The Deadlift sounds like the most scary of moves in the gym, but should be the foundation of all exercise programmes whether you want to lose weight, gain size, tone up or just get stronger. This exercise is the most functional of all as it requires the mechanics of a basic lifting technique which human beings have be doing for decades.
The term ‘dead’ stands for ‘dead weight’ so make sure the bar is ‘dead still’ before lifting. If done wrong serious injury can occur so its important to take the time to master this technique.
The move requires that we start in a squatting position, a basic position which we mastered as soon as we were able to walk. However over the years as a result of sedentary lifestyles, postural imbalances and lack of flexibility, or just knowing how many people struggle to perform the deadlift successfully.
What are the Benefits?
Maximum Muscles Worked – The Deadlift works more muscles than any other basic exercise, including the squat. The lift is a what is known as a ‘compound’ exercise as it engages multiple joints and muscles. If you need to do one exercise, this is the one to do. The Deadlift works your lower and upper body, including your back muscles and abdominals. So for the fastest results in the shortest amount of time…
Do your deadlifts!
OTHER BENEFITS INCLUDE
Prevents Injury – Doing deadlifts can help prevent injuries by increasing the strength of your muscles around critical tendons and ligaments. Supporting joints with strong muscles is crucial to preventing injury, especially in the hips and lower back.
Improve Your Grip Strength – Deadlifts are renowned for their ability to build massive amounts of grip strength. Your fingers are literally the only things connecting you to the weight of the bar. Your forearms have to work incredibly hard as you progress in weight to keep the bar from falling out of your hands.
Increases Real Life Lifting – When you do other lifting exercises, like a bench press, for example, you’re not doing anything you might really do in real life. When are you ever going to have the need to lay on your back and push something extremely heavy into the air…?
The deadlift is a great functional exercise as it develops the muscles you need to actually pick things up correctly and carry them.
Increases Fat Burning – Numerous studies have found that lifting weights and resistance training will burn more fat than just dieting or dieting with cardio exercise alone. Compound exercises such as deadlifts in particular have proven more effective in burning more calories than traditional isolation exercises such as leg extensions, bicep curls and sit ups.
Improved Posture – Deadlifting increases your core strength and aids core stability. The movement targets all of the muscles responsible for your posture and enables you to keep your back straighter during regular daily activities.
Girls don’t be afraid to Deadlift! Deadlifts have also been proven to have many health benefits for female exercisers.
How to Deadlift Correctly?
Follow these 5 simple steps to instantly improve your existing deadlift technique.
Walk to the bar. Stand with your mid-foot under the bar. Don’t touch it with your shins yet. Hip-width stance, toes out approximately 15°.
Grab the bar. Take a narrow grip, about shoulder-width apart. Arms vertical from the front-view, hanging just outside your legs. Once you have the bar correctly aligned, its time to lift!
Bend your knees. Keep going until your shins touch the bar. Don’t move the bar, keep it ‘dead still’ with the bar over your mid-foot. Remember to keep the bar nice and close to the body, the further away it goes the heavier the lift will feel.
Lift your chest. Straighten your back. Don’t move the bar. Don’t drop your hips. Don’t squeeze your shoulders-blades. You should be in a squatting position with a slight arch in the back. Rounding the back on the initial pull or as you fatigue throughout your reps can cause serious injury.
Now stand up it with it. Take a big breath, hold it and stand up. Keep the bar against your legs. Don’t shrug, bend the elbows or lean back at the top.
WHAT NOT TO DO
I feel pain every time that I see a Deadlift being performed with poor technique. Although its the best exercise for maximum benefits, its also the easiest way to sustain a serious back injury if not performed correctly.
See below for a few tips to avoid common mistake which can occur when Deadlifting.
Do not round your back in any deadlifting movement. This will make your back vulnerable to injury if you do so. Concentrate on keeping the backs natural arch, brace the abdominals, keep the feet flat and the chest up and chin up. Focusing the eyes on something looking straight ahead can help.
Do not jerk the bar up your thigh. The movement should be smooth from top to bottom.
Do not tip forward or move your feet during this lift. If you do you could be risking a serious back injury. Push your feet through the floor and keep the weight as close to your centre of gravity as possible.
Do not hitch the bar. This means do not jerk the bar up and down in the middle of the movement in order to lock it out at the top.
Do not let your knees bow in and out during this lift. Lateral movement is dangerous for the knees so try to keep the knees in line with the toes throughout.
Do not go heavy at first. When I first started Deadlifting I spent months working on technique while training my lower back with other great posture-improvers such as planks, back extensions and rows. Perfect your technique before you increase the weight.
“So no matter what your goals, DO YOUR DEADLIFTS for maximum results in minimum time!”
By Julian – Senior Personal Trainer at Fit-2-Work