It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to get bigger, get stronger, become more functional, or anything else for that matter, if there is one thing that is for certain, it’s that, in order for you to achieve or become any of the aforementioned examples, you will need to put the hours in at the gym, and will need to train your butt off in the process.
The great thing about training in this day and age, is the fact that we now have access to a wealth of knowledge and expertise, passed down by pro after pro, plus, we have access to the best facilities and the best tools and pieces of equipment that money can buy.
Health and fitness is a multi, multi-billion dollar industry, so that alone should provide some insight into how popular and effective it really is.
The great thing about training in this day and age, is that, because there are so many different exercises, movements, and pieces of equipment to use, everything remains constantly fresh and exciting, and we have plenty of variation.
In terms of training, however, there is one exercise that is synonymous with a bodybuilder, with strongman, with Powerlifting, and with functional training in general, and that is the deadlift.
Providing it is performed correctly, deadlifts will increase: grip strength, overall strength, muscle mass, muscle definition, and training intensity in the process.
The main problem with deadlifts, is that people often perform them using incorrect form, or try lifting too much weight, and find themselves becoming injured in the process.
if performed correctly, however, deadlifts provide a whole wealth of benefits and advantages which is why we’ll now be taking a look at 8 primary benefits of deadlifts.
1. Bigger back
The deadlift is a multi-functional exercise that functions very effectively as a compound exercise. However, According to Smilizer, the exercise is designed to primarily target muscles in the lower back, and if you perform it correctly, that is exactly what it will do.
For anybody trying to add mass and definition to the lower back, you’ll know how few exercises there really are for working these parts of your anatomy. In fact, other than hyperextensions, that may be pretty much it.
However, with deadlifts, you can easily target your lower back and can easily add size and definition to it. People think that you have to go super-heavy when deadlifting, when in reality, that is not the case at all.
Sometimes, if you stick with a lightweight and rep the exercise to failure, by the time you finish, your lower back will be on fire and you will have a fantastic muscle pump.
The lower back is often neglected, but with deadlifts, you now have an exercise that targets the lower portions of the back perfectly.
2. Increased Strength
As mentioned, deadlifts are a staple part of strongman competitions, and of Powerlifting competitions, so naturally, you can probably get an understanding of how beneficial the exercises are when it comes to increasing your overall strength levels.
Deadlifts are great because they recruit multiple muscle groups at once, plus they work on your grip strength in the process. For anybody looking to build a stronger core, and looking to increase their overall strength levels, deadlifts are absolutely perfect.
What’s more, you’ll find that you get stronger and stronger at deadlifting with each passing workout, so each week you should be able to beat what you do on your last previous session, and as if that wasn’t all, you’ll notice your other lifts also improving because of your deadlifting progress.
3. Improved Posture
Bad posture can not only make you look unsightly, but it can also lead to pain and discomfort, especially as you grow older.
You may not realize it, but due to the mechanics involved in performing deadlifts, your posture itself will actually improve a great deal, helping you to stand up straight, look taller, look more respectable, and to help alleviate any potential pain and discomfort.
The reason for this is that deadlifting is designed to target all muscles in the back that are responsible for your overall posture, so you stand up straighter as a result.
4. Great Compound Exercise
Although deadlifts are primarily designed to target the lower back muscles, due to the nature of the exercise, as it functions as arguably the most productive compound exercise currently in existence, you can work for multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
Compound exercises are exercises that recruit several muscle groups at once, which in turn means that your workouts become more effective.
With deadlifts for example, not only are you working your lower back muscles, but on top of that, you are also working your core, your legs, your deltoids, and all of your major muscle groups if truth be told.
This means that with one exercise, you can potentially work virtually your entire body, so that will really yield impressive results.
Not only will the upper body be worked, but so too will the lower body, so if you can only do one exercise, make it the deadlift.
5. Fat Loss
Deadlifts, whilst being beneficial, are certainly not all that simple to perform, and the exercises themselves are very physically taxing and demanding.
In order to perform deadlifts, your body has to work extremely hard, and as you probably know, the harder you have to work, the more energy you will expend, so the more calories you will burn off. Deadlifts are, therefore, very useful exercises for assisting with fat loss.
6. Deadlifts Boost Hormone Levels
Studies have found that heavy compound exercises yield very impressive increases in hormone levels, especially testosterone and growth hormone.
Whilst any form of resistance training has been found to increase hormone levels, experts have found that heavy compound exercises like squats and deadlifts, yield the most impressive increases.
Testosterone and growth hormone are both hormones that have been proven to increase muscle mass, size, definition, and strength, so obviously the more of these hormones you have in your body, the more muscle you will gain, and the more you will benefit.
7. Stable Core
Another one of the main benefits of deadlifts, is the fact that deadlifts have been proven to increase core stability and strength.
This means that not only will posture is improved, but so too will overall strength, flexibility, and productivity in other aspects of life as well.
Our cores are basically responsible for controlling us, as they are where we generate the majority of our functional strength. The stronger the core, the better our posture, and stronger and more agile we become by default.
8. Simple And Effective
When you hear from bodybuilders from the ‘golden age of bodybuilding’ they will talk about the fact that gyms back then, weren’t overly complex and sophisticated, and how it was the ‘meat and potatoes of the gym’ that got them the amazingly lean, powerful, and aesthetic physiques that are still admired to this very day.
To perform deadlifts, you don’t need fancy equipment, you don’t need to strip weights and plates away, you don’t need multiple spotters, all you really need is a barbell, some weight plates, and a mat when lowering the bar down.
Once you have mastered the technique, performing deadlifts becomes a very simple and effective process, so in actual fact, if you have the space at home, you can even perform them there, providing you purchase a bar, safety clips, and the necessary weight plates.
