By now you’ll probably have seen the video we shared of a guy having a deadlift bar kicked out of his hands for lifting too loudly. Like many of you, our first reaction to the video was to call the aggressor an arsehole, and stick up for the guy just trying to get on with his deadlifts.
While we still think the guy who kicks the bar is an arsehole, after a while the video got us thinking about the proper way to perform a deadlift, and whether you should drop or lower the bar.
(Related: The ultimate guide to deadlifting)
Here we’ve collected the pros and cons of both. What side of the bar do you sit on?
The benefits of dropping
The argument for dropping is pretty simple: if it’s good enough for Olympic lifters and CrossFit athletes then it’s good enough for regular gym goers.
(Related: Do you really need to deadlift? We asked a pro trainer)
According to US Olympic weightlifting coach Jim Schmitz, the reason Olympic lifters drop the weight is because as more and more weight was being added to bars it became increasingly difficult to lower the bar to the ground. This behaviour was then copied by amateur lifters who drop the weight, even when the weight isn’t heavy enough to deserve it.
In the video, the man deadlifting, 19-year-old Charles-Antoine Lalonde, was dropping the bar from waist height, which is generally considered OK, especially if Lalonde was exhausted or fatigued. Lalonde was also coming down with the bar, so it was never out of his control, and wasn’t rolling or bouncing all over the gym and becoming a safety hazard.
(Related: 5 ways to improve your deadlift)
The only real problem that we can see was the noise, and quite frankly, that’s everyone else’s problem. It’s a gym not a library.
Dropping the bar is also cool AF, and since how you look and how you feel can affect the way you lift in the gym, if you want to drop the bar, as long as you’re doing it in a safe way, then drop the damn bar, especially if lowering it is going to place unnecessary strain on your back.
(Related: Grunt louder to lift more, says research)
Is placing the bar better?
For placers, deadlifting isn’t just a matter of lifting the bar up, to complete a deadlift the eccentric part of the movement, i.e. bringing the bar back down to the ground, is just as important.
(Related: The reasons your deadlift isn't working)
This sounds logical enough, but it’s not exactly true. A study that compared maximum reps of conventional and eccentrically loaded deadlifts found that they were more or less interchangeable within a training programme, and both should be used in athletes’ strength and power training schedules.
(Related: What bar should you use for deadlifts)
Placing the bar isn't really a matter science, it's a question of gym etiquette.
No one should ever take matters into their own hands and kick out at another gym user, but we’ve all been in the gym while someone grunts and drops their way through a workout. It’s annoying, and there’s only so much ‘you do you’ patience other gym users have. Placing the bar avoids all of this, so sometimes, just so you have peace and harmony in your life, it might be easier to place the bar, even if that means dropping the weight slightly.
It's perfectly safe to place the bar down, and if you’re deadlifting with good form then, as Schmitz says, “80 per cent of the time there’s no need to drop the weight”.
The winner
This is a bit of a cop out, but there is no winner between the two. As long as what you’re doing is safe, it is literally a personal preference, and don’t let any angry egomaniacs in the gym tell you otherwise. But, if you don't need to slam it down, and by placing it down will create a harmonious atmosphere, then do the right thing. Be nice. Remember, we're all in this together.
Daniel Davies
Daniel is Men’s Health UK’s deputy digital editor. He’s a writer and editor with a decade’s worth of experience covering health, fitness, tech and sports. In his time at Men’s Health, he’s written about everything from Black men's mental health to The Rock's cheat days and has logged training time with NFL footballers, Olympic gymnasts and the British Army. In his spare time he enjoys fitness of all kinds, from deadlifts to long runs, and is always on the lookout for his next challenge.
