Over the years, you learn the “small things” make all of the difference in the weightroom. This is a huge understatement especially when you’re hitting a lower body workout that includes heavy compound exercises.

Big lifts like RDL’s, squats, deadlifts, front squats, and power cleans – targeting the lower body through a loaded hinge pattern – require precise movements and linear bar paths.

If the bar gets away from you just a fraction of an inch – when performing RDL’s – or you get out of the groove with a deadlift or squat, you’re just begging for a lower back injury.

One of these essential “small things” that I’ve learned the hard way is always keeping the bar close to you.  You should be trying to minimize the distance from the center of mass of the barbell and you’re own center of mass – at all times.  This will keep you at the best mechanical advantage and keep you safe.

Barbell Training vs. Dumbbell Training

One example we will use to demonstrate the “small things” is the difference between performing Romanian deadlifts with a barbell and with dumbbells (or kettlebells).

You might remember that we’ve talked about the importance of keeping the bar close by engaging the lats.  When performing deadlifts and RDL’s, it is critical that you shift the tension of the load to your hips and posterior chain.  If the bar gets out in front of you, you will come up on your toes and create an anterior weight shift.  The weights will seem much heavier and your low back will be in trouble.

Think about trying to lift a heavy box that is on a table in front of you, or trying to lift that same box straight up from the ground directly underneath your legs.  Which one is tougher?

Hip Hinge with Barbell – Keeping the Bar Close

Hip Hinge with Dumbbells (or Kettlebells) – Keeping the Weight Close

The same lat engagement is also essential when using kettlebells or dumbbells with the same loaded hinge pattern – but the position is slightly different.

Most lifters try to keep the db/kb’s in front of them as if they were a barbell, and this is a mistake.  The size of the dumbbells or the globes of the kettlebells, won’t allow you to keep them close to you body as you move into hinge pattern.

You’ll notice the feeling of tipping over forward when using these bigger kettlebells and dumbbells for your supplemental work.  This is because you’ve increased the distance between the implement and your center of mass.

In the video, I show you a very simple way to adjust the position of the weights to keep the tension on your hips while still being able to slide your hips backward into the hinge pattern.

Try out this new position for the dumbbells and kettlebells the next time you hit RDL’s and let me know how they feel different for you.