Powerlifters Stefi Cohen and Jamal Browner are two of the top deadlifters in the world. Cohen broke the existing records for the deadlift and barbell squat in her weight class, as well as for total lift, in February 2020. Browner, meanwhile, set a new world record in his weight class in February 2020 with a 971 pound deadlift—that was roughly four times his 242 pound body weight. So you’d expect a training session together would be epic… and it did not disappoint.
“We’ve got one of the best deadlifters in the world [Browner], after me,” she quips at the start of the video.”I asked him if he could teach me how to hook grip and give me some tips on the sumo deadlift.”
Browner delivers. He teaches Cohen a method for the hook grip, a method popular with elite deadlifters, that he credits to lifter Joe Sullivan, who also shows up in the clip. If you’re just an average lifter, we suggest that you skip the grip and use straps, instead—but for these competitors, any techniques they can use for an edge are important.
“He told me when I internally rotate my shoulders, it allows me to set my thumb horizontal on the bar,” he tells her, demonstrating the grip. “So as long as it’s parallel with the bar, then I grip my ring finger, then my middle finger, then my index finger. And that’s how I do my hook grip. Then I slide out and get ready to pull,” he says.
Browner instructs Cohen as she steps up to the bar.
“Just grab it, grab as much as you can,” says Browner.
He goes on to describe the rest of his pull form.
“I used to have my shins vertical along the bar,” he says. “Then I stand up tall and visualize everything I’m doing before I even get ready to pull. So I know this is my hand position and this is how I want to finish. Most people overextend. When I get ready to pull, I get tense with the bar in my upper body. So everything is long, and I try to get my hands straight up and straight down.”
From there, he talks about how he think about his hips through the lift.
“I raise my hips and set my hips. I push my hips through the bar the whole time. Most people engage their hips too late. The man thing is you want to wedge your hips between your hands and your shoulders. As I’m going up, I ‘m trying to wedge my hips between my elbows.”
Cohen steps up to the bar again, with Browner readjusting her hands.
He offers her a final tip.
“And when I raise my hips, I take a deep breath but also make sure I draw my rib cage down the whole time,” says Browner.
Cohen attempts another deadlift using his pointers, and says, “That felt really good. That didn’t hurt me.”
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