A video posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Aug 18, 2015 at 2:16pm PDT

Leg drive is the source of confusion for many lifters. A lot of lifters know what it is, but struggle with how to do it.

I know, I had trouble with it for a long time.

Like a lot of lifters, I made the mistake of driving my heels straight through the floor, causing my legs to tighten, but my butt to pop right off the bench.

It took me a while, but I realized I had to find the right foot placement and drive my feet forward, like I was trying to poke holes through my shoes with my toes.

I had to stop pushing my heels straight through the ground and instead, push the floor to the wall in front of me, like I was trying to do a leg extension with my feet planted in the ground.

This drives your traps hard into the bench. If they weren’t firmly planted into the bench, your head would push back into your spotter or the wall behind you.

Leg drive creates tension through your entire body, making you completely immovable.

Leg drive allows you to setup tighter, maintain your tight setup so you’re not wobbling around or flattening out during the movement, and it gives you that extra spring off your chest to move more weight.

• Keep your feet flat on the ground. Drive your heels into the front of your shoes like you’re trying poke holes in them with your toes.
• Keep your glutes on the bench and tight, like you’re trying to crack a walnut between your butt cheeks.
• Do this from when you setup until you finish your set. You have to actively drive your feet into the front of your shoes the entire time!

Practice.

Every set use leg drive to setup as tight as possible. Have your coach or training partner slap your leg to see if they can move it. When you’ve really mastered it, you won’t budge at all!

Want a bigger bench? Send me an email at adamnpine@gmail.com with “BENCH” in the subject line. If you’re looking to get stronger, subscribe to my newsletter and receive a copy of 12-week deadlift peaking program for free!

A video posted by Adam Pine (@adam_pine) on Aug 11, 2015 at 5:06pm PDT

The lats play an important role in the deadlift.

You often hear cues like, “Engage your lats!”, “Lats!”, or “Tight Lats!”

These cues are fine, but if you can’t feel your lats they may not be that effective.

A simple way to engage your lats in the deadlift is to setup with your coach or lifting partner standing behind you.

When you’re in the bottom position, have them tap on your lats.

They’ll turn on and you’ll feel yourself create tension to the bar (pulling the slack out). This will give you a smooth transition off the floor and allow you to keep the bar close to your body through the lift.

Want a bigger deadlift? Send me an email at adamnpine@gmail.com with “DEADLIFT” in the subject line!