Don’t Fear The Deadlift
Are you afraid or intimidated by the deadlift? Why is the deadlift commonly avoided? If you are not regularly doing a form of deadlift as part of your weight-training program — it is time to add it to your routine!
Unfortunately, the deadlift often gets a bad rap from coaches, trainers and athletes who claim it will lead to injuries. Well, they are correct — bad form on a deadlift will lead to injuries. However, with correct form, deadlifts are not only one of the best injury-preventing tools you can use — but the deadlift is the greatest full body exercise that exists. Smart personal trainers know that the deadlift, which involves almost every muscle group in your body, should be respected, not feared.
A properly performed deadlift provides many benefits, including:
- High oxygen use, leading to higher metabolic rate, enabling you to burn more calories at rest
- High growth hormone response, leading to increased use of fat for energy, meaning fat loss
- Increased strength and size
- Injury reduction and prevention
- Core Stability
- Posture enhancement (literally making you fight for better posture)
The Mental Aspect: Sound Mind, Sound Body.
Not only will the deadlift offer physical benefits, it can also benefit you mentally. The deadlift forces you to get in tune with your entire body. You have to be mentally focused to properly execute the movement. This will help you to build neural pathways that will enforce proper movements in other lifts — and will carry over to everyday life.
Mental focus — especially when it comes to heavy deadlifting — is a must. The deadlift is just that, dead weight. You have to approach the bar with a high level of determination. It is only you and the bar. It will either leave the ground, or it won’t. No spotter can help. The deadlift will help you become mentally and physically elite.
The experienced personal trainers at Body By Choice Training will not throw you right into deadlifts right away, but will eventually add it to your program when you are ready to perform it properly — to ensure proper form and great results. We closely examine your posture, hip mobility, thoracic spine mobility and scapular mobility. Then, we will first address any dysfunction before working into conventional deadlifts. These things need to be corrected. If not, building strength and muscle on top of these dysfunctions further cements them and can lead to future injuries.
The deadlift is a key tool for reaching any goals. With proper form, education and preparation, there is no reason to be afraid of the deadlift!
Are you ready to deadlift? To learn more about the many benefits of adding deadlifts to your weight training program, or to schedule your free fitness consultation with one of our personal trainers, please contact us here or call us directly at 616.259.9064.
