Benefits of Deadlifting

“Man conquers the world by conquering himself.”– Zeno — *“Man conquers the world by conquering himself.”*
– Zeno

Deadlifts are one of the most hated exercises. Go to any crowded big box gym, and you’ll see lines at the squat rack, the bench press, the pull up bar. The deadlift platform, if there even is one, will be lonely and ignored. Deadlifts are hard, they often lead to injury, and it’s hard to see how they lead to looking good in the mirror.

If you’ve never given deadlifts a chance, or if you’ve sworn them off after pulling a muscle, you may want to revisit them. Deadlifts may be the perfect exercise for our overly-slouched, stressed, and stimulated age.

Deadlifts are valuable for anyone who sits at a desk or spends all day looking at a phone (all of us). The same muscles that get weak from our computer-centered lives are strengthened by the simple deadlift, including the lower back, hamstrings, glutes, and shoulders. If you have a bad posture or back pain from a weak back, making deadlifts a regular part of your workout will help you stand more straight and suffer less when you sit at your desk.

Deadlifts are also a great form of meditation. They are physically and mentally hard. Avoiding injury in deadlifts means having complete focus on proper deadlift mechanics, namely, keeping your back straight. It looks like a simple movement, but when you’re using your legs, back, shoulders, and arms all at once to simply keep your back straight, you need to focus on every part of your body. There can be no thoughts but deadlifting when you are deadlifting. And deadlifts are good for the ego. Avoiding injury means you need to stay humble when deadlifting. You don’t want to lift more than you are ready for in each workout because you will hurt yourself. There’s no ability to show off, so deadlifts keep you honest.

Deadlifts will also help you chill. Not because they’re a chill exercise, but because they will tire you out. If you have problems sleeping, melatonin and meditation are great, but another solution is to do some heavy deadlifts. The physical and mental effort will leave you exhausted and ready for a night of great sleep. If you don’t take a nap first.

—Erik Pavia, CEO