How To Do Deadlifts

How To Do Deadlifts
Deadlifts are a great exercise for packing on muscle on
both your upper and lower body. But get it wrong and you'll
be crippling your lower back. Read on to make sure you get
it right.

Done properly, some argue that the deadlift is the best
exercise for building muscle mass all over your body and
for strengthening all major muscle groups.

Deadlifts are also great for strengthening the entire back
and your body's core muscles making it fantastic for
preventing lower back problems.

Muscles Targeted By The Deadlift

As mentioned earlier, the dealift targets all the major
muscle groups and can therefore improve muscle size and
strength in the following areas:

Latissimus dorsi (upper back), trapezius (upper back and
neck area), erector spinae (the muscles which support your
spine), gluteals (buttocks), hamstrings (back of the
thighs), quadriceps (front of the thighs), psoas (hip
flexors), core muscles (your abs and obliques).

Because you need to grip the bar tightly, your forearm
muscles are also brought into play.

Benefits Of Deadlifting

The whole body is worked; as all the major muscle groups
are worked when you perform a deadlift, you'll see muscle
size increases all over. It is thought that bringing
serveral muscle groups into play at once can even boost
your body's levels of anabolic hormones naturally.

As your muscles have to work together to complete the lift,
the exercise will also help improve your body's
coordination.

Because deadlifts utilise your whole body, you can also use
it with light weights as a warm-up at the start of your
workout.

Builds Useful Strength

Lifting objects up from the ground is something that many
of us do in our every day lives, so strengthening the
muscles required for these activites helps us do this more
easily. Furthermore, learning the correct way to deadlift
in the gym means we are more likely to lift everyday
objects correctly too, lowering the risk of lower back
injury. As core strength is built, the lower back is
further protected from strains.

How To Do The Deadlift

Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and the barbell
in front of you. Grip the bar with your arms on the outside
your legs so that your inner forearms are touching your
outer thighs and your shins are as close to the bar as
possible.

You can either grip the bar with an overhand grip or
underhand - whichever is most comfortable for you. When
deadlifting a heavy weight, a combination grip is often
used (one hand grips overhanded and the other underhanded).
This is useful to prevent the bar from rolling out of your
grip.

Keep your back in a neutral position (maintaining its
natural curves, not hunched over or overly arched), with
your head looking straight forward. Your legs should be
flexed as if in the squat position. Pull in your lower abs
to stabilse your core. Push your chest forward and hold
your shoulders back keeping them over the bar and making
sure they are not rounded.

Gripping the bar tightly, lift the weight up by pushing
with the feet. The legs should be providing the main
driving force. Make sure you keep your shoulders back and
your spine in the neutral position for the duration of the
lift. Keep looking straight ahead and ensure the bar
remains in contact with the body all the way up.

The finishing point of the lift is standing up with the bar
held in front of the body touching the front of the upper
thighs.

Reverse the process to lower the bar to the floor in a
controlled manner. You should breathe out when you lift the
weight and breathe in when lowering. This will help to keep
your blood pressure under check as holding your breath
through the movement can lead to a dangerous increase in
blood pressure.

Caution

As with any exercise it is really important to observe the
correct form and technique. Lifting to heavy a weight in an
uncontrolled manner is asking for injury. If you have
existing lower back problems or any heart or blood pressure
issues you should consult your doctor before trying the
deadlift.

Variations On The Deadlift

The deadlift described above with the feet shoulder width
apart and gripping the bar outside of the legs is the
standard deadlifting technique.

Sumo Deadlift

The sumo deadlift is designed to reduce the stress on the
lumbar vertebrae (lower back). Stand with your feet further
apart than shoulder width and grip the bar with the arms
inside the legs instead of to the outside. Perform the lift
as above.

Stiff Legged Deadlift

The stiff legged deadlift is a great exercise for
development of the hamstrings (muscles at the back of the
thighs). Start with the bar on a rack so it is raised off
the floor just above knee height. Holding the bar with a
shoulder width grip, lift the bar off the rack and step
backward enough so you can lower the weight. Keeping the
legs only slightly bent (straight but not locked out),
lower the bar by flexing at the hips.

How far you can lower the bar will depend on your
flexibility and strength. You may not be able to fully
lower the bar to the floor. After lowering, bring the bar
back up smoothly to the starting position. Breathe in as
you lower the bar and out as you raise it.

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