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by Gary Matthews

The dead lift is a compound movement that works the hips, lower back and also exercises the hamstrings and glutes (buttocks).

You can perform the dead lift by approaching a loaded barbell and taking a stance about as wide as your shoulders. Grip the bar so that the arms are slightly on the outside of your thighs. Your feet should be pointing straight forward with the shins about two to three inches from the bar.

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Heave the load upward using the hips and lower back keeping the back straight and the bar as close to the shins as possible. At the top of the movement hold for a few seconds and then lower the bar to the starting position.

The exercise has a knock-on growth effect on the whole body when worked hard. The problem with the lift is that if the spine becomes rounded during the lift it then becomes dangerous. Because of the forces working on the vertebrae and the spine injuries may occur.

A lot of these problems can be solved by keeping the back as straight as possible during the lift and keeping the bar held close to the body during the lift as the forces are then not that excessive.

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• Deadlift Technique
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• The Most Amazing (and Ridiculously Simple) Trick For Stiff-Legged Deadlifts You Will Ever Read In Your Life!
• deadlift maximum fitness test
• See also other exercises to avoid.