You can perform the deadlift with good form or poor form. Good form is safe and effective for gym gains. Poor form is dangerous and not as effective. So, what is a deadlift hitch?
Avoiding bad form could probably save you from a painful injury and greater than 6 months out of action.
But what is a deadlift hitch? A deadlift hitch is when the lifter rests the bar on their quads as they lift the bar upwards. In addition, your shoulders stay behind the bar even before the knees and hips extend. The bar’s path changes to a less continuous movement.
What will you choose? I would choose good form any day, it is a no brainer.
We notice a lot of deadlift hitching. Without getting into detail just yet, hitching is a cheat deadlift. You basically rest the bar on your legs, then kick and jerk it up.
THIS IS BAD FORM! And you know how we dislike bad form.
For this reason, we have put together a short article to discuss:
- What Is A Deadlift Hitch
- 4 Reasons Why The Deadlift Hitch Is Considered As “Bad Form”
- What Causes A Deadlift Hitch?
- How To Fix Deadlift Hitch
What Is a Deadlift Hitch
Many lifters start deadlift hitching without even knowing. So let’s say a lifter starts deadlifting. The lifter pulls the bar up the shins and then reaches the mid thigh position.
The lift becomes so difficult that you start resting the bar on the thighs or knees. You continuously bend and extend at the knee joints.
At the same time, the lifter’s upper back starts curving, who then starts jerking with his/her arms. Eventually, the lifter manages to get the bar up from momentum.
As impressive as this looks in the local gym, this is deadlift hitching (1). Although I must note, it is illegal in powerlifting, but legal in Strongman competitions.
Check out How to Brace with a Powerlifting Belt
4 Reasons Why the Deadlift Hitch Is “Bad Form”
Bicep Tear Risk
For a lifter to hitch during deadlift, the load would has to be really “heavy”. Hitching is typically accompanied by flexing/jerking at the elbow joint to help get the weight up.
This only makes things worse. The movement puts a lot of tension on the distal bicep tendon from the exaggeratedly heavy weights.
This can strain or even rupture the distal bicep tendon. Think about it, imagine trying the bicep curl 400+ pounds. OUCH!
What puts you at the most risk is using the mix grip. The mix grip is one hand over and one hand under the bar.
Spinal Injury Risk
While hitching, a neutral spine is very difficult to maintain. So the spine starts to curve forwards to get over the bar.
This puts an unnatural tension on the bones and discs of the spine. At this point, the injury risk is considerably high.
Upper Leg Injury Risk
The bar is rested on the upper thigh for the Hitch. The gravitational pull is usually quite vertical to the thigh.
Depending on the load, this can cause a blunt force Injury to the muscle bellies of the quad or even fracture the deeper upper thigh bone.
A lot of the time, we see lifters bouncing the bar up and down on the thigh for momentum. This is especially risky for the upper leg injuries that we highlighted.
The injuries can be acute. This means the blunt force Injury would happen there and then from the heavy load.
Other injuries can be long term from regular hitching. So basically the muscles and bones would continuously take small micro damages, which could lead to one big injury i.e., femur fracture (upper leg bone).
It Is Not Legal in Powerlifting Competitions
If the judges spot you hitching, expect the red light. There are no two ways around it.
Hitching takes the tension of the working muscles and by resting the bar in the thighs and jerking with the body. Definitely not a true show of strength.
What Causes a Deadlift Hitch?
There are 4 things that lead to deadlift hitching. These include
- Weak Link In The Deadlift Movement Pattern
- Using Loads That Are Too Heavy
- Trying To Lift Beyond Failure
- Not Understanding Proper Technique
1. Weak Link in the Deadlift Movement Pattern
The weak link that draws the hitching action is the hip hinge. The usual culprit combination between weak glutes and hip hinge movement pattern.
This is the reason for why lifters jerk the weight up using the knee movement and quad muscles.
2. Using Loads That Are Too Heavy
Lifters have this habit to load up weights that are in uncharted territories compared to their PR. My friends, this is nothing but ego lifting. It might look cool to the untrained eye of your gym buddies.
I can tell you 9 times out of 10 the technique is absolutely hideous. Exactly the kind of place where the hitch comes in.
3. Trying to Lift Beyond Failure
At times lifters do not take into account an estimated rep range for a given intensity (load).
So they try go a rep beyond failure. Towards the end you can notice a hitch. This is the point where the lifter should have actually ended the set.
4. Not Understanding Proper Technique
Without understanding proper form and setting up too forward can mess the whole lift up. This can cause you to hitch.
In fact, the hitch can actually become a bad habit and part of your deadlift technique.
How To Fix Deadlift Hitch
Here’s how to stop deadlift hitching:
- Fix The Weak Link
- Work Within The Right Intensity & Rep Range
We have discussed these variables in much more detail below.
Fix The Weak Link
As we know, the weak link that causes the hitch is the hip hinge/glute muscles. So ideally you need to use exercises that draw this weak link.
We have listed a few exercises that you may want to include into your workout plan.
1. Rack Pulls
To Perform the rack pull you would set a loaded bar on top of the safety pins in the squat rack.
The pins would be around mid-upper thigh height. From here, you wouldn’t simply do the deadlift.
Rack Pull vs Deadlift: Differences, Benefits, Muscles, How To Guide
This exercise takes the lower body out of the equations and allows you to apply all of your efforts on the hip hinge.
Over the long halt this may strengthen the glutes and hip extension.
2. Hip Thrusts
The hip thrust isolates the hip extension movement. Another great exercise may stop you from relying on the hitch during deadlifts.
Do Hip Thrusts Help You Jump Higher? Yes, 6 Great Ways
I recommend the machine variant of the hip thrust. It is already set, so you just slip underneath, load the resistance, and begin thrusting.
3. Isometric Deadlift
An isometric deadlift is essentially a halted deadlift that focuses on specific deadlift positions.
In our case, we would need to focus on the mid-upper thigh range. This should activate the hip extensor muscles. Exactly what needs to be strengthened, so we do not have to rely on the deadlift hitch.
Ultimate Guide to Isometric Deadlift: 7 Benefits and How to
To set up the isometric deadlift, you would place a pair of safety pins into a squat rack at mid thigh-hip height. Underneath the pins, load up a bar with 25 cm/11 lb olympic plates.
You would then deadlift a bar against the pins. You should be able to get a 20-30 second all out pull before tiring out.
Giving you the ultimate contraction without changing the length of a muscle.
Work Within The Right Intensity & Rep Range
To work in safe and non hitch relying Loads, you need to figure out your all out 1RM deadlift max.
How? you would need to do a 1RM test. To do so, start deadlifting light and work into a warm up. Keep ramping up weights until you hit your max effort lift.
This deadlift needs to be in good form for it to count. A personal trainer or someone experienced can observe you.
This allows you to figure out a more accurate 100% deadlift. Once you have done this, you can work within the right intensity.
For example, 70% of your 400 pound deadlift would put you in the ballpark of 280 pounds. The suggested rep range for such intensities is ~12 reps.
So do not even attempt the 13th. This would make sure you do not begin to rely on the hitch.
Frequently Asked Questions
YES! Because Strongman is about how much weight you can move, not how you move it.
It may boost confidence and it can look impressive.
YES! It puts a lifter at higher risk of bicep, back, and upper leg injury.
Final Thoughts
Deadlift hitching is basically resting the bar on the legs. From here, lifters jerk and nudge the legs to build momentum. This gets the bar up. But it’s BAD FORM!
It puts lifters at risk of back, bicep, and upper leg injury. Not to mention, it is illegal in powerlifting.
It is usually caused by a weak hip hinge, loading too much on the bar, doing too many reps, or not understanding proper deadlift form.
However, not all is lost, because it can be fixed. You have to fix the weak link (hip hinge) through specific exercises.
Another way would be not to load up or do more reps than your capabilities.
References
Andrew Blackwood_ (2023) available at:https://youtube.com/shorts/9toksdzvmFI?feature=share (Accessed 27/02/2023)
