By Scott Mahon – Certified Personal Trainer
The deadlift is one of the most functional movement patterns that we can train. At some point in your life you’ll find yourself needing to pick up a heavy object, and deadlifting teaches you how to safely and efficiently accomplish that goal. The Deadlift engages almost all of the muscles in the body to varying degrees, and therefore results in significant gains in overall total body strength. Most people spend too much time in a seated position, and because of this have a weakened posterior chain (rear musculature of the body). The deadlift specifically targets the posterior chain, and thus “wakes up” all of those muscles that tend to “shut off” when one sits for large periods of time day in and day out. If there’s one exercise that you’re going to do, make it the dead lift!
When first starting to learn the deadlift pattern it is best to start with the trap bar/hexbar. The reason for this is that the hex bar allows you to start from a higher starting point which means the weight doesn’t have to move as far. Starting this way also makes it easier to keep proper form, thus making the deadlift safer. If you try to deadlift with improper form you can seriously injure yourself. Therefore, to do the deadlift safely, it is critical to know the basics, have good hip functionality and core strength and as with any lift, use good form.
It is important to use either the rubber bumper plates or 45lbs plates when deadlifting to make sure that the bar is the proper distance from the ground. Having the bar any lower is what is called a deficit deadlift, and shouldn’t be attempted by new lifters.
Contact Scott to learn more about deadlifts and how to properly incorporate them into your fitness routine.