Top 10 Reasons Why You Need to Deadlift

There are many reasons why you need to deadlift. This simple exercise activates some of the largest muscle groups in your body and is perfectly transferrable to day-to-day life.

The Deadlift is a full body compound barbell exercise that involves lifting the weight from the floor to the standing position with the arms straight down by the sides or the body.

A good deadlift will help you build midline stability and teach you how to safely pick up objects from the floor.

Before we delve into the benefits of this fantastic exercise, learn how to perform a proper deadlift:

How to deadlift

• Set the feet slightly wider than hip width apart, loaded barbell in front of you
• Stand with your feet under the barbell. The barbell should over the exact middle point of the feet (as measured from toe to heel)
• Reach down and grip the barbell with a mixed or pronated grip
• From this point, DO NOT move your feet. Keep them rooted to the floor and pointed forwards as if they were on train tracks
• Straighten the spine then bend the knees to lower the hips until the barbell comes into contact with the shins. The glutes should not be too high or too low. The shoulders should be directly over the barbell. That is your starting position
• Inhale and brace the core, grip and glutes
• Imagine performing a leg press and push the ground away from you in order to lift the barbell upwards. Keep it in contact with your shins at all times
• Rise until the barbell passes your knees. Power the lift from your quads
• Once the barbell is past the knees, thrust the hips forwards and lock the bar and hips. Contract your glutes to gain more explosive power
• Pause at the top
• To lower the load, push back the hips and load the hamstrings. Stay tight and controlled at all times
• Let the weight come to a dead stop on the floor
• Exhale
• Repeat for the desired number of reps

Read more: How to Deadlift

10 reasons why you need to deadlift

10 – Improved self confidence

Strength training is known for being able to improve your mood, state of mind, and increase your confidence. As you increase your strength and lift heavier, this will only increase.

9 – Improves posture

Deadlifts will strengthen your midline, which in return will improve your posture and give you core stability and strength.

Especially if you spend the majority of you day sitting down, deadlifts can help minimise the negative effects this can have on your posture.

8 – Anyone can do them

One of the reasons why you need to deadlift is because the exercise isn’t a highly-technical movement, which means anyone can do them. Young, old, trained, or a newbie, deadlifts are a great strength training exercise.

7 – Improve all other lifts

Improving your deadlift will translate to stronger lifts elsewhere. Whether it’s bench pressing, squatting, bent over rows, or anything in between will benefit from you doing more deadlifts.

6 – Increased cardiovascular health

You don’t always have to chase the heaviest number, performing 8+ reps of deadlifts can help improve your cardiovascular health and induce more fat burn.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

5 – Functional

Deadlifting is one of the most functional strength exercises. This means, it has real life lifting applications and, as such, can help prevent injury.

If you deadlift you know how to pick heavy things up and build the strength required to do so.

4 – Increased strength

This exercise will not only increase your grip strength but also your overall strength, which is a great reason why you need to deadlift more. As a compound movement, it works many of the biggest muscles in your body and can be used as a measure of overall strength.

3 – Safe exercise

If you perform deadlifts with good form, follow the right technique, and do them at a weight you are comfortable with, they are a safe exercise. They are very easy to bail out of as well when you feel your form deteriorating.

Source: Courtesy of CrossFit Inc.

2 – Increased hormone production

Deadlifts increase hormone production, which means more testosterone and growth hormone. This, in turn, means more muscle and strength.

Read more: How to Increase Testosterone Naturally

1 – Near total body workout

Deadlifts work nearly all the major muscle groups in your body, so instead of performing countless isolation exercises, you can work many muscles at once with the deadlift.