far side collar. Load the end you're not holding the collar of and stand up.

BrianD3

Hanley wrote: »

No...

Stand off centre, one hand pretty much goes in the middle of the bar, one hand on the far side collar. Load the end you're not holding the collar of and stand up.

Also, when I'm doing them the hand which is towards the centre of the bar is an underhand grip while the hand near the collar is an overhand grip.

Depending on which way the lifter is facing, either the left or the right hand will be in the centre. I am a bit stronger with my right (dominant) hand in the centre than with my left hand in the centre. I have the bar marked so that my hands go in the same places each time which is important as even an inch either side can make a big difference with a leverage lift like this.

Not sure if it is feasible to do this exercise with a double overhand grip.

Also I do them with a moderate sumo stance and use a small diameter plates (2.5 and 5kg) on the bar which has the effect of increasing the ROM and also moves more weight further away from the lifter increasing the difficulty.

Doctor_Socks

I wouldn't try doing shovel deads with a double overhand, I only did them a few times out of curiosity as I used to work on site shoveling into a mixer for plastering and wanted to see how they felt.

A mixed grip is the usual way you'd hold a shovel and it really is the most natural, since you're alternating which side you're lifting with your grip is naturally going to change too.

kevpants

Used to do loads of them. Meh, fancy side raises. Not enough weight to be a true deadlift exercise. Don't get me wrong they're grand as a core exercise like a russian twist or whatever. Nothing magic about them though.