Why I Think Everyone Should Deadlift

Some people might think that headline is a little controversial. But hopefully by now I have built enough trust with you to know there is always a discussion behind statements like this.

One reason this can sound controversial is because I have spoken with many people who have had a back injury or even back surgery and were told by their doctor to never deadlift again.

When I hear that, I often wonder how those same people are expected to pick up their kids or lift groceries out of the trunk of their car.

Now let me be clear. Do I think everyone should be deadlifting heavy weights all the time? Absolutely not. There are certainly times after an injury or surgery when someone should temporarily avoid deadlifting.

But the real question is this. What exactly do we mean when we say “deadlift”?

A lot of people picture a group of gym bros trying to lift as much weight as possible off the floor.

While that certainly happens, deadlifting can mean much more than that.

To me, a deadlift simply means picking something up off the ground.

If you think about it, there are probably 20 different ways you could arrange your body to pick up a backpack from the floor.

While I do not necessarily need everyone lifting 405 pounds off the ground, I do need people to be able to function well in their homes and throughout their daily lives.

Training the ability to lift things from the floor is an essential part of human movement. It is something we all have to do at some point during the day.

Do not let the name “deadlift” scare you away from building the strength and movement ability needed to bend down and pick things up safely.

I will link a video here that shows a few options to train this movement.

-Dr. Caleb