Deadlifts.....you either love them or you're afraid of them. To some, they look like a great way to throw your back out, which you can if you have terrible form. But the Deadlift is one of the best and most practical movements inside or outside of the gym.
Essentially a Deadlift is lifting "dead weight" off of the ground and then putting it back down. You should be able to see how this easily relates to your everyday life. Moving furniture, picking up bags of dog food, shoveling snow and pretty much any other movement that requires you to bend over and pick something up.
Maybe some of you aren't impressed with the ability to lift groceries more easily. How about the fact Deadlifts help you perform better at sports, they help enhance your posture, and building an extremely strong overall body. The movement is a total body exercise which is why the benefits of it are endless....as long as you perform the movement correctly! Deadlifts are not bad for you, bad form, in any movement, including the deadlift is bad for you. That should be a pretty obvious statement to most though.
Deadlifts are relatively one of the safer movements in the gym. It is very easy to back out of a Deadlift if it feels too heavy or you need to bail from a tough lift. Jon Erik notes:
"The primary concern with Deadlifts is performing the exercise with a rounded spine. This results in the stress of the exercise being placed on the spine structures and ligaments rather than to the back, leg and hip muscles"
When we pick things up off of the ground, to stay safe our body relies more so on bending your hips. This flexion at the hip is referred to as a hip hinge. For many, this movement is something that does not come naturally to many, at least initially, because they have never been taught to move this way.
When doing a hip hinge, you want to imagine trying to push your butt directly out/back while still keeping your back straight or neutral and core tightly braced. Both of these factors are very important when keeping your spine from rounding or caving in. As you hinge at the hip, there will be a slight bend in the knee, which will cause you to feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings.
So as you can see, Deadlifts are like any other exercise. With correct form and technique it is an extremely safe movement! Another issue some people have is they go much heavier than they should. This is why having a Coach is extremely beneficial to help guide you to the proper weight for the workout at hand. If you're unable to control the mechanics of your Deadlift with lighter loads, it will be near impossible to do so with heavier weights. This is why we stress Mechanics, Consistency and then and only then Intensity (weight and reps in this situation). If you have history of low back or joint issues then there are circumstances where this movement can be modified to work better for you to keep you safe and pain free.
All in all, next time your Doctor tells you Deadlifts are dangerous and you should never do them just ask him "Can i pick up my keys when I drop them? Or how about pick up my child from the ground?" It is not the movement that is dangerous, it is poor form and too much weight that make the Deadlift seem like the bad guy. Stay smart stay safe and always ask a Coach if you are unsure!
Coach Nick
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