Deadlifts are a “must-do” exercise for any serious strength training program, but the rewards of this primal movement go beyond building bulging muscles. This full-body exercise can improve your physical fitness while providing a host of health and wellness benefits.
Deadlifts are more than just a great way to get strong and look great – they have an array of benefits that you may not be aware of. Let’s dive in and check out all the advantages of including deadlifts in your workout and some of the perks you can expect when you do. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by what this multi-joint exercise has to offer!
Deadlifts Are an Excellent Exercise for Posture
Beyond strengthening so many muscles, deadlifts also improve posture. The movement requires you to engage your core muscles, which helps improve your posture and reduce the risk of lower back pain. Deadlifts improve posture by strengthening the posterior chain, engaging more muscles than any other lift, and by building stronger stabilizer muscles, the muscles that support your spine when you deadlift.
Once you’ve done deadlifts for a while, you’ll enjoy better body alignment and find yourself slouching less. Proper body alignment will naturally make you look taller and slimmer ad it’s better for the health of your spine.
Greater Core Strength and Stability
Along with improving posture, deadlifts also boost core stability. How? Your core muscles, including your abs, lower back, and hips, must work together to keep your torso in a neutral position when you perform the lift. This helps improve stability, which is especially important for athletes and individuals who engage in physically demanding activities.
A strong core also lowers injury risk, as it provides a stable base for the rest of your body to work from. When your core is strong, your body is better equipped to handle physical activity and everyday movement, and that helps you stay active and injury-free.
Better Grip Strength
Deadlifts also help improve grip strength. The way you hold onto the barbell while performing the lift engages your forearm muscles, thereby boosting grip strength and endurance. Having a steely grip is especially important if you play sports and grip a ball, bat, or other equipment. It’s also helpful for recreational and sports activities that require a strong grip, such as rock climbing or weightlifting. Interestingly, a strong grip is also linked with lower mortality.
They’re a Calorie Burner
Deadlifts burn more calories than most other strength exercises since you work so many muscle groups simultaneously. Deadlifts also boost your metabolism, so you burn more calories after a tough deadlift workout. This is because the deadlift is a compound exercise that involves multiple muscle groups, which means it burns more calories than isolated exercises like bicep curls. When you deadlift, you work several large muscle groups, including the glutes, hamstrings, back, core, abdominal muscles, and trapezius muscles. That offers a calorie-burning advantage.
This increased calorie burn can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. Furthermore, the deadlift will hypertrophy your muscles, which boosts your metabolism and helps you continue burning calories even after your workout is over.
Deadlifts Improve Mobility
Deadlifts are a full-body exercise movement that causes force generation around several joints, including the hips, knees, ankles, and spine. This helps improve mobility in these joints and increases their range of motion and flexibility. In particular, deadlifts improve hip mobility and flexibility, which is important for many activities, such as running, jumping, and squatting. The hip hinge movement involved in the deadlift helps loosen tight hip muscles and increase flexibility in this area.
Deadlifts also help improve mobility in the spine. The spine must maintain a neutral position throughout the lift, which helps enhance flexibility and reduce injury risk. In addition, the deadlift can improve mobility in the shoulders. Another bonus: the deadlift improves flexibility in the hips and hamstrings, which can decrease your risk of lower back pain.
Deadlifts Are a Functional Exercise
The deadlift is a functional exercise that boosts fitness and athletic performance by improving strength, power, and explosiveness. Plus, regular deadlifts enhance speed and agility, making it an effective exercise for athletes who need to be quick and explosive in their sport. Furthermore, the deadlift improves muscle endurance, as you must maintain your form and focus throughout the entire lift. If you’re a runner, researcher shows deadlifting boosts running efficiency and durability.
Deadlifts Have Mental Health Benefits Too
In addition to the physical benefits, deadlifts also offer mental and emotional benefits. For example, the deadlift can help relieve stress and improve mental clarity. This is because the focus and concentration required to complete the lift can help clear your mind and relieve stress. Furthermore, the sense of accomplishment you feel after successfully completing a heavy lift can boost your self-confidence and self-esteem.
Conclusion
As you can see, the benefits of deadlifts go beyond just building strength. Deadlifts upgrade posture, reduce the risk of back pain, improve balance and stability, boost your metabolism, relieve stress, improve mental clarity, enhance self-confidence, improve overall fitness and athletic performance, and are a convenient and versatile exercise. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced lifter, deadlifts are an effective and time-efficient exercise to add to your strength training routine.
References:
- Norman K. Deadlifts to Enhance Running Efficiency and Mobility. Outside Online. Published August 26, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2023. https://www.outsideonline.com/health/running/training-advice/workouts/deadlifts-to-enhance-running-efficiency-and-mobility/
- Bird S, Barrington-Higgs B. Exploring the Deadlift. Strength & Conditioning Journal. 2010;32(2):46-51. doi:https://doi.org/10.1519/ssc.0b013e3181d59582
- “The Deadlift : ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal – LWW.” https://journals.lww.com/acsm-healthfitness/fulltext/2020/03000/the_deadlift.9.aspx.
- Cholewicki J, McGill SM, Norman RW. Lumbar spine loads during the lifting of extremely heavy weights. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1991 Oct;23(10):1179-86. PMID: 1758295.
- Sayer AA, Kirkwood TB. Grip strength and mortality: a biomarker of ageing? Lancet. 2015 Jul 18;386(9990):226-7. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62349-7. Epub 2015 May 13. PMID: 25982159.
- Ring M. Deadlift To Improve Posture – Lane Cove Physio & Exercise Physiology (EP) | PROHEALTH PHYSIO & FITNESS. Lane Cove Physio & Exercise Physiology (EP) | PROHEALTH PHYSIO & FITNESS. Published April 5, 2017. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://prohealthphysio.com.au/physio/deadlift-improve-posture/
- Buckner SL, Dankel SJ, Bell ZW, Abe T, Loenneke JP. The Association of Handgrip Strength and Mortality: What Does It Tell Us and What Can We Do With It? Rejuvenation Res. 2019 Jun;22(3):230-234. doi: 10.1089/rej.2018.2111. Epub 2018 Oct 18. PMID: 30200809.
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