Doing deadlifts is a simple compound exercise that can provide a lot of benefits and advantages. The deadlift is a functional type of exercise and movement.
It works by activating multiple muscle groups at once. This causes a significant amount of stress and adaptations put on the body.
Deadlifts have many advantages such as stressing the muscular system and activating multiple muscle groups at once. Deadlifts activate hamstrings, back, core, glutes, hips, and trapezius. This what weight lifters because it will enhance the volume of our workouts. Not only is it one of the best barbell techniques you can do but is great for anyone in. And the rate at which it improves mobility and things such as our ADL’s (Activities of Daily Living.)
| Deadlifts can improve back pain in some cases. | Deadlifts should be used in almost all training programs regarding gender, age, fitness level, etc.. |
| Deadlifts will not give you abs. Beginners may get improved core stability. | Deadlifts can improve acute hormonal and metabolic responses. |
More Advantages of doing Deadlifts
Some of the biggest advantages of adding deadlifts into your workouts other than being one of the best exercises in the galaxy are the benefits. Not only can you benefit by training high volume, but it can positively affect your daily living.
Most of the time we associate things like deadlifts with getting yoked or building lean muscle on our bodies. As we age you begin to appreciate and understand how crucial deadlifting techniques can improve your daily living.
Many times someone has dropped their pen and let out a midwest, OPE! Lastly, on this tangent deadlifts are great for athletes who are looking to improve explosive or vertical movements as well.
Other than building muscle and enhancing daily movements, deadlifts are considered high co-contraction of muscles like hamstrings, quadriceps, and gastrocnemius, being one of the most ideal knee rehabilitation close kinetic exercises.
Weight training has been proven to have such advantages as increasing bone mineral density. one study looked at a group of young men and women who did resistance training workouts that included deadlifts.
What they were looking for was how their daily activities were after bariatric surgery. This study took place for several weeks. The results after 24 weeks were increased bone mineral density in both groups.
| Doing deadlifts is a common movement that we do or should be doing in everyday life. It’s great for rehab exercises for from back and knee injuries to athletes looking to be more explosive or to jump higher. |
Deadlifts for those with back Pain
My first instinct would be not to tell some to do deadlifts with back pain. But there are some studies showing in certain cases where it can help improve symptoms.
While you shouldn’t exclude deadlifts for your clients with mechanical low back pain, it will vary on who should or shouldn’t be doing them. There should be evaluations done such as the pain of the back extensors and hip endurance.
The patients with high pain intensity and low hip endurance would not be the best clients to do deadlifts. The good news is that regardless of movement control, patient’s age, BMI, and sex.
Should do deadlifts as long as the before mentioned pain intensity and hip endurance have been assessed. It’s best to be highly skilled in being able to coach and instruct clients while doing deadlifts with back pain.
| Doing deadlifts have been shown to improve back pain in some individuals. With that said their pain level and hip endurance should be evaluated first. |
Acute Hormonal Stress to Hormones from Training Stress
Free weights are far superior then exercises such as machine weights. If you are a beginner you may not know this. Free weights such as the deadlift have many advantages over all exercises.
This is because of the volume training of multiple muscle groups being worked at once. This stress causes adaptation such as muscle growth and more hormonal response.
When I knew what real training was many years later, I began to look at machine weights as taking an s crew driver to a loose screw and tightening it down.
Thus machine weights should only be a small percentage of your training, ie when you are recovering from injury, or are just more exhausted and you don’t have the energy necessary to train with free weights.
Exercises such as deadlifts or free weight training provide a potent stimulus for acute concentrations of neuroendocrine factors with testosterone, growth hormone, and cortisol.
Even though this type of weight training may increase these types of anabolic and catabolic hormones, not all will create an acute hormonal response.
There are many determinants of the acute hormonal response being things such as order of exercises, intensity, reps, reps and rest periods between exercises.
Training with free weights is attractive because all of the advantages such as volume training, less time needed training, better overall physique. And better hormonal response when compared to most training programs.
When looked at things like barbell squats verse leg press the hormonal response was much greater from the barbell squat. They were compared by the same RPE and although they were the same, a greater metabolic response was created from the barbell squat.
| Free weight exercises are superior while trying to improve a hormonal and metabolic response. |
How do Deadlifts build more Muscle?
The advantage of deadlifts is for increasing strength, power, and to improve muscle group such as the lower erector spinae. One study looked at the advantages of a straight barbell verse a hexagonal barbell.
This study had not been done before and they used an EMG electromyography from the vastus lateralis, biceps, and the erector spinae. They were also looking for results from markers such as power, force, and velocity using a force plate.
Twenty men with deadlifting experience were used for the study. Each guy did a 1RM repetition maximum with both barbells on 2 different occasions. On the third attempt, each exercise was completed with 3 repetitions at 65 and 85%.
The results were that there was no change in the straight barbell or hexagonal barbells for their 1 RM. Much higher results were shown for the EMG values that were found from the vastus lateralis for the eccentric and concentric exercise of the hexagonal deadlift than the straight bar.
Ultimately the conclusion was that using these different types of barbells leads to different pathways to the muscle being recruited. The hexagonal barbell is significantly better from a muscle activation, power, force, and velocity standpoint.
I wouldn’t have guessed this because the hexagon deadlift seems so much easier for me to do a verse a straight barbell deadlift. This is what the study has shown to be true.
| Hexagon barbells deadlifts have an advantage over straight barbell deadlifts. Everything from muscle;e activation, force, velocity, and power. |
Will doing Deadlifts give you a 6-Pack?
Let’s take a look at whether you can get rid of your beer belly for a 6-pack. Regardless of this study nutrition plays the biggest role and being in a calorie deficit to get abs.
They looked at a pretest and post-test competition for 1 RM deadlift for the bunkie test. The frequency was twice a day with rest time in between workouts.
A progressive overload style of the program was used. The standard barbell deadlift was used for the study. It was a group of college, males as well who were trained in how to deadlift amongst other exercises.
The results during the training period lead to a 21% increase in their 1-RM deadlift. this was accomplished ina 5-week deadlifting program with progressive overload.
The advantages of deadlifts were much higher for improved core strength without previously untrained individuals. What about us who are not beginners? I’ll get there just bare with me.
| It looks like on this who are beginners or untrained would benefit from some core stability. This is because the muscle groups from deadlift are mostly working for post chain, muscle groups. Something like a sit-up will work the anterior(front) of the body. |
Final Thoughts
The deadlift is one of the best compound exercises you can do. It’s great for functional mobility and improving overall strength. It should be used in most training programs regardless of age, gender, exercise level. If you want to improve abs, deadlifting won’t help with that. Instead focus on working on abs and being in a calorie deficit, with a diet break mixed in.