How pause deadlifts can help and why you should even implement a pause deadlift into your training routine.

Well, here are some concrete benefits that you’ll get from pause deadlifting:

1: It reinforces the angles for your torso and shoulders

The angle of your torso and shoulders is important if you want to use your mechanics to leverage the movement more effectively. If you struggle with keeping your shoulders over the barbell, or your hips rise too fast out of the bottom position, the paused deadlift can help reinforce where your torso and shoulders should be within the range of motion. I like to implement paused deadlifts for beginners in order to teach them what it feels like to have their torso and shoulders in the correct position.

When returning from a back injury, we must take a logical and planned approach. Selecting exercises that help facilitate the healing process without placing excessive load on the spine that re-create symptoms and fairs up the injury. Performing anti-rotation exercises before one can successfully squat with light weight can often have negative consequences. Exercises that create a rotational force on the body (such as: pallof press) can place upwards of four times as much compression on the spine compared to the same weight that attempts to create a flexion/extension force.

The following is a logical progression of stability exercises that stress the body first through a sagittal plane (flexion/extension torque), then a frontal plane (lateral torque) and finally through a transverse plane (torsional torque). While there is no such thing as an ideal set of exercises for any rehabilitation program, the following exercises can be a good starting point for creating a plan that best suits your body type and performance requirements.