Why Deadlifts are the Best Exercise - by bigshug

OK, so I can almost hear all of the squat enthusiasts scoffing at the notion that there is any one better exercise than the almighty squat. How DARE anyone suggest that there is any better overall body workout than heavy squats. Well, I’m not suggesting that squats aren’t one of the kings of all exercises – quite the contrary, I’m also of the opinion that your quest for ultimate size must include barbell squats, too. What I AM suggesting is that for some individuals deadlifts have enabled them to break through the barriers that occur in our training programs at times even when squats have been part of their regular routines for years.

So why doesn’t everyone deadlift, if this is really part of an integral plan to “get big”? Fear perhaps. Visions of lower back strains and muscle pulls run rampant in the minds of would-be body builders thus causing one to decide NOT to deadlift at all. What I’ll share with you are some of my own experiences with deadlifting as well as those of professional bodybuilders some of us aspire to be like. What you’ll find is a killer exercise that works more muscles in your body than any other exercise and will add size and thickness to your body like it’s being packed on with clay.

I remember my first days in the gym and being terrified of certain exercises. Squats, of course, were one of them as I’d seen pictures in Flex and other bodybuilding magazines of pros collapsing under tremendous amounts of weight. Not for me, nossir. I liked my knees, lower back, anterior cruciate ligaments and all of my other “parts” too much to risk it. Of course, a year into my training my legs still looked like they should be hanging out of a nest somewhere. Sooo, I decided to add squats to my training program. What I found was that not only did my leg size increase dramatically, but so did my traps (? !) and overall body size. Not much more mind you, but overall my lifts improved just by adding this exercise to my weight training program. In the whole span of things, we’ll take any gains we can get, right?

So, everything’s growing nicely. Well, everything except for my back that is. What I had envisioned through all of my sets of cable rows, one arm dumbbell rows, hammer strength rows, etcetera was lats that would suddenly sprout so big on my sides that if I had to, I could glide from tree to tree just for kicks on a Saturday night. Not so. No matter how much rowing I did, they just seemed to lay there dormant as if waiting to be kick started by some magical force. Enter the deadlift.

I had switched gyms for a change of scenery and managed to hook up with one of the gym’s trainers for a good old back thrashing. This guy doesn’t know what he’s in for, I thought because by this time I was a fairly proficient rower. I would quickly find that I’d bitten off more than I could chew when my trainer friend came to our workout wearing a snug fitting tee shirt that showed his likeness to the flying squirrel that I aspired to be. Our first exercise in the back assault that day was the all the proof I needed to see that the deadlift was the key to a huge back. As soon as my friend began repping out with heavy weights, I could see every muscle in his back, glutes (no, I wasn’t looking like THAT), hamstrings, traps, forearms – well every part of his body really – was working synergistically to move the weight up and down. Of course, I had been doing stiff legged deadlifts as part of my leg training program, so I was still able to pull a decent amount of weight but nothing like my wide backed friend. Anyway, the whole workout after that was a series of me rushing out the back door on the verge of vomiting from the ass kicking I had just received via the almighty deadlift. When I awoke the next morning I felt like someone had beaten me with a baseball bat all over my back. My lats in particular were incredibly sore for the first time ever and so I finally found the key to building a massive back…

The deadlift is a compound exercise targeting several muscle groups including the latissimus dorsi, calf muscles (soleus and gastrocnemius), rhomboids, trapezius, erector spinae, gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps, and hip flexors – not to mention your forearm muscles as well as muscles involved in trunk stabilization such as your obliques and abdominals. The movement of the deadlift translates well into real life as it mimics bending and lifting. As a compound exercise the movement spans three joints with extension occurring at the hip, knee and ankle joints thus utilizing several muscle groups. When compared to isolation exercises, compound movements that involve larger muscle groups elicit a hormonal training response that results in greater strength gains. In layman’s terms, they tend to cause your body to produce more testosterone.

There are two different stances associated with deadlifting – sumo and conventional. Sumo style involves the feet being placed in a very wide stance with the toes pointed outwards and the hands inside of the knees. Conventional stance has the feet around shoulder width apart with the hands gripping the bar outside of the knees. Powerlifters tend to favor the sumo stance as it yields a shorter distance during the lift from bottom to top than the conventional stance. The sumo stance has also gained a reputation as decreasing the stress placed on the lower lumbar by as much as 10% when compared to the conventional style and studies also indicate that quadriceps involvement may be more prevalent during sumo style lifts as well. It should be noted though, that world powerlifting records have been set with either style so use the style that’s most comfortable for you.

The start of the movement should be with the feet flat on the floor in whatever position your style dictates. Grip the bar with either an alternate or palms-in grip. The legs should be flexed as if in a squat position with the bar as close to your shins as possible. Your back posture should be STRAIGHT – at no time during the course of your lift should your back be rounded. Begin the lift by extending at the knees with your hips and shoulders moving at the same rate. Make sure to keep your back posture straight with your shoulders above or slightly in front of the bar. At the end of the concentric phase, thrust your hips forward and abduct your lats. The hip and knee joint should be fully extended. Flex hip and knee joints to slowly lower the bar to the floor ending where you started, in the squat position.

There are many variations to this lift which can also be used. Chalk may be employed to give the lifter a more secure grip on the bar. Wrist straps are also used by many during the most heavy sets as your grip will certainly fail before your back does. Lifting belts are also used during the heaviest sets to maintain lumbar integrity. I, for one, strongly recommend wearing a belt to avoid lower back injuries as – if you are one of the unlucky ones like myself who HAVE sustained a lower back injury during deadlifting – lower back injuries are debilitating at best and take many months to heal properly. Be safe, folks, use the tools available to keep you lifting and in the gym. One other variation actually occurs during your rep scheme. While some prefer “touch and go” reps – that is, each rep is separated by a quick touch of the plates to the floor – others prefer “full reset” reps. The full reset involves just that, a full reset in between each rep. At the bottom of your rep the bar comes to a complete halt and the body is relaxed totally then the exercise begins again. In this manner, each rep is like the start of your set. These are killers to say the least. Because they require so much more strength and stamina care should be taken to maintain impeccable form to avoid any injuries once fatigue sets in.

So who’s deadlifting? It sure ain’t hard to figure out once today’s bodybuilders take center stage. Most every pro and amateur alike are certainly impressive from the front, but it’s when they turn away from the crowd that you see who has put in the real hard time in the gym. How many times have you seen pros whose back development seems to stop midway down? If you’re unsure what to look for, take a look at pictures of Ronnie Coleman from behind and compare them to anyone you like. No one nowadays can even come close to his back development and he’ll tell you it all stems from heavy deadlifts. Most every top pro and amateur alike who are winning bodybuilding shows incorporate deadlifts into their routines. This year’s NOC winner, Victor Martinez is a prime example. His back thickness was overwhelming to every other competitor on stage…well, everyone except Johnnie O. Jackson. Even at Johnnie’s much lighter bodyweight, his powerlifting background was fully evident as his thickness front to back rivaled and even surpassed others on the stage who outweighed him by 20 pounds or more. Johnnie’s feats in the gym are no less impressive than Ronnie’s – who’s known for his unparalleled strength – as he was able to deadlift 814 pounds 3 weeks out from NPC nationals! Today’s winners are deadlifting. You should, too…

On a personal note, what have deadlifts done for me? Tons. Once I incorporated them into my back workouts, EVERY lift it seemed from week to week was stronger. My bench press increased, my squat increased – everything seemed to take off from that point on. Now I’m even told that my back “overshadows” the rest of me! Of course, I have a LONG way to go to even come close to the guys on stage but at least now I’ve found my key to mass building. For me, deadlifts have seemingly unlocked my genetic potential and are fueling all of my other workouts to boot. Will they work for you? Absolutely. Stay smart, stay safe and you’ll find that this exercise can yield results that could mean the difference between first and second place the next time you hit the stage.

Copyright 2003 BeyondMass.com