No, it's not a bench press or a barbell curl. It doesn't involve cables or chrome machines. You won't need a swiss ball or any other fancy gym gadgets.

All you need is a good old-fashioned barbell and a flat surface. Load the bar with as much weight as you can handle and pick it up off the ground while keeping your back straight. Sounds simple enough, right?

I'm talking, of course, about the undisputed king of all upper body exercises: the deadlift. If you're looking to pile as much lean muscle mass onto your frame as humanly possibly in the shortest period of time, the deadlift is your best friend in the entire world. That's the good news. The bad news is that deadlifts are without a doubt one of the most painful and discomforting exercises you will ever come across. When performed properly, they'll leave you lightheaded, nauseous, gasping for air and will temporarily have you wishing that you hadn't come to the gym in the first place. But if it's serious results that you're after, this is the price you must pay.

The deadlift will work you from finger to neck to toe. It is a raw, basic power movement and will literally stress every single muscle in your entire body to some degree. The main areas of stimulation are the back (lower and upper) and thighs, but once you start deadlifting on a consistent basis you'll see gains just about everywhere. The high intensity nature of this basic lift will also force your body to secrete higher amounts of powerful anabolic substances such as testosterone and growth hormone. This causes what is known as a

I love dead lifts

I'm out of shape at the moment... so I can only do a few reps at 405 these days. Back when I worked out consistently it was 500+ for reps.

Totally agree, the dead lift is the most useful exercise there is for practical strength.

I try to do them once a week. I am in need of new straps bad. With the load of a full time job, family, wedding, and the SSA world, I cannot lift for mass or power, just lift for burning calories.

Definitely a great exercise.

The squat used to be regarded as the king of all exercises ... however, recently the deadlift is gaining a lot of popularity due to the arm involvement.

Very practical and functional for daily life.

don't forget the sumo deadlifts, I need to get back into the swing of deads. Lately I've been trying to bring my upper body up to par. Last time I did heavy deads was over the summer, 330x3. not too bad for weighing 150. wanna hit 400 this summer

Good info guys..............keep it coming

sweet im gonna do this. i got a bar layin around in the garage. time to get cut again

sweet im gonna do this. i got a bar layin around in the garage. time to get cut again

Just worry about form first then move up in weight.

Good old dead lift, those were the days back in football.

Deadlift, squats, pushups, pullups. killer combo

Deadlift, squats, pushups, pullups. killer combo

totally agree with those!

Know this is probally a hard question.. but what would be a good starting weight for someone not too strong?

Know this is probally a hard question.. but what would be a good starting weight for someone not too strong?

depends really on what u are doing. as in pullups and pushup are great for just using ur own body weight.

for like dead lifts i would go for just the bar and get the right form down so u dont hurt ur self

some people will recomand a start weight cause i honestly dont know. but start lift and get form down is key to heavier weight i would think

Use a weight that will enable you to learn the proper form first. With any exercise, especially the deadlift, proper technique is absolutely critical. Not only will you get the most you can out of the exercise, but posture is so very important and often left out of fitness assessments and every day life.

Use a weight that will enable you to learn the proper form first. With any exercise, especially the deadlift, proper technique is absolutely critical. Not only will you get the most you can out of the exercise, but posture is so very important and often left out of fitness assessments and every day life.

This is Key.

FORM and start low and slow, meaning lower weight and moving slow. I didn't start dead lifting until much later in life and it's nearly impossible for me to get down into a decent position to lift from. That is to say olympic bar with the standard 45's on the side. If I get another inch, it's night and day. I am a huge fan and though they are my least favorite to do, I work harder at those than anything else because it's my weakest of the big 3.

I feel that squat > deads but, that's me. I care more about my legs and lower back and my shoulders and upper back just grow to keep up anyway, keeps my knees strong.

Denim, have you ever added dips to your routine? I find that when I use a workout split that includes both deads and really leaned over dips my upper body swells fast. It's the ultimate getting ready for beach upper body combo to me. I think there is some truth to moving your body and weight through space vs moving weight and the majority of your body being still, is much much more effective. Every time I use a routine that focuses isolation, instead of compound, movements I feel I get much less results.

Great post though Deads ftw.