What are deadlifts?
The deadlift is a widely used compound weight exercise that involves lifting a weight off the ground by bending at the waist and hips and standing back up.
The deadlift exercise and its variations require you to bend over while maintaining a neutral, braced spine, gripping the weight, and driving the floor with your feet. Your quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes are worked as you raise the barbell off the ground.
In the standard deadlift, the initial change in level to grip the bar occurs through a combination of hinging at the hips and bending at the knees. In a standard deadlift, the torso angle at the start of the pull will be approximately 30–45 degrees above horizontal.
Throughout the movement, you need to keep your core tight to stabilize your spine and avoid any twisting, rounding, or arching of your torso.
All deadlift exercises begin with the weight more or less in line with the midfoot before bending forward and picking up the object.
Deadlifts are very effective at increasing functional strength by activating the larger muscles of the lower body.
They also train you in the functional task of safely lifting objects off the floor, which is a key skill for everyday activities.
The Top 7 Benefits of Deadlifts:
Here are 7 evidence-based benefits of incorporating deadlifts into your training program.
1. Activate your hip extensors:
One of the best exercises for strengthening your hip extensors is the deadlift. The gluteus maximus and hamstring complex, which are included in the hip extensors, are frequently targeted muscles in fitness regimens because of their practical application and, when trained properly, aesthetic appeal.
Studies indicate that when it comes to strengthening these muscles, deadlifts are more effective than squats. Squats, on the other hand, have different advantages than deadlifts and are a crucial part of fitness regimens that are comprehensive.
Activating the gluteus maximus and hamstrings while performing deadlifts will lead to both an increase in strength and size of these muscles.
2. Reduce lower back pain:
Back pain is an incredibly common complaint among the general population.
While there are many causes of low back pain that require different treatments, research suggests that for mild mechanical lower back pain, deadlifts can be an effective tool to reduce or reverse this disorder.
Keep in mind that proper deadlift technique with a strengthened neutral spine is critical to ensuring deadlifts don’t aggravate pain. It is advisable to seek medical advice from a professional before beginning deadlifts as a back pain treatment.
3. Improve jump performance:
A multitude of sports and leisure pursuits require the ability to jump, and your ability to do so frequently indicates how well your lower body is developing overall.
Furthermore, the enhanced power demonstrated by leaping translates to other high-intensity sports like running.
Research suggests that deadlifts are among the most effective strength training exercises for improving maximal jumping performance.
4. Improve bone mineral density:
Loss of bone mineral density is a common effect of aging and a serious health problem affecting older adults.
Advanced loss of bone mineral density causes osteoporosis, which greatly increases the risk of fractures among older adults. Fractures can lead to a variety of physical health problems related to loss of mobility.
Thankfully, a substantial amount of research suggests that resistance training can be used to either partially or completely stop the aging-related loss of bone mineral density. This encompasses the utilization of workouts like the deadlift.
The key to increasing bone mineral density is to perform weight-bearing exercises that load the entire body with external resistance.
The location of the increase in bone density is directly related to the area of the body being trained. Specifically, the area of muscles working to perform a given movement will experience the most improved bone mineral density.
Since the deadlift targets the legs and hips, performing it alongside other resistance exercises can be an effective way to reduce or reverse age-related bone mineral density loss.
5. Activate your core:
Developing your trunk and core muscles is an essential component of all-encompassing fitness regimens.
Although many different exercises train the core, research has suggested that deadlifts and other free weight exercises are an effective way to activate and strengthen the muscles that stabilize the spine, such as the external oblique, rectus abdominis, and l spinal erector.
6. Boost your metabolism:
Weight loss is a common goal of many fitness programs. To successfully lose weight, especially by losing body fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume in a given period of time.
Traditional weight loss programs combine dietary changes to reduce calorie intake and physical activity to increase calorie burn.
Studies indicate that resistance training, including exercises like the deadlift, may be one of the best ways to increase calorie burn while spending less time in the gym for metabolic enhancement through movement.
Plus, the muscle growth you experience over time will help you burn more calories at rest throughout the day.
7. Carry less risk during failed repetitions:
The benefits mentioned above are based on scientific research. However, there are some subjective advantages of deadlifts that make them an effective exercise in practice.
For example, deadlifts allow you to lift large amounts of weight without placing it on top of you. In the event of a failed repetition, you can usually safely lower the weight without risking serious injury.
Exercises like the bench press and barbell back squat are also good ways to train. However, you generally can’t risk getting that heavy without a spotter, as a failed repeat can literally crush you.
Deadlifts are an excellent way to safely incorporate heavier training into your workouts if you typically train alone.
Precautions for deadlifting:
Deadlifts and their variations are extremely safe when performed by healthy individuals with proper technique.
The greatest danger occurs if you fail to maintain a neutral spine and instead curve your back while pulling the weight, particularly if your spine actively moves while bearing the weight.
This places extreme pressure on the discs in the spine and can lead to acute and chronic injuries.
Often, attempting to lift more weight than you are ready for leads to a compromised spinal position. Spinal movement during deadlifts can also be due to a lack of knowledge of proper technique.
Taking a deep breath to engage your core and abs before pulling the weight will stabilize your spine under the load and can help prevent rounding.
If you have a spinal or disc injury or have a history of chronic back pain, you should seek professional guidance from a physical therapist or other licensed expert before attempting deadlifts.
The bottom line:
A staple of strength training, deadlifts provide a host of advantages for a variety of fitness and health objectives.
Additionally, multiple deadlift variations allow for more variety in your training program and emphasize certain muscle groups over others compared to standard deadlifts.
Deadlifts are safe for most people, as long as you maintain proper technique and don’t increase the weight beyond your current capabilities.
If you want to maximize improvements in strength training, deadlifts and their variations are key exercises to include in your training.