5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Skip Deadlifts

5 Reasons You Shouldn’t Skip Deadlifts
-Clark Hibbs

I know, I know…

You’ve heard or seen some horror stories about someone throwing out their back and injuring themselves by doing heavy deadlifts, or maybe you even know that person. You’ve been told time and time again that deadlifts are dangerous.

I mean, I know one of them, and his favorite phrase these days is, “There are 2 things I don’t mess with: rattlesnakes and deadlifts.” 

None of us should mess with rattlesnakes, but we should all deadlift. You deadlift every single day whether you realize it or not.

Did you pick something up off the ground today? Boom. Deadlift.
Did you lift your kid up to carry them? Yup. Squirmy deadlift.
Did you reach down to pet your dog? Well, not *exactly* a deadlift… but you did move through the deadlift mechanics (hip hinge) to engage in some serious puppy love.

The deadlift is seen everywhere in our everyday life, and we should absolutely train this movement pattern. Here are 5 reasons why you shouldn’t skip deadlifts.

Note: If you’ve never performed deadlifts before, come see us first. We’ll teach you the right mechanics and technique to deadlift safely! 

1. Deadlifts are a primal movement pattern

Primal movement pattern meaning it’s in our DNA as primates to move this way. It’s how we pick things up (like we mentioned above), it’s how we help each other move boxes and furniture, it’s a movement that just makes sense to try and make a movement pattern that we engage in everyday stronger and more durable. The more you train the deadlift, the better you’ll be engaging in everyday activities.

2. Deadlifts help prevent injury 

Just like we talked about in point 1, we go through this movement pattern every single day. The more we do something, the greater the chances we have of getting injured doing it. I know of countless people that have hurt their back doing very, VERY simple household tasks.

Picking up the paper.
Picking up their kid.
Picking up some gardening tools.
Picking up…

Basically, injuring themselves doing a deadlift pattern. But it wasn’t the inherent movement pattern of the deadlift that hurt them. It was their improper mechanics and lack of strength that caused the injury! So let’s build up those legs and backs and prevent silly injuries!

3. Deadlifts improve posture 

Many people associate posture with their shoulders pulled back… but do you know where the “slouch” really originates from? Go ahead…. slouch for a second!

You’ll notice that it’s not your shoulders that roll forward first. It’s your lower back (core and spinal erectors) that give way and cause you to slouch! The stronger we can build your lower back via the deadlifts, the better your posture will be. Plus, you work a TON of upper back when holding onto the barbell… so you’re shoulders will get pulled back as well!

4. Deadlifts alleviate lower back pain 

Yes, this is true. Most lower back pain comes from a chronically weak lower back and core in general. The deadlift is a very efficient way to work both aspects of the core (anterior and posterior AKA abs and low back) and build strength, even with light deadlifts. We hear it time and time again how our members no longer have lower back pain after starting a strength program with us. If you’ve been suffering with back pain, you should start with us!

5. Deadlifts are full body fitness 

Want to work a ton of muscles in your body all at one time? Well let’s get deadlifting! Forearms, lats, quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, upper back, shoulders, even your chest… it works everything. EVERYTHING. You’re robbing yourself of some seriously great exercise and muscle stimulation by skipping deadlifts. Want your entire body to get stronger? Well, let’s deadlift!

Of course, the last thing we ever want you to do is go too heavy on your deadlifts, but that’s also why we proactively choose not to do one rep maxes on deadlifts. The risk isn’t worth the reward. We train you for optimal health and vitality, and the proper implementation of the deadlift is crucial to reach those healthy levels!

So next time you see deadlifts pop up in your workouts, get excited about all of the benefits you’ll get from them.

See you at the gym!

-Coach Clark

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