A Case for Legs, Part 2.

  Last week, I wrote about the importantce of adding a squat variation to your workout routine.  But I wouldn't be doing a blog entitled "A Case for Legs" any justice if I failed to reveal the importance of a deadlift variation to the development of your legs. So here it goes!

  Deadlift's get a bad wrap from the everyday gym go-er.  Most people think it's only for BIG guys, or that it's an exercise that will only hurt their back and leave them paralyzed.  The name DEADLIFT even sounds a lot more intimidating than other exercises like the "sissy squat" or the "chest butterfly" for instance.

  True, you can slip a disc (or worse) if you perform the deadlift with a curved spine; but if you correctly perform a deadlift or any of its variations, there's no better exercise you can do to strengthen your posterior chain .  Here is a list of just some of the benefits of performing a deadlift, outlined by renowned strength coach and competitive powerlifter Eric Cressey in this article.

1.)  "The posterior chain is of paramount importance to high-level performance; watch the best sprinters run, and you’ll see that they seem to just “float”—and it’s because they’re running with their hamstrings and glutes. In contrast, watch a guy who runs with his quads, and you’ll see that his hips are bouncing up and down; there’s a lot of wasted movement. The glutes and hamstrings are all fast-twitch fibers with a lot of strength, speed, and size potential—potential you’ll never realize without deadlift variations."

2.) "Strengthening the posterior chain with closed-chain movements like deadlifts also reduces injury risk. Weak hamstrings are a serious risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, patellofemoral pain, and a host of other problems at the knee, hip, ankle, and lower back."

3.) "Deadlifts have a better functional carryover to real world performance than leg curls, glute-blasters, and all the other silly machines out there."

4.)  "Deadlifts can be a tremendously valuable corrective training exercise if coached correctly. I’ve used them in the correction of IT [iliotibial] band friction syndrome, lower back pain, lateral knee pain, groin pain, and a host of other torso and lower extremity problems. The secret rests with the proper execution of the exercise. "

If you are still skeptical, don't be.  Just get out try it and see for yourself. After your done catching your breath, tell me how it went.

If you are nervous about performing the correct technique, stayed tuned for part 3. where I will demostrate how to properly execute a deadlift, and a squat.

A Case for Legs

  I love squats!  Why you ask?  Well honestly, what's not to love?  It's the perfect example of human movement and you do it everyday, just not very well.  Squats are bad becasue when you do them it hurts your knee's and back you say?  Maybe what you call squats is hurting you, becasue the squats I know would never do that to me.  The fact is you will never be a strong as you want to be if your not doing squats.  Simply put, "You ain't squat, unless you squat!"

For those trying to lose weight:

The main objective when you are trying to lose weight is that you want to be able to burn more calories than you take in.  Plain and simple.  You can accomplish this by eating less than your metabolic rate, or you can burn more calories than take in through exercise; or both! 

So when we think about burning the most amount of calories during exercise, we should probably perform exercises that involve multiple, big muscles to burn the most amount of calories right?  Well I don't have any bigger muscle's than the ones that make up my leg, and I can't think or an exercise that uses more muscles than a squat (i.e quad, hamstring, glutes, core, back, arms, chest).

For those trying to gain strength:

I've never seen a weak person perform a back squat, front squat, or goblet squat.  The guys I normally see pumping iron in the squat rack (the thing you use as a coat rack), seem to also have a broad chest, wide shoulders, and strong backs.  Why?  Well it's simple really.

Studies have shown that squats and deadlifts helps your body release more growth hormone and testosterone than any other exercise.  You need these hormones to build muscles.  And when these hormones are released, they aren't just released in your legs, but they circulate to all of your muscles.  So I repeat, " You ain't squat, unless you squat!"

For everyone inbetween:

Squatting really is for everyone.  Let's look at this exercise from an injury prevention standpoint.  Strengthening the muscles around your hips and knee help make those joints more stable.  How many of you know and elder person in your own family that has had total knee replacements, balance issues, flexibilty issues, and so on.  Hell, this person may not even be that old.  So wouldn't you like to avoid these future problems?  Of course you do.  That's why you need to start squatting today. 

For you runner's, cyclists, and weekend warriors, you can improve your stride length, rpm's, and avoid self medicating those aches and pain's that can only be described as "life pains"  by devoting a little more time to the main muscle groups you use everyday.

Well I'm glad I've finally convinced you.  Now if I could only convince you to start doing DEADLIFT'S, we'd really be getting somewhere.