Body Parts/Muscle Groups Worked
Active- Quads, Glutes, Hamstrings
Stabilizers- Calves, Core, Lats
Difficulty Level
Difficult
Who it's good for and why
The deadlift is a great exercise for everyone because strong legs and a strong back are needed not only to succeed in most every sport, but also to function in everyday activities. It is a great, nearly full-body exercise that, when performed properly will build an injury resistant back.
Basic Exercise Description
1. Approach the bar and place your shins against it with your feet directly below your hips.
2. Take your grip with one hand palm up and one hand palm down (known as an alternate grip). Most experts would agree that this is the best way to ensure you’ll be able to hold on to the bar without the use of lifting straps.
3. Lower your hips and arch your back so that your back is flat or slightly arched.
4. Lift the weight in a controlled manner off the floor; don’t try to jerk the weight off the floor as it will more than likely cause you to lose the tightness in your back, causing you to round.
5. When you’ve stood completely up with the weight, lower it back to the floor in as a controlled manor as you can but don’t risk injuring your back by trying to lower a max weight slowly.
Modifications
Easier- One of the more difficult things for people to get a handle on is how to arch their back while deadlifting. In order to compensate for hip flexibility issues that usually result in not achieving a properly arched back, deadlifting from the safety pins in a power rack is a great way to tackle one step at a time. The technique is the same.
Harder- Adding range of motion to an exercise is always a great way to increase the difficulty, and, in the case of the deadlift, it’s no different. Standing on an aerobic step or a plate are two ways to add additional inches to the range of motion of the deadlift. A few inches may not seem like a lot, but believe me, it makes a world of difference.