Eight Unbeatable Reasons To Train the Deadlift
If you’re serious about getting in shape, lifting weights is the best thing you can do, and deadlifting is one of the most effective ways to do it.
Most novices don’t train the deadlift, either because they think they will hurt themselves or they don’t know about all the benefits. We’re here to solve that by giving you the eight MOST compelling reasons everyone should deadlift:
#1: To lose body fat.
The deadlift is the perfect exercise to include in a training program geared at losing body fat because it uses the biggest muscles in the body, eliciting a huge calorie burn during and after the workout.
One specific deadlift variation--the hex bar deadlift—is the perfect tool for fat loss because it distributes the weight more evenly over the center of mass than the barbell deadlift, allowing you to safely push your limits when the goal is a large metabolic disturbance.
#2: Eliminate back pain.
A recent study showed that participants with baseline levels of lower back and hip strength performed deadlifts for 12 weeks and radically reduced their pain, while gaining strength and mobility.
Two things should be noted:
- Proper deadlift form is essential, and
- The deadlift is generally not appropriate for patients suffering from a back injury.
#3: Best bang for your buck exercise that gets you crazy strong.
Everyone should perform some form of the deadlift because it strengthens the whole body, protects you from pain and injury, and teaches you to move properly.
Strength gains happen rapidly with the deadlift—by doing consistent training for three months, a novice can expect to add anywhere between 50 and 200 (or more) pounds to their deadlift.
#4: Better abs & stronger, leaner legs.
Deadlifts will pretty much make everything about your life better. You will get stronger, leaner, and more mobile.
It’s the physical benefits of deadlifting that convince most beginners to give this lift a try.
Not only will they build you great glutes, hamstrings, and calves, but studies show it’s a better exercise for targeting the muscles that make up your six-pack than the typical ab isolation exercises, like sit-ups.
#5: Run faster and jump higher.
Deadlifts improve movement patterns in the lower body, while also targeting the fastest most powerful, type II muscles. This makes them a valuable exercise for training power and improving force transfer from the lower to the upper body.
This is extremely useful for beginners who don’t have the time to learn to Olympic lift because we know that if you want to be fast or jump high, you have to train the body to use your strength powerfully.
#6: Have fun.
Ask anyone who’s been lifting weights for a while and it’s a good bet they will tell you that the deadlift is one of their favorite exercises. Not only does it have the most carryover to daily life, people tend to enjoy the deadlift a whole lot more than squats or lunges.
And the fact that you can get better at it everyday makes it a highly motivating exercise that gives you a positive sense of your place in the world.
Despite all these tremendous benefits, most beginners to weight training don’t include deadlifts in their workouts because they fear that they will hurt themselves or don’t know how to train them. In a few weeks we will post a step-by-step guide to teach you how to start deadlifting with confidence.
#7: Improve mobility and have less pain.
The sad truth is that the people who will benefit the most from deadlifting are the ones who think it’s dangerous. If this is you and you think the deadlift is something you can’t do, check out these clear facts about what the deadlift can do for you.
First, training deadlifts along with other compound lifts has been found to improve movement patterns in the lower body. For example, trainees had better coordination in the hip and knee joints after a 6-week program that included deadlifts. The result is reduced risk of hip and knee injury, such as the ubiquitous ACL tear.
Second, deadlifts will improve bone strength and reduce chance of fracture because they load the hip, knee, and ankle joints. In conjunction with spine-loading squats, they’re they perfect exercise for trainees to “bank” bone for later years.
Third, the deadlift is a fundamental movement, which can teach people to perform everyday activities with ease and grace. No more pulling your back when hoisting luggage in the car.
Fourth, based on studies testing the effect of squat training in the elderly, it’s highly likely that appropriate deadlift training will improve balance, walking speed, and quality of life.
#8: Put on muscle.
Because you can load deadlifts so heavy and they target such a vast amount of musculature, they’re easily the best exercise for gaining muscle.
Your basic hex bar or conventional barbell deadlift are two lifts for novices interested in getting a shredded posterior and abdominal section, whereas advanced trainees can’t go wrong with snatch-grip deadlifts.
Due to the wider hand position, snatch-grip deadlifts increase the range-of-motion and require a greater contribution of the entire back. Doing them on a 4-inch platform takes it to another level, requiring just about the largest range-of-motion possible.
This makes it a superior lift for packing on muscle in the quads, hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors, traps, lats, and forearms.
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