Adding Deadlifts to Your Fitness Program

 

• Author Jonathon Hyatt

After the squat, the deadlift might just be the most important exercise for physical fitness. It's such a basic movement, yet it involves almost every muscle in your body.

Even better, most trainees can deadlift more weight than with any other exercise! No matter your current goals, this is one move you've got to be doing. Here are a few ways you can add deads to your own lifting program.

Heavy Lifting for Mass

Heavy deadlifts will put slabs of muscle on your back like no other exercise. They'll also stimulate new growth in your quads, hamstrings, traps, and even biceps. If you have one day per week for training your back, try getting a few heavy sets in before your pull-ups and rows. If you train your upper and lower body on separate days - or if you train every muscle at every session - rotate deadlifts in with your other leg exercises.

Deadlifts for Fat Loss?

Most people don't think of heavy lifting as good exercise for fat loss. However, it's FAR more effective than cardio can ever be! Heavy deadlifts activate muscles all over your body, and they have to work hard to move all that weight. This is metabolically demanding, and you'll burn hundreds more calories for hours after a good training session. However, you've got to focus on deadlifts and other "big" movements. Curls, raises, and other isolation exercise are not very demanding, and they will have minimal impacts on your metabolism and body composition.

Condition with High Reps

If you've got great form, then deadlifts can actually be a good conditioning tool, as well. While sets of five or six are great for building muscle, high reps will tax your cardiovascular system like nothing else. When it's too rainy to run - or you just don't have time to hit the track - try knocking out a few sets of twenty with short rest periods. Just make sure you keep your back in a safe position when you start to get fatigued.

Tips for Perfect Form

Despite its simplicity, there are still several important form tips for the deadlift. Make sure you understand this advice before including deadlifts in your physical fitness program.

*Keep your lower back in a safe position. Arched or flat is fine, but a rounded back will inevitably lead to injuries.

*Lift with your whole body. Make sure you're engaging your hips, quads, and hamstrings in addition to your back.

*Pull back. You should think about pulling the weight "backwards" as you get it off the floor. This keeps the bar as close to your body as possible, making for a faster, smoother rep.

*Mix your grip. Once you start deadlifting some heavy weights, you'll need to alternate the directions your palms face when you grip the bar. This keeps it from rolling out of your hands.

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