The hinge pattern

Every strong pull you will ever do - off the floor, off blocks, off the ground with a suitcase in each hand - is a hinge. The squat bends at the knees and hips together; the hinge sends the hips back while the shins stay nearly vertical. Learn to feel the difference and half of deadlift coaching becomes unnecessary.

Finding it

Stand a hand’s width from a wall, facing away. Push your hips back until they touch the wall, letting your torso tip forward with a long spine. Your weight should settle into your mid-foot and heels; your hamstrings should register the stretch. Stand up by pushing the floor away and squeezing your glutes - not by yanking your back upright.

Move closer to the wall over several sessions. The farther you can hinge with a quiet spine, the more of the pattern you own.

The checklist

• Shins close to vertical, knees soft but not traveling forward
• Spine long from tailbone to crown - “proud chest” without ribs flaring
• The brace from the last lesson held throughout
• Tension in the hamstrings, not the lower back

When five slow reps in a row pass that checklist, load the pattern lightly - a kettlebell between your feet is perfect. The next lesson takes this pattern to the barbell, where it earns its keep.