Hi Friends of Oompf, it’s Alvan here. Today we will be talking about deadlifts and whether you should be incorporating it into your workout routine. A deadlift is known as one of the best compound exercises to incorporate into your routine. It works multiple muscles such as your quads, glutes, hamstrings, lats, erectors, and core, making it an effective fat burning yet muscle building movement. Deadlifts are an extremely technical exercise and when done properly can reap multiple benefits such as improved posture, better glute and back muscle development, a stronger posterior chain and even improved grip strength.
However performing a deadlift requires one to have:
- good mobility in hips and hamstrings (able to perform the hip hinge movement)
- good muscle awareness (to be aware of which muscles to engage and how to engage them)
Performing a deadlift will definitely feel unnatural to anyone who is new to lifting simply because our everyday life does not require us to recruit all these muscles at once. Hence it is extremely important to master the right techniques and build the weight up slowly to avoid getting injured.
Although the deadlift is a great exercise, not everyone should or can perform a traditional deadlift. If you find your form being compromised because of a certain weakness or immobility in your body, you could try regressing the movement so that you will still be able to incorporate a hip hinge movement in your program. Here are a few alternatives:
- Kettlebell deadlifts
- Back hyperextensions
- Romanian deadlifts
- Cable pull throughs
- kettlebell swings
- Rack pulls
- Bent over rows
Remember, deadlifts are great but having the right form is priority and imperative in order to avoid injury. Practicing and perfecting your movement patterns will also help you in your deadlift progression as well as benefit you greatly in your everyday life.
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