Consider the mechanism of cheating on a lift. The nervous system suddenly has doubts about the muscles having enough strength to complete the movement as planned, and it quickly switches to plan B—the path of least resistance. An inexperienced lifter pushes hard with the legs, but the barbell is hardly moving. This lifter panics and lets his tail shoot up because it provides better leverage—at least right then. As with all panicked decisions, this is short sighted. While it may be easier to move the bar at that particular spot, the lift will be nearly impossible to lock out, and dangerous to boot, forcing the back to flex and do most of the work. But it seemed like a good idea at the time.
An experienced lifter, on the other hand, will keep grinding it out straight and narrow, no matter how hard it feels, without taking what seems like an easier detour. The lifter has faith in his strength and stays in the groove, no matter how hard it is. That is the hallmark of a strength professional.
The “wedge” is a technique that will help you develop this skill. Every elite lifter uses it, whether consciously or not.
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| | As Jason Marshall, StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, a 617-pound drug-free raw deadlift at 181 pounds of bodyweight, demonstrates, a professionally executed “wedge” seems to lift the bar by itself.
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| Load up two bars, one with a weight you absolutely will not be able to budge (it is fortunate that Andy does not need to do this drill) and the other with a weight you can comfortably pick up 10 times. Ideally, use a whippy deadlift or Olympic weightlifting bar. The amount of bend in the bar will provide useful and motivating feedback.
Walk up to the “welded” bar, set up, inhale, tense up, and pull yourself down.
Grip the bar and smoothly build up the pressure with your feet over a period of several seconds. Push through the platform! Drive your hips forward—they will not go anywhere; it is an intention, not an action. Do not let your knees slip forward. Maintain this effort, not maximal but fairy intense, for five to eight seconds. This is a long time, which is why you should not hold your breath as you would in a dynamic deadlift. Breathe shallow while staying tight; short hisses will do.
When you are done, release the tension over a period of a couple of seconds; a sudden release hurts.
If you do this drill correctly, the bar will bend and your body will tense as a rock, but not move. Your lower back will stay arched, your tail will not shoot up, your knees will not slide forward, and your elbows will not bend. You will quite literally get “wedged” between the bar and the platform.
It is a very strong and solid feeling. Practice with several minutes of rest between isometric sets until you get it. If you did not hit it after three sets, stop and continue another day. Iso pulls are a strong medicine to be taken in moderation.
When you have succeeded in hitting a perfect wedge, rest for a minute and then apply it to the bar with your 10RM. The bar will bend a hair, “levitate,” and then blast off. Do a dead stop triple, patiently “wedging” yourself before every takeoff.
When you have nailed the wedge technique, the bar “lifts itself.” One lifter who had learned this technique from us made the mistake of opening too light in a meet, performed a wedge as a part of his setup—and the bar came off the platform before he was ready. He readjusted and stood up with an easy lift—only to get red lighted. Rules specify that once the bar comes off the platform, it counts as an attempt.
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| | StrongFirst has your barbell strength covered.
We are experts at making the weak strong and the strong stronger.
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