Deadlifts can be an intimidating exercise, so much so that some see it as an exercise for more advanced bodybuilders, for those who want to bulk up and get superhuman strength, while you only want to get leaner and stronger.
You might also be uncomfortable with the idea of picking up a heavy weight from the floor. People who fear deadlifts often don’t know how to perform the lift safely or effectively.
Despite these apprehensions, the deadlift is a near-perfect exercise for a variety of fitness goals and one that belongs in your fitness routine. It’s a movement that builds strength and one that trains your body to work together efficiently and build coordination between muscle groups.
Plus, deadlifts help you develop greater muscle size and balance. The truth is most people who don’t deadlift avoid them because they lack the strength to do them safely. Therefore, they find them intimidating.
With proper technique, deadlifts, while challenging, can be an exercise that anyone can master. If you can stand up from a chair without falling over, you can learn to deadlift. Here are a few reasons why you should not leave this exercise out of your strength-building program.
Deadlifts Are a Total Body Exercise
Who wouldn’t want to work almost every muscle with a single exercise? Deadlifting is a movement that trains the entire posterior chain — your lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and traps as well as the quads and forearms. The deadlift also strengthens core muscles such as the erector spinae, obliques, and abs. A deadlift recruits muscles from your feet upward through the kinetic chain.
Working multiple muscle groups with one exercise is helpful if you have limited time to work out. When you’re pressed for time, total-body movements such as deadlifts, squats and push-ups help you maintain strength. Compound exercises, like the deadlift, recruit many muscle groups, making it more intense than other exercises like biceps curls, which only work one muscle at a time. Including more multi-joint or compound exercises in your routine is a time-efficient way to get a total body workout.
Deadlifts May Lower Your Risk of Back Pain
Deadlifts are one of the best exercises for your lower back. It works multiple muscles simultaneously and strengthens your back’s spinal muscles. Because of this, deadlifts may lower your risk of lower-back injuries. Plus, deadlifts strengthen your core muscles, too, the all-important muscles that stabilize your body when you do simple activities like walking or standing up from a chair. A strong core is also essential to keeping your spine aligned properly, which can prevent low back pain.
In addition, deadlifting helps you master the hip hinge, a movement you do every day. When you hinge your hips, you work your hamstrings and glutes. This improves movement patterns for sports that require hip extension power such as sprinting. Learn to perform this movement safely to avoid lower-back injuries.
To be able to pick up heavy things not only looks impressive, but it makes your life easier. The deadlift is a functional exercise that helps you carry out everyday tasks, such as carrying a heavy object or moving something heavy. If you visit family or friends and must move furniture or other heavy objects, you’ll be surprised how much easier it is when your legs and arms are strong from deadlifting!
The strength and functionality you build with deadlifts also assist with mundane activities like picking up items from the ground or bending over to tie your shoelaces. Multi-joint exercises, such as deadlifts using weights, provide benefits you can apply in your daily life.
Deadlifts Burn More Calories
When you use more than one muscle group simultaneously, you burn more calories, resulting in greater fat loss and superior muscle gains. To properly execute a deadlift, your muscles and joints must work together to keep the bar near your center of gravity. This effort increases your strength gains and the number of calories you burn.
If you’re trying to lose weight, deadlifts give you an edge. Building muscle boosts your resting metabolic rate. With a higher metabolic rate, you burn more calories even when you’re not exercising. The deadlift and its variations are among the most metabolically demanding exercises. That’s why most people do them first in their workout when they aren’t yet fatigued.
Deadlifts Will Improve Your Posture
Deadlifts can also improve your posture. Many people suffer from bad posture because they spend too much time sitting down or hunched over their cellphones or laptops. Deadlifts strengthen your postural muscles. Correctly performing the exercise requires you to pull yourself up with a flat back from a standing position, which can improve muscle alignment over time. By enhancing your posture, you can stand taller, feel better, and reduce slouching in your everyday life.
Deadlifts improve posture by strengthening hamstrings and spinal erectors. These are all muscles that play a part in keeping your posture straight when you’re standing or sitting. Deadlifting also improves mobility and prevents tight hamstrings. Hamstring tightness can negatively impact your posture as it pulls on your pelvis and lower back when you do activities such as walking up a hill or climbing stairs.
The Bottom Line
Don’t ignore the deadlift or be intimidated by it. It’s a powerful exercise that can make you stronger, powerful, and more functional. Start slow and learn to do them correctly and the correct movement patterns will be ingrained in your brain. Begin with no weight and progress to light weights but make them part of your strength training routine. If you spend time doing deadlifts, your performance will improve when you do other strength-training exercises and carry out your daily activities.
References:
- Martín-Fuentes I, Oliva-Lozano JM, Muyor JM. Electromyographic activity in deadlift exercise and its variants. A systematic review. PLoS One. 2020 Feb 27;15(2):e0229507. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229507. PMID: 32107499; PMCID: PMC7046193.
- “The Deadlift and Its Application to Overall Performance.” nsca.com/education/articles/tsac-report/the-deadlift-and-its-application-to-overall-performance/.
- “The Deadlift and Its Application to Overall Performance.” .nsca.com/education/articles/tsac-report/the-deadlift-and-its-application-to-overall-performance/.
- Electromyographic activity in deadlift exercise and its variants. A systematic review. Isabel Martín-Fuentes ,José M. Oliva-Lozano ,José M. Muyor. Published: February 27, 2020
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229507.
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STS Strength 90 Day Workout Program
All of Cathe’s Strength & Toning Workout DVDs
Total Body Workouts
Lower Body Workouts