6 Ways to Do the Greatest Exercise on Earth
In this episode, Get-Fit Guy gives you 6 variations for how to do the deadlift – one of the greatest full body workouts ever!
Ben Greenfield
Listen
6 Ways to Do the Greatest Exercise on Earth
I recently tweeted: “Don’t have much time? There’s pretty much ONE exercise I’d recommend.”
In that tweet, I linked to a recently published study entitled “Barbell deadlift training increases the rate of torque development and vertical jump performance in novices.”
And while torque development and vertical jump performance may seem like things that primarily occupy the realm of professional athletics, the study shows an extremely impressive increase of 20-50% in maximum torque, which basically means that the capability of the deadlift to increase leg strength and force production is absolutely unparalleled.
This means that whether you want to get a better butt, firm up your thighs, get an absolutely bulletproof midsection, increase grip strength, or simply make yourself as tough and strong as possible, you simply can’t beat the deadlift.
That’s why I consider the deadlift to be quite possibly the greatest exercise on earth.
Although the barbell deadlift – in which you simply bend down and pick up a weight off the ground – is the conventional gold-standard deadlift move, you may not necessarily have access to a barbell. You may also want some variations on the deadlift to keep things interesting or you may want to hit your muscles from a few different angles.
So in this episode, in the same spirit of my How to Get Better Legs With 13 Squat Variations episode, you’re going to get 6 variations of the deadlift.
6 Different Ways to Do the Deadlift
Option #1: The Trap Bar Deadlift
Also known as the “hex bar,” the trap bar is a funky-looking bar you may have seen at a gym or at a sporting goods store. It allows you to stand in between the two sections of the bar and more evenly distribute the weight that you’re lifting from the ground. It’s good for beginner weight lifters because it allows you to deadlift with proper form. It also enables you to pick up the weight more safely if you have low back pain or low back weakness.
Option #2: The Romanian Deadlift
Also known as the “stiff-legged deadlift,” the Romanian deadlift shifts most of the deadlifting work to your “posterior chain” – the biomechanical term for your butt, your hamstrings, and your lower back. This is especially useful if you want to target your backside, get a stronger lower back, or have quadriceps that are significantly stronger or have a strength imbalance compared to your hamstrings (you’ll often know this if you have trouble filling out a pair of tight jeans!).
To do a stiff-legged deadlift, simply keep your knees bent to only about 20o at the bottom position of the deadlift. This means your back has to hinge much more than your knees, and also means that if your low back or hamstring mobility is limited, to reach the bar you may need to lift the bar from a slightly raised surface, such as a stack of boxes or step benches.
Just be sure not to round your back on this one, as that’s a fast path to a back injury!
Option #3: The Sumo Deadlift
Ever seen a sumo wrestler drop down into a fighting position with their legs planted nice and wide?
The Sumo Deadlift is named after this position, and to do it, you face the bar or the weight that you’re lifting with your legs wider than shoulder width apart and your toes pointing outwards. This targets your quads and inner thighs more and your lower back less than a regular deadlift, which is great if you have a low back injury, your low back is tired, or you simply want to focus more on your leg strength or leg range of motion.
Of course, the giant sumo wrestler diaper is optional.
Option #4: The Single-Leg Deadlift
As you know, there are times in life (such as when you’re picking doggy-doo off the ground), that you may be bending and picking up an object with just one leg to support you rather than two. Enter the single-leg deadlift.
This version of the deadlift is best to learn first with dumbbells. Simply hold a dumbbell in each hand and position the dumbbells down in front of your upper thighs with your arms straight. Stand with feet together and then lift one leg slightly so the foot of that leg is just off floor.
To do the move, simply lower the dumbbells to the floor while raising the leg that’s off the ground back behind. If you keep your back straight and the knee of your supporting leg just slightly bent, you’re going to look like a giant letter T at the bottom of this move. Once you feel a stretch in your hamstring or low back or the dumbbells contact the floor, just return to your original position by raising torso while lowering the lifted leg. Straighten the knee of your supporting leg as your torso becomes upright.
And yes, as you’ve probably guessed, this one works your balance too!
Option #5: The Burpee Deadlift
The Burpee deadlift is the most cardiovascular version of these 6 deadlift variations. This move works best with either a barbell or dumbbells, and to do it, you begin in a standing position, you bend down and grab the weight, you kick your legs out behind you, kick your legs back up so that your toes are just behind the weight, then pick the weight up. Once you set the weight back down, you can count that as one rep.
This is a perfect exercise if you’re preparing for a sport where you need to lift something heavy and be cardiovascularly “gassed” at the same time! Since this move will jack your heart rate up pretty high, use caution, and implement a slightly lighter weight than you’d use with a conventional deadlift.
Option #6: The Sandbag Deadlift
In my Strongman Workouts episode, I introduced you to the concept of using unconventional resistance training tools such as oversized tires, kegs, and of course, sandbags. If you’ve ever tried to pick up an asymmetrical, unwieldy object such as a sandbag (or a heavy, oddly-shaped rock, or even a workout partner), then you know that you use all sorts of new muscles, you have a much more difficult time handling the weight, and you can often lift less than half of what you’d normally be able to lift with a barbell, dumbbell or some other “normal” weightlifting object.
Because of this, the sandbag deadlift can be an amazing functional fitness move to have in your arsenal.
Simply get a sandbag from the home improvement store, purchase one from a website like Onnit, or make one yourself. To pick it up, you may need to get a bit lower than you’d get for a standard barbell deadlift, and you’ll need to often use your hands, your forearms and your elbows to scoop the bag off the ground, since it can often be tough to find a place to grip. If you want to make this move even more difficult, try hoisting the sandbag overhead after you’ve deadlifted it from the ground!
So that’s it! Do you have questions about how to do the greatest exercise on earth? Then head over to Facebook.com/GetFitGuy and join the conversation there!
Deadlift image courtesy of TheDeadlift.com. Sumo wrestler image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.