The deadlift is quite possibly the biggest 'muscle working exercise' on the face of this planet. It engages pretty much every muscle in your body and therefore burns a large amount of energy into the bargain. What's more, it will send your metabolism sky rocketing after training, forcing you to burn a high number of calories between sessions. If you need to lose fat, THIS is the exercise to embrace!
Deadlifts are feared by many, but embraced by those that appreciate its power. There really is no reason to fear this exercise. For complete beginners, results can be achieved with minimal weight, simply by focusing on technique. As you become confident with the movement you can begin to add more weight to your bar or your dumbbells, and be assured that you are working your body in a time-effective manner that gives you good results.
The deadlift loads your spine, forcing your core muscles to engage and work hard. Too many people spend too long fixating on their abdominals and not nearly enough time working their spinal muscles. The beauty of the deadlift is that it works both - together.
This core loading will make your spinal support muscles stronger and do a lot to prevent or even start to cure lower back pain, provided that your technique is good. What's more, deadlifts will teach you the correct way to pick up heavy objects from the ground without 'doing your back in'. So you see, deadlifts are not just reserved for bodybuilders and powerlifters. They're are very useful for everyday living too.
Finally, deadlifts are a great way of instilling good posture into our 'desk-bound' lifestyles. They force your body to use muscles that desk-sitting cause to weaken. Some of the biggest muscles in your body - the glutes (buttocks), hamstrings (back of the thighs) and upper back muscles - all come into play with this exercise, the very muscles you need to be strong to hold your body up straight.
How To Do Deadlift :
1. Place the barbell on the ground and attach weights to it according to your strength and fitness level. If it is your first time performing the deadlift, please don't get macho and stack up the plates. It's always easy to add weight later but you'll regret it if you get hurt. Perfect your form before you test your physical limits with this lift.
2. Step up to the bar so that your feet are approximately shoulder width apart and under the bar pointing forward or slightly outward. Looking vertically, the bar should be over the balls of your feet.
3. Squat down and grasp the bar. Your hands should be slightly more than shoulder width apart (on the outside of your legs). Although you can use any grip you're comfortable with, an alternate grip is recommended. An alternate grip is where, when you grasp the bar, one of your palms is facing you and the other is facing away from you. This tends to stabilize the bar since it may tend to roll out of your hands if both palms are facing the same direction, especially if you're a beginner or otherwise have a poor grip.
4. Lower your hips so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. As you lower your hips, be sure to keep the lower part of your legs mostly vertical. You're going to stick your butt out quite a bit, so use the weight for leverage to maintain your balance. You want the angle between your foot and your lower leg to be close to 90 degrees.
5. Flatten your back and look straight ahead. Never lose the natural arch of your back. If you're bent over, you're going to hurt your lower back. See Warnings below. Some people use a belt to keep the back stabilized. This may help prevent injury, or it may prevent the development of stabilizer muscles, thus increasing the likelihood of injury as weight is increased. Opinions differ, and this is something to be considered by the individual weightlifter.
6. Lift the bar off the ground by standing up, raising your hips and shoulders at the same rate and maintaining a flat back. The weight should hang with your arms straight. Come to a standing position with upright posture. The bar should just be "hanging" in front of your hips, don't try to lift it any higher. Pull your shoulders back if they are rounded forward. The bar should travel in a vertical path and not arch around your knees.
7. Lower the bar in a controlled manner back to the starting position. Remember to keep the back straight because you're still supporting the weight. Just because you're not pushing up doesn't mean you can't get hurt. Begin the movement to lower the weight by pushing your rear end out as if you are going to sit down in a chair. This will keep the knees back and out of the way of the bar as you lower it down. Keep the head up and do not look at the bar or the ground as you lower the weight. This is a common mistake that leads to injury.