How to hinge
Strength training is a vital component in developing strength for rugby. Many of the actions on the field are attributed to strength; tackling, scrummaging, lineout lifting etc and it’s important you develop yourself in this area to improve your performance and also minimise your risk of injury.
Strength training is the foundation to our athleticism as a whole. Without strength we can’t have power, speed, agility, or fitness.
The Hinge
The hinge is an important compound lift within your training programme. It helps us strengthen the entire body but particularly the spine and posterior chain. This is vital for developing sprint speed, posture, and injury prevention of hamstrings and the lower back.
Unless you have an injury-related reason not to deadlift we suggest putting deadlifts and other hinge variations into your training programme indefinitely.
Below is an outline of the technique involved in hinging and the progressions you need to take before ultimately performing a barbell deadlift.
Set up and technique points:
start with feet hip width apart, toes straight
centre of mass over the rear-middle of the foot
before you hinge take a deep breath and brace your trunk
hinge over by leaning forward and move hips backwards
see below for variations of the next steps
Stage 1 - Hinge T-Raise
lower yourself until your hands rest on your kneecaps
hold the hinge position and raise your arms wide in a ‘T’ shape
bring the arms back down to kneecaps
return to standing by bringing the hips forward and the chest open
Stage 2 - Dumbbell or Kettlebell Deadlift
keep hinging over until the weight touches the floor
return to standing by bringing the hips forward and the chest open
Stage 3 - Barbell Deadlift
once the bar travels past the knees, bend the knees and continue to sit your hips back
keep shoulders back by squeezing your upper back muscles and keep chest open
keep the bar directly above your mid-foot
return to standing by straightening the legs and bringing the hips forward
Ready to try a full deadlift? Check out our How To Deadlift, here.