Lifting: the Deadlift
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If you don’t know what a deadlift is, you DEFINITELY need to be doing deadlifts.
If you do know what they are, you should still be doing them. And you can probably be doing them better.
Before you go to the gym, check out this extremely informative crossfit article on deadlift technique. As the title says, it’s a bit, but if you and your training buddy both read this and spot each other, I can almost guarantee you you’ll see good results. Hell, I coached myself without a second set of eyes and saw plenty of benefit.
Train the posterior chain! Anyone can accelerate–but being truly explosive, in starting AND stopping*, will make you unstoppable.
*in my mind, stopping is the most underrated ability in ultimate.
UPDATE: More on deadlifting here.
What are the benefits of squats vs. deadlift in your mind?
Hey Jay,
Thanks for the comment. I hope you don’t mean squats vs. deadlifts as an either/or proposition, as both are fundamental (and, in my mind, essential) lifts.
If you’re talking benefits, deadlifts work the posterior chain–meaning the hamstrings, glutes (that’s the important one), as well as the back as prime movers, as well as giving your core some great stability training (I’ve done heavy lifts where all I’ll feel the whole time is the work my core puts in to stabilize).
Squats can work the posterior chain, but how you squat will emphasize different components. Typically you’ll work the glutes as a primary mover if you’re doing them right, with a lot of work chipped in from the quads and the hips.
Most people are VERY quad-dominant, which tends to stem from our natural tendency to frontside focus (mirrors can be helpful, but they also encourage an unbalanced approach). Deadlifting will help you balance out some of that disparity between your quads and your hamstrings/glutes, allowing for your body to get out of its own way and perform better.
At least, that’s what I’ve experienced personally, and I’ve gotten the impression that this is not unlikely to be the case of others as well.
If you’re starting from scratch, learn how to do both lifts, but focus a bit more on the deads before you hit the squats full-force. Squatting has a bit more nuance to its form than deadlifting does and tends to require a bit more flexibility to do correctly, so it deserves to be taken slowly and with light weight/no weight in the early phases, anyways. Go for range of motion before you go with weight.
…at any rate, I’m planning to touch on various components of lifting over the coming weeks (likely just on Saturdays), so keep an eye out for that.
Another thing you didn’t mention is that training the deadlift allows you to train the olympic lifts as well, which are awesome for building explosiveness. You can’t power clean 200lbs if you can’t deadlift it.
I agree with hitting the deadlift heavy before the squat. It’s not how I went about it, but some beginners that I’m helping are able to deadlift with good form while are having trouble squatting with good form, so keeping the squat weight down initially helps them get good at squats.
Also, in my opinion, deadlifts are the best thing one can do to prevent lower back injuries.
Andrew,
I agree with all of your points. I’m very fond of the deadlift, and the postural benefits are definitely a great benefit. A little deadlifting can go a long way towards keeping a person healthy in old age (and from throwing out their back bending over to get something).