Deadlifting For Maximum Gains

Wanna build your entire body all at once without having to labor through monotonous sets of biceps curls, shrugs, standing calf raises, etc. - efforts that provide minimal gains relative to the amount of effort put into doing them? Then try deadlifting!

The Deadlift.

Beware....You're going to pack on the muscle and leave the wannabes in the dust. Instead of being like one of those guys who wears the weight belt for every single exercise and thinks that by wearing it it absolves him from having to do real work, because you know, see I'm wearing a weight belt; therefore, I must be big man...haha. Well, you can show them the truth by leading by example. Do the deadlifts and make it a grueling workout. In fact, set aside one day to do them and nothing else. Then mark your progress in your journal.

The deadlift requires nothing but a good olympic style barbell and a flat ground surface. You'll also want to prepare your gym attire appropriately to guard against the thigh and shin rubbing/scraping that usually occurs while doing deadlifts.

You'll be working almost every single muscle in your body. Although you'll first notice the results in you back and thighs simply because that's where a lot of the muscle power comes from, you'll begin to see mass and definition changes in other areas.

This is not for wussies who plan to get big by doing endless sets of bench press and lat pulldowns - it's for lifting purest like you. I chose this exercise as only a lifting purest would do as it's simple but highly effective as you will soon find out. This lift will cause your body to produce increased amounts of testosterone, which is a powerful anabolic substance. This will result in a new, total body size and strength gains. In turn, you will be aiding in vaulting your other lifts to new heights. After a few months of heavy deadlifting (about one time per week) you will be able to lift more in your other compound lifts such as bench press and squat.

So how do you do it???
There are two main methods for deadlifting: The standard bent legged version and the Sumo Deadlift which I will not cover here and personally feel is not as effective as what I'm about to discuss.

Position your feet about shoulder-width apart and grip the bar with your hands just outside your legs. Grip the bar with an alternating grip: left or right palm facing you with the other hand facing away from you. Gripping with both palms facing the same direction will feel weird and unnatural. Staggering your grip has been proven to be more efficient and you'll be able to lift more weight to failure without sacrificing your grip strength. You'll want to invest in a good pair of wrist wraps too so you're not concentrating too much on keeping your grip while performing the exercise.

Start the movement in a squatted position with the bar two or three inches in front of your shins. Don't let the bar touch your shins and don't let it stick out in front of you beyond 4 or 5 inches or when you lift you'll round your back, which is not good. Stick your ass out like in a squat, arch your back, look straight ahead, preferably into a mirror, and suck your abs in. Lift the weight off of the ground by driving upward with your legs intending to stand up tall and straight. As you stand up your legs will work most of the initial lift with the back taking over as you straighten up. Pull the weight up until you are in a standing position. Now lower the weight back down by following the same path as when you lifted it. When lowering the bar keep it snug to your body and let it rub against your thighs and shins. Not too much on the shins though or you'll be bleeding.

Touch the plates to the ground for a sec, take a deep breath, and pull the weight back up again, exhaling while you complete the lift. Continue the lift until your legs reach muscular failure or until your form starts to slip. NEVER ROUND THE BACK!!! If you feel you're starting to, then drop the weight immediately!

Practice this lift with light weight in order to get the form down before you start going heavy.

Do about 4 sets with around 8-10 reps per each. If you go heavier do as many as you can till failure or until your form deteriorates.

Wanna see how it's done??? Check out these videos. Also, if you're not comfortable in trying on your own for the first time get a professional trainer to watch your form and correct your mistakes. Enjoy!

Good Deadlifting Instruction


Another Example from Another Angle...Notice how the bar contacts the body as its pulled and let down....Good.