Added On November 2, 2011
The Deadlift By Bill Starr
In the minds of a great many people who train with weights, the deadlift is the exclusive domain of powerlifters. Few people include it in their programs, even if they’re primarily interested in gaining size and strength. In many gyms the deadlift is considered dangerous and not allowed. Then, of course, there’s the group that avoid it for a more basic reason - it’s taxing.
In fact, the deadlift is one of the very best core exercises in all of weight training, and it belongs in everyone’s routine, even trainees who aren’t interested in building great strength. What makes the deadlift so beneficial is that it involves so many large muscle groups - and since you can use a good deal of weight, it strengthens all he groups rather nicely.
Even if you have only a moderate amount of weight on the bar, deadlifts bring into play all the muscles of the back, hips and legs as well as the shoulder girdle. If you doubt that the arms and shoulders are involved, try doing deadlifts when those areas are injured. You simply can’t.
Like the full squat, he deadlift is a total exercise that forces you to reach deep into your reserves, and reaching deep helps increase strength. The deadlift is a basic movement used by everyone in all walks of life. A housewife needs to know how to pick up a heavy object off the floor. That’s the reason I teach all beginners to do deadlifts: youngsters, female athletes and fledgling strongman.
The deadlift is a good basic exercise for another reason. Once you learn correct form on it, you’ll find it much easier to pick up the form points on other pulling movements, such as the power clean and high pull.
I’ve received many letters from readers who agree that the squat is the single best exercise for gaining size and strength but aren’t able to do it. More often than not it’s because of a shoulder injury that makes it impossible for them to fix the bar on their back. They want to know what exercise they can do to help maintain the hip and back strength.
My answer is always the same: Do deadlifts.
There are lots of misconceptions about this exercise. Many believe that in order for it to be useful, you have to use very heavy weights. That isn’t true. The deadlift can help enhance overall strength even if you only use moderate weights. You just have to do fairly high reps. It’s also an excellent rehab exercise. I’ve had people rebuild their injured backs by doing deadlifts with only the Olympic bar.
The movement is often categorized as being dangerous or at least high risk. If you use faulty form, yes, it can be risky, but that’s true of any exercise. The one consideration about its danger factor is that injuries incurred when people are deadlifting are often severe. That’s because you can usually handle more weight than on any other exercise.
Trainees who hurt themselves on deadlifts are trying to lift too much weight too soon. They haven’t established a base to max out with a heavy single attempt. That’s often the case with youngsters who’ve been left unsupervised. It also happens to those who don’t take the time to perfect their form. If you maintain correct technique, you may not complete a max attempt, but you won’t hurt yourself.
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