The magic of Deadlifts & 11 reasons to LIFT
The deadlift is one of the best movements for increasing overall muscle mass and strength. For lots of bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts, not to mention powerlifters, it’s their favorite exercise and if asked if they had to choose to do just one exercise for the rest of their lives, almost all of them would answer the deadlift. If you’re in doubt about what to train on any particular day and don’t have a plan, then you can’t go wrong with the deadlift. It trains almost every muscle in your body and saves you time, which you would otherwise spend on 5 different machines to train each muscle separately.
Why should you deadlift?
Well, first of all, they are hard to do. Sometimes brutally hard. If you are doing them the right way, you will produce lots of tension in your body and your whole body and your heart will be extremely taxed. The sheer amount of muscle you will need to engage just to pick a barbell off the ground cannot be compared to any other movement.
The deadlift involves the following muscle groups: hamstrings, glutes, spinal erectors (lower back), abs, calves, lats, hip muscles, quads, upper back, shoulders, forearms and many smaller stabilizer muscles. One could argue that some upper body muscles like the chest get engaged as stabilizers since they have to be maximally contracted to support the torso while pulling the weight.
There’s also something to be said about the primal feelings that come with a heavy deadlift. Yes, I did use the word primal. But getting in touch with the part of you that has to seriously overcome great fear, fight against what feels like an immovable object, and experiencing the joy that comes with hitting a goal you’ve been working tirelessly towards is good for your damn health.
There’s no other feeling that matches that of walking up to a bar loaded down with plates, pulling the shit out of it, and knowing that you just fought gravity. And won.
Knowing all of this is great. Deadlifts can help build an ass that gets plenty of attention as you walk by, and everyone loves that.
What are some of the other benefits?
1. Deadlifts build overall total body strength better than any other exercise.
2. Deadlifts help shed body fat thanks to the dual wielding lightsaber of heavy lifting. Your cardiovascular system works hard, so you burn calories. You build strength and muscle, which means you burn more calories at rest.
3. Deadlifts improve your posture (stronger lower back, ass, and hips lead to better postural alignment).
4. Doing Proper deadlifts prevents bad lower back issues later in life.
5. Your maximum strength goes through the roof.
6. You become the most badass person at your gym if everyone else is scared of heavy weights.
7. Deadlifts double as cardio, because your body has to work so hard to get oxygen during a heavy set of deadlifts.
8. The short-term hormonal effect of deadlifting is unmatched. This is one of the key reasons deadlifts can bring physique changes unlike anything else. Hormonal change for the good = physique change for the good.
9. Deadlifts help with hip extension (hip thrusting) something your sex partner might wants you to work on ;)
10. Nothing compares to the rush you get of completing a heavy ass set of deadlifts. It’s good for your mental health and sanity. Think I’m kidding? Next time you’re stressed to the max go pick up heavy shit and tell me know how you feel.
11. It’s the most functional exercise known to man. Ever pick something up off the ground? Then you’ve deadlifted. Deadlifting makes you better at that.
In the ranking of exercises, there is no one greater than the deadlift. Not the squat (though that’s a close 2nd), not the bench, not the curl. But continually telling you that wouldn’t do any good in convincing you to go deadlifting like actually doing it and reaping the benefits. Do yourself a favor. Go out, pick up a barbell, pick that shit up, put it down, and repeat.
