At Holistic Physio Fitness, clients often ask what the dangers of deadlifts are. When done with good form, deadlifting can have great strength benefits for your low back, bum and legs. Deadlifting in fact is very beneficial in preventing back injury. If you think about it, everytime you bend down to pick something up, whether it be a bag of shopping or your one year old child, we deadlift many times a day.
This is all well and good if you have the flexibility of a well trained athlete but one problem many of us have is that we aren’t well trained athletes. Without the proper flexibility in the hamstring muscles, the force of the weight being lifted will suddenly shift from the glutes and hamstring muscles (where you want it to be), to the lumbar spine (where you definitely DON’T want it to be).
Every day we work with new and existing clients that have lumbar issues due to poor lifting technique. We try to advise clients to consider their ability before endeavouring to begin deadlifts, and above all have a professional assess your ability and show you correct form. It will end up saving you much time, money and sorrow in fixing the devastating damage that can be done to the lumbar spine. When done properly, deadlifts can be the cornerstone of a strong back and body.
5 Tips To Help You Avoid The Dangers Of Deadlifts
1. Learn the proper technique and have a professional critique your form.
2. Never lift too heavy for you. Start at the lowest weight and work your way up.
3. Develop your hamstring flexibility over time.
4. Warm up properly.
5. Perform dead lift in front of or side on to mirror to monitor your form when increasing weight.