Have you ever heard the story about the person who bent over to pick up a pencil/paper clip/socks/etc. and “blew out their back.”
Just to set the record straight, that last lift isn’t really what caused all the damage, but what finally broke the camel’s back. All of the poor movements that they did before that is really what set them up for disaster. Picking up something that light does not completely herniate a spinal disc, but doing so repeatedly wrong over decades with both light and heavy weights will cause enough damage.
I want to keep this article simple to show you why you should be deadlifting or at least incorporating the bend pattern into your movement practice. Without it you risk being more susceptible to injury by not doing it. Without this movement your back will become weakened and your chances of injury will go up as well as you will lose a motor pattern that has always been an integral part of human survival.
#1 You Squat Everything
Yes, that is right you squat instead of bend to pick something up. This is a really a terrible idea. Whoever started the whole you should lift with your knees thing probably injured their back bending over to put their shoes on because they had terrible motion and a really weak back. Do not blame their faults on your getting injured too. What this means is that you keep your back super upright and only stress out your legs rather than putting stress through the back and glutes. This are big honking muscles too and need to be worked. Having your body do more movement patterns and recruiting more and more muscles will only help to keep you healthy as you age. Please see my article on squat movement patterns here.
#2 Your Whole Back Should be Strong
The entire backside of the body often becomes weak because we don’t see it and don’t really think it is as important or should be trained and strengthened as much as the front. This is a huge mistake. The back should be strong from top to bottom and side to side. The deadlift is an amazing way to do this. By putting a bar on the ground and picking it up using your hands, you have now engaged a whole lot of muscles on the backside of your body. Everything from the neck on down is firing like a champ and with great form will stay nice and healthy. There are countless different types of deadlifts and bend patterns that you can perform. Check out this article I wrote if you’d like to learn a few more. There is a progression from the simple to complex for everybody to find one that works for the level they are currently at.
#3 Keeping Your Grip Strong Helps You Age More Slowly
That is right. Grip strength is extremely important so no more limp fish handshakes. Shake somebody’s hand like you mean it. Gripping onto some really heavy weights like in the deadlift and you will push your grip to the max. This seems like a pretty simple way to slow cognitive decline, delay your chances of an early death, have a lower disability and improve your ability to recover from a hospital stay. Yes, all of these and more were associated with having a stronger grip strength. Do not neglect this when you are young either as it is such a simple way to age gracefully!
Don’t just take my word for it…
Grip Strength Could Determine How Quickly You are Going to Age
Hand Grip Dynamometry Predicts Future Outcomes in Aging Adults
You are halfway there to the Top 6 Reasons Everybody Should Deadlift. Be sure to check out part 2 to learn about developing your inner weight belt as well as a few other bonuses along the way.
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Have a Great Day!
Nick Horowski