How To Do Zercher Deadlifts: The Ultimate Guide

[@Mbp19579]

Everyone I’ve ever talked to who has done these absolutely loves them. Seem like a great hit on the entire posterior chain. I definitely have to give them a try!

[@kh.movement]

Hell yeah!

[@ares6128]

Bro this exercise is crazy like I feel alot of pain in my lower back during simple deadlifts but I started doing it just yesterday and i absolutely love it I been doing 100kgs for 4 and I dnt feel any pain in my lower back

[@kh.movement]

Hell yeah that is awesome!!

[@TheGodLycan]

why do you think that is ?

[@hexf3248]

I broke my wrist a while back and this has been great to keep me in the gym

[@kh.movement]

Sorry to hear about your wrist but hell yeah for you working around it and ripping some zerchers!

[@PicaPollo]

The microphone on the leaf is just hilarious

[@kh.movement]

Best mic stand hahaha

[@AnthonyMennella]

Zercher Jefferson curls with low weight are a great way to prepare for this as well. I suffered from disk herniation, and doing Zercher Jefferson curls and Zercher deadlifts helped me get my back healthy again and stronger than ever (now doing Zercher 275-295). A must do exercise for those working out for mobility, rehabilitation, and longevity!

[@kh.movement]

That is awesome 😎 zercher jeffersons are a great exercise

[@KurtKress]

Just started doing these. My lower back has never felt better!

[@kh.movement]

Hell yeah!

[@twod0peboys]

I use a pad on the bar which is also good for back squats and hip thrusts with the barbell

[@joeldoxtator9804]

I finally tried this and was shocked at the difference it made to my Rhomboids and upper back. Because I am so wide in the shoulders, I have always found it near impossible to hit my rhomboids and mid upper back area with typical hands lifts. My lats would always take over in every hands lift, as that is just how the angles of my back line up. Holding the barbell in the crux of my elbows puts my lats at such a disadvantage that my rhomboids and upper back HAVE to activate in order to hold the weight. After the first session with only 135Lb, my rhomboids felt like a knot in my back and I could hear things snapping in my upper back throughout the next day as things were pulled tight. What I did not expect, is that this seems to have increased my general energy as well. I am at a loss to explain that part, other than maybe the weakness in the rhomboids was causing some sort of short circuit in my spine that was crucial to energy flow in the body? No idea but it's a thing.

[@nonombre7159]

I just started doing these and Im not using much weight yet but I do 5 sets of 10. The cns hit is crazy. And the total body DOMS is crazy to. Best bang for the buck. I do zercher squats to.

[@kh.movement]

Zercher squats are also a great variation. Anything zercher is so good!

[@KneeSlice1775]

I like the movement but a higher CNS hit is almost never a good thing when selecting for an exercise.

[@Blackhearts60]

​@@KneeSlice1775I think it depends, you can train your cns. If your just trying to gain muscle size then certainly pick the lowest cns activation you can to get maximal volume. But if you are trying to build up cns capability for wrestling for example, this is a good exercise.

[@Death_by_Tech]

Such an interesting movement, tried this today after seeing your video last week. I found the form you use was logical based on what you described is your goal. Other channels use a different movement with the legs closer together. I did it your way and was happy with the lift, I’m still not really lifting much weight with it but I’m going to keep trying it to see how much I can load with confidence

[@kh.movement]

That’s awesome! Yeah it’s all about comfort and confidence at the start. Glad you were happy with it

[@bhuvaneshs.k638]

It hits hamstring, back, core, and arms. I was genuinely surprised to see it hits arms and core I started doing this after seeing Alexander karelin and other wrestlers do this workout regularly

[@kh.movement]

Yeah it is a great exercise!

[@wizardlizard8498]

I've been wondering how to do these properly, thank you for the help man

[@kh.movement]

No problem! I’m glad it has helped

[@jackhanson1274]

Reporting in after a few months on these, if you have poor mobility like myself, can absolutely say that progressing the movement with light weights was much more effective than static stretching. Low and slow lads.

[@kh.movement]

Hell yeah! I am glad that this helped you progress!

[@v.v.7522]

Good stuff brother

[@kh.movement]

Thank you 😎

[@thebreaker3963]

very fine guide thank you brother. as a guy just starting in strongman this video helped me out a ton

[@kh.movement]

Thank you! I’m glad that it has helped you!

[@Gromst3rr]

Thank you for this vid

[@Paraselene_Tao]

All hail our bloat lord. I only started lifiting with a serious program 8 weeks ago (Stronglifts 5x5), and I'm learning about all the available lifts. I dicked around with weights in my 20s but I'm 30 now and I'm looking at how to get real results. Thanks for the informative video.

[@kh.movement]

No problem! I hope you have been getting some good gains over the last 8 weeks and are having fun with it! 💪

[@just_justiceo]

Great vid! Will use these tips forsure

[@kh.movement]

That’s great! And thank you

[@sureshkarda7095]

Helpful video. Thanks mate

[@kh.movement]

You’re welcome! I’m glad you found it helpful

[@A1621994S]

One of my favorite exercise. Well explained.

[@kh.movement]

Thank you!

[@zayanrahman5457]

the mic was hilarious bro😂🥬

[@kh.movement]

Haha thank you! The plant mic is the best 😂

[@socialist-strong]

Been playing around with this one recently (prior to looking online and finding this video) Not knowing how, I naturally took a more “squatted” initial position vs your more “bent over” initial position. What are your thoughts on that?

[@kh.movement]

It largely depends on proportions and where you feel strong. The squatted position can really increase the moment for the hip extensors and the erectors making it tough for some people. It’s also a deeper starting position that some people don’t have the range for. I find that the more bent over position allows me to have good speed off the ground but then i have to transition. a squatted position can get rid of that transition but holding it off the ground when the weight increases can be tough. Kind of a long way to say that it depends on where you’re comfortable and strong haha.

[@humbertovaldivieso5171]

i do them with an square tube bar. the ones for grip sport deadlifts. Zero digging on the arms. A 2 inch pipe axle is not as good but waaaay beter than a classic barbell.

[@Mbp19579]

How come that prevents digging in on the arms? I’ve never seen one of those before

[@kh.movement]

Oh interesting! It would be fun to try that out with the square bar. I have heard that the axle bar makes it harder to hold strength-wise though, have you found that to be the case?

[@humbertovaldivieso5171]

in the context of an elevated bar , wgere you can hook your arms with some curl in them, youll get clear of the rolling effect of the square tube. regarding the digging of the square tube, there is a ton of surface on your forearms and biceps son it spreads out . its not like a tiny bar with a tiny contact surface. and regarding the pipe, is the same thing. bigger Contact surface. now ,of course, the center of gravity is going to be farther away from your spine and your biceps than in a 29mm barbell, and you can adjust the weight accordingly. the amonunt of force to create that increased moment will be proportional so the effect is the same. At the end everyone has to choose what does the trick for them.

[@wll6779]

Great guide man thanks

[@kh.movement]

No problem! I’m glad it was helpful. Let me know if you have any questions

[@ShanePieri]

Great video brother

[@kh.movement]

Thank you!

[@declan8577]

What would you say about using these as a main hip extention exercise for someone who's not interested in competetive strength sports? For example replacing deadlifts or rdls with zercher deadlifts.

[@kh.movement]

I think they can be great as a primary movement!

[@Grisha-wp1nt]

Still can't get the last 2 " to the start pos

[@kh.movement]

Yeah that last bit can be frustrating!

[@thomaskunz3089]

can somebody answer please: the correct way to do them, would be to, bend all the way down, with a "semy" stiff leg, grip it with the elbows/arms and then pull it off the ground 100% with the back (and hamstrings which will be involved) OR? to bend my legs as well and then, well, do a semy squat/deadlift. Nonetheless, the pump is unreal, in the WHOLE entirety of the back, you are using everything (except lats i think though, or using them less. i dont feel them work that much, but its a great exercise.)

[@kh.movement]

Both can be right depending on where you are strongest. I personally do a more stiff leg approach but i have seen other people lift with a more bent leg approach

[@luuksprock676]

Fuck dude, you should make more videos. This stuff is great

[@kh.movement]

Thank you!

[@tevitatuipulotu8287]

Great presentation🤌🏾

[@kh.movement]

Thank you!

[@sokjeong-ho7033]

The other day I saw a weird variant of this where the guy was holding the bar in his arm feet instead of his elbows. Basically a rack pull at that point tbh.

[@kh.movement]

That’s a very weird variant. Really is just a rack pull at that point

[@imryanmoran]

Is there any point in half repping them? Like having it start on the rack and bending down until the bar gets around to your hips? Or would you might as well do normal deadlifts at that point? My friends do that and I tell them with zercher deadlifts the whole point is to get more range of motion and I could be wrong but just wondering

[@kh.movement]

It has a different resistance profile than deadlifts so potentially. And half repping them with the goal to build up the range on them is effective (like i said in the vid). If they like that more than deadlifts or good mornings then there is no problem with it. But i do think the full range is where the magic really is 💪

[@imryanmoran]

@@kh.movement Nah their goal wasn't to work up to the stretch he just said it was for brazilian jiu jitsu and since I didn't do brazilian jiu jitsu and only do strength training i was stingy and had no Idea what i was talking about lol. But when I look up zercher deadlifts for bjj nothing shows how half repping them is beneficial for bjj and all of them talk about how the full stretch is whats beneficial for it

[@kh.movement]

Yeah getting that full range would be best for bjj. Edit: half reps are still helpful too though so don't discredit their work

[@imryanmoran]

@@kh.movement not discrediting js tryna give my input and like understand it myself, i get that half reps are helpful but the way they are doing it is just a smaller range of motion version of a normal deadlift. just dont see the point since its the same motion just with the barbell in elbows

[@imryanmoran]

@@kh.movement they also said it was for explosiveness but when watching them do it there wasn't anything explosive abt it so idk if they just want to be right or if they actually thought they were exploding. when i brought it up i just keep getting called stingy when im just tryna help lol

[@viktoreriksson6002]

What reps would you recommend working with? Higher reps seems quite tricky

[@kh.movement]

I do both high reps and low reps. It really depends on your goals and what you prefer. By high reps i mean 10+

[@Sighkevin]

Should these be placed at the end or beginning of a session? Your personal recommendation

[@kh.movement]

My personal recommendation is that it depends on your goals haha. If you are focusing on zercher deads then put then at the start and work your accessories around them. I personally am focusing more on powerlifting and weightlifting so i (usually) have these near or at the end of my workouts at the moment

[@zaydgaf7547]

Would you say this is better for Zercher Good Morning? For building overall strength

[@kh.movement]

Most people will move more weight with a zercher deadlift so it is probably better for overall strength. Zercher good morning is still great though!

[@gloomygrim8668]

Is that Ibanez guitar in the corner???

[@kh.movement]

Yup!

[@gloomygrim8668]

@@kh.movement Do you play some Bullet For My Valentine???

[@kh.movement]

Surprisingly i never learned any of their songs

[@gloomygrim8668]

@@kh.movement So what genre ov music you play???

[@kh.movement]

I don't really stick to just one genre but over the last couple years i have been playing more polyphia and dabbling in some metal and metalcore. How about you?

[@fox0357]

How many sets/reps do you reccomended for these?

[@kh.movement]

It depends on your goal!

[@fox0357]

@@kh.movement To get better at picking up my gf

[@kh.movement]

Aim for a 1rm of 2x gf's bodyweight at a MINIMUM and you will be able to pick her up no problem all of the time. So program them like you would a main lift (i.e. same as trying to increase your conventional deadlift 1rm)

[@fox0357]

@@kh.movement Alright, thank you.

[@morbidcorvid9294]

Is it okay to keep your lower back rounded while doing these from the floor?

[@kh.movement]

Yes that is the point of them

[@nikitasumarokov5577]

Can you start zercher deadlift from deep squat position?

[@kh.movement]

Yup! But depending on how much of a squat you do it could be inefficient in terms of max weight since the bar will have to go out and around your knees (just like how “squatting” a regular deadlift is inefficient). But if you just want to have some fun with the movement and challenge your body in a different way that would be great and you can definitely do it!

[@tino4145]

Do you still brace during the lift ?

[@kh.movement]

Yup! Not as intense of a brace as a max deadlift but still a solid brace. I take the brace at the bottom

[@tino4145]

Thanks !

[@tino4145]

So you’re still limiting spinal movement, you’re kind of locking your spine in a flexed position, but not really changing that flexion during the eccentric part of the lift ? 🤔

[@kh.movement]

No my spine is still flexing and extending throughout the movement. The brace is enough to help with strength but not so much that it negatively impacts my movement

[@dashingszn9676]

How good is this for hypertrophy

[@kh.movement]

Depends which muscles you are referring to for hypertrophy. And any exercise can be decent for hypertrophy, just matters how close you take it to failure!

[@dashingszn9676]

@@kh.movement let’s say quads and hamstrings

[@cej3940]

I found ZDs a few weeks ago and love them dearly I like doing them just as much as sissy DLs (basically a sissy squat with the barbel directly underneath your arse) and Runners deadlifts (midfoot on plate, heels hanging off, RDL motion) If I had found ZDs (and good mornings as well as Jefferson curls and rotational sandbag work) when I was still wrestling in early highschool, I definitely think I would have saved myself immense back strain I also think that ZDs are an excellent foundation to using sandbags, especially starting from a very low hip position or even a turtled position (basically on your knees), the flexion feels very familiar *By turtled position, Im talking about modifying the ZD to be more of a "getup" where you start from kneeling with your arms under the weight like a ZD before progressively transitioning to deep squatted position to doing a ZD to upright

[@JPedroNogueira]

The mic killed me

[@kh.movement]

🪴

[@cattoc]

That is a Zercher RDL, not a ZDL

[@kh.movement]

No… it’s a zercher deadlift