Fitness has become pretty popular over the last several years. I consider it a great thing as it’s helping recruit more and more people to be healthier!
Now, when it comes to fitness, there are a lot of different exercises out there.
There are isolation exercises that target a single muscle. There are also compound exercises that use large muscle groups all over the body.
If you want to lift heavier weights and build more muscle, compound movements are the way to go.
That's not to say that isolation exercises don’t have their place. They do, but if we’re picking between the two, compound exercises get the crown.
Arguably one of the best compound exercises known to man is the deadlift. If you're wondering why that is, it's because of just how many different muscles deadlifts recruit!
Deadlifts are truly an amazing exercise and can make you very strong. At the same time, deadlifts can be an intimidating exercise.
I’m sure you’ve seen a video at some point of someone lifting hundreds of pounds off the ground in a deadlift. It doesn’t look easy and can be a bit daunting at first.
You really need to have the proper form if you’re going to do them safely. Once you learn that part, though, you’ll be able to progress with no problem!
Don’t worry, I’ll cover how to do them safely in a bit. First, let's talk about the benefits deadlifts have to offer as well as all the muscles deadlifts work.
Benefits of Deadlifts
So what are the benefits of doing deadlifts? Should you be doing them every week?
Well, there are several benefits of doing deadlifts. You don’t have to do them, but they definitely have their place in effective training programs.
Here's what I consider to be the top 3 benefits of deadlifts...
1. Deadlifts Are Functional
Do you ever have to pick up something from the ground? Maybe a box, or a piece of furniture?
Well, that’s essentially the same motion as a deadlift. Anytime you pick something up from the floor, you’re doing a deadlift.
Now, the form might be slightly different as you pick up a box rather than a barbell, but for the most part, it’s the same movement.
When you train an exercise that mimics real-world movements, it’s considered functional. The strength gained from deadlifts can translate into real-world strength.
The stronger you are with deadlifts, the easier it will be to lift and carry pretty much anything. As you get older, this can become increasingly more important!
2. Deadlifts Can Help Build Muscle & Strength
Deadlifts are a compound exercise that work muscles all over your body. While I’m going to get to the specifics in a minute, deadlifts work muscles in your lower body, upper body, and core too.
As you progressively lift more weight, all of those muscles will become stronger. This could help you in other exercises, and in everyday life.
Going back to my previous benefit of being functional, as you get stronger you’ll be able to lift heavier things outside the gym too.
As far as muscle building goes, deadlifts can help there as well. They don’t target every muscle, but that’s okay. You don’t have to target every muscle in a single exercise.
To build muscle you have to increase the stress on them over time, which is possible with deadlifts. There’s a reason the people deadlifting hundreds of pounds usually are pretty jacked!
3. Deadlifts May Help You Jump Higher
This is something you might not expect, but it does make sense.
Deadlifts are primarily lower-body driven. Well, jumping is as well. If you make the muscles you jump with stronger, you may be able to produce more force when jumping.
The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked into this. They found that 10 weeks of a deadlift program helped 2 things:
• Increase in vertical jump height
• Increase the rate of torque development
Basically, deadlifts helped to increase power in the lower body (1). To explain this, let me give an example.
Let’s say your 1 rep max for squats is 135 pounds. That rep is going to be slow, and there’s no chance you could jump with it.
After some time getting stronger, let’s say you get your max up to 300 pounds. I bet you could squat 135 pounds with some speed after that. You may even be able to jump with it!
The same is true with deadlifts. When you jump, you’re jumping with only your body weight.
When you deadlift, you’re standing up with your body weight, and the weight on the bar. So, as you get strong from deadlifting heavy weights, your body weight starts to feel light in comparison.
As your strength increases in the deadlift, you are capable of producing more force with less weight.
So yeah, deadlifts may help you jump higher. If you’re an athlete, this is one of the benefits of deadlifts you should pay attention to!
There are more benefits of deadlifts than these 3, but these are what I consider to be the most relevant. Now it’s time to get into the main topic…
What muscles do deadlifts work?
What Muscles Do Deadlifts Work?
Deadlifts work several different muscle groups in the body. In fact, it’s one of the greatest full-body exercises there is.
The deadlift targets the following muscle groups:
Glutes
The main function of your glutes is to extend your hips. When you’re at the bottom of a deadlift, your hips are fully bent. As you stand up, you have to extend them, so your glutes get a ton of work here. If you are trying to work on the size and strength of your butt, don’t skip deadlifts!
Hamstrings and Quadriceps
The benefits of deadlifts extend to the hamstrings and quadriceps too. Your quads work to straighten your knees as you stand up. Your hamstrings work with your glutes to rotate your pelvis properly as you extend your hips. As you may be able to tell, deadlifts hit your lower body hard!
Core
Located near the spine, the erector spinae muscles get a ton of work keeping your spine from rounding forward. Your abdominals get a decent amount of work as well to keep everything stable. I wouldn’t call it an ab exercise, but your core muscles are certainly involved.
Upper and Lower Back
Deadlifts don't only work the legs and core, but also engage muscles in the upper and lower back. For example, your lats will help to hold the bar against your body. This is important because it limits the amount of torque placed on your lower back. Your traps and rhomboids also help keep your shoulders stable throughout the exercise.
Forearms
This is a no-brainer, but your forearms get challenged plenty with deadlifts. Your forearm muscles are needed to hold the bar throughout the deadlift. As you start deadlifting heavier weights, your forearms will continue to get stronger.
So, what muscles do deadlifts work? Like I said … lots of them. If you’re looking for a full-body exercise, you can’t go wrong with deadlifts!
Now, I’m sure you can’t wait to get to the gym to start deadlifting. First, you need to make sure you know how to do it safely.
How to Properly (and Safely) Do a Deadlift
When it comes to proper form in the deadlift, you need to pay attention to a few things.
1. Keep The Weight Close to Your Body
As I already mentioned, you need to hold the bar close to your body when you deadlift. The bar should actually drag along your body on the way up and down.
If you’ve ever seen people wear long socks to deadlift, there’s a reason for that. They do that to protect their shins from getting torn apart as the bar drags along them.
I myself have ended up with bloody shins doing deadlifts. While that’s not ideal, you can always save yourself from that by wearing long socks and pants, or just being careful as you lift it.
The closer the bar is to your center of mass, the less force your lower back has on it to remain straight. It’s to help protect you from lower back injuries. I'd say a few instances of bloody shins is well worth keeping your spine protected!
2. Keep Your Back Straight
You need to keep your back straight during the deadlift for a reason. If you allow your spine to round forward, it puts unnecessary stress on your spinal discs.
Think of your discs as a water balloon. If you squeeze one end of the balloon, what happens?
It forces everything inside the balloon to the other side, right? This creates a lot of pressure on that end of the balloon.
That’s what happens to your spinal discs when you don’t keep your back straight in this case. As your spine rounds forward, it pinches the front side of the disc.
This forces everything to the backside, and having weight in your hands can raise that force even more.
This could potentially lead to bulging or herniated discs in your back. I’ve had them, and trust me … you don’t want them!
It’s very painful, so be careful. Keep your core engaged, and your back straight, and you’ll be fine.
3. Extend Your Knees and Hips Together
This is something that many people struggle with in their deadlift. The biggest problem I see is when people allow their knees to straighten before their hips.
Usually, this happens before the bar even comes off the ground. This can take their quads mostly out of the lift. Allow me to explain.
Imagine you get into a perfect starting position squatting down with your hips and knees bent. Now imagine as you push off the ground, your knees extend before the bar comes off the ground.
That would raise your hips higher, and bend them more. Now for the bar to come off the ground your hips and lower back have to do all the work.
On one hand, this demands a lot more work from your hips and lower back. On the other hand, your quads won't get worked nearly as much.
Basically, there isn’t much of a positive, but there are negatives. When you deadlift correctly, your hips and knees should extend simultaneously.
This recruits the most amount of muscle to lift the weight, and helps reduce the likelihood of injury.
How To Do a Deadlift
Now let’s get into the steps to properly do a deadlift. Follow along closely and make sure to practice with lighter weight until you get the form down!
All you'll need is a loaded barbell. Place it on the ground in front of you, and you're ready to go.
1. Start by walking up to the barbell with your feet spaced hip-width apart. Get close enough so your shins are no more than an inch from the barbell.
2. Squat down and grab the bar with both hands in an overhand grip slightly outside of your feet.
3. Pull up on the bar enough to pull yourself into a deeper squat without lifting the bar off the ground. Make sure your back is straight, your shoulders are pulled back, your chest is out, and your core is braced. This is the starting position.
4. Begin by pressing your feet into the ground, pulling up on the bar, and squeezing your glutes. It should almost feel like you’re starting to slightly lean back as you pull the bar off the ground.
5. As your knees straighten, continue squeezing your glutes to push your hips forward at the same time.
6. When you reach a standing position with the bar, squeeze your glutes hard for a second.
7. Slowly lower the bar back to the starting position and repeat this for reps.
Types and Variations of Deadlift
Something I haven’t mentioned yet is that there is more than one type of deadlift. The deadlift I’ve been describing so far is the conventional deadlift. This is what you could consider to be a "standard" deadlift.
There are several other variations, but the 2 most common are Romanian deadlifts and Sumo deadlifts. These variations all work the same muscles but differ in which muscles are emphasized.
Let's take a look at each of these variations and what makes them popular.
Romanian Deadlifts
The Romanian deadlift differs from conventional deadlifts both in range of motion and in muscle emphasis.
The conventional deadlift starts from the ground and ends on the ground. The Romanian deadlift starts from standing and ends standing.
Another difference is the bend in your knees. In a Romanian deadlift, your knees have a soft, passive bend. The main focus is on hinging your hips. The conventional deadlift requires you to start with much more knee bend.
The minimal knee bend forces your hamstrings and glutes to do most of the work. Your quads get very little work here.
So, if you're wanting an exercise to focus mostly on your hamstrings and glutes, the Romanian deadlift is a great choice!
Sumo Deadlifts
This variation requires a much wider stance, like a sumo wrestler. Your hands will have a more narrow grip on the bar as well.
With your feet wider, the bar doesn’t have to travel as far in each rep. Your hips don’t have to bend as much, and most of the work goes to your quads.
Your hamstrings and glutes are still involved, but to a lesser extent. So, the main emphasis for the sumo deadlift goes to your quads.
Adding Deadlifts To Your Training Program
What are deadlifts good for? As you've come to learn, a lot — but only when done properly.
Deadlifts can help you see great progress in your fitness journey. They can help you build muscle, lose body fat, and perform well in athletics.
Deadlifts can only do so much though. There are a lot of other factors at play when it comes to reaching your goals and earning great results.
For one, you need an effective program to do alongside your deadlifts. A wide variety of exercises is always recommended to target every muscle. After all, you want to train your whole body, including the muscles that aren’t trained in the deadlift.
There’s a lot that goes into programming workouts. For instance, one program might put deadlifts on a leg day. Another might throw it into the workout primarily training your back.
Some will just focus on the deadlift, and throw in any exercises that help train those same muscles. It all depends on the focus of the program, and what you’re looking to get out of it.
In order to see optimal results, you also have to take into account nutrition and recovery. Obviously, this complicates things even more.
There’s a reason some people are personal trainers and coaches for a living. It’s not something everyone understands or specializes in.
If you don’t know where to start when it comes to reaching your fitness goals, don’t worry. I didn’t either. It took a bachelor's degree and a lot of research to get to my level of understanding in this field.
...But that doesn't mean you have to do the same! We can actually help you earn results, and guide you the whole way!
How? It's all possible inside the 1st Phorm App.
The app is the ultimate all-in-one tool for earning real and long-term results with your fitness. You'll get a full library of workout programs, nutrition-tracking software, a custom nutrition plan, and so much more.
However, that's not even what makes the 1st Phorm App so great. You see, when you download the app, you'll be connected with your own certified advisor. Yes - This is a REAL HUMAN who is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Coach ... Some of them are even registered dietitians!
Your advisor is there to help you set up your nutrition, answer your questions, and guide you along your journey!
We can’t do the work for you, but the more tools you have at your disposal, the easier it will be to stay on track. If you’re willing to do the work and meet us halfway, we’ll do everything we can to make you successful!
Download the 1st Phorm App today, and we’ll help you earn the results you’ve always wanted!
You don’t have to take my word for it. Check out the transformations people have earned on that page. They’re incredible, and we can help you get there too!
If you have any questions about it we’re more than happy to answer them.
If you have any other questions in the meantime, let us know! We have a full team of NASM Certified Personal Trainers and Nutrition Coaches right here in St. Louis, Missouri. Just give us a call at 1-800-409-9732 or send us an email at CustomerService@1stPhorm.com any day from 6 AM to 10 PM Central. We'll be more than happy to help you out!
References:
(1) Thompson BJ, Stock MS, Shields JE, Luera MJ, Munayer IK, Mota JA, Carrillo EC, Olinghouse KD. Barbell deadlift training increases the rate of torque development and vertical jump performance in novices. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Jan;29(1):1-10. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000691. PMID: 25226322.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
