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People say this and it’s always a head scratcher for me because deadlifts are the easiest compound lift to get the form right on and if you have good form, warm

People say this and it’s always a head scratcher for me because deadlifts are the easiest compound lift to get the form right on and if you have good form, warm up, and only add 5-10lbs per workout it’s basically impossible to hurt yourself with deadlifts. So I actually recommend them as the lift to do if you only do a single compound lift. They take the least amount of time (you only need a single work set 2x/week) and you get the most everyday benefit out of them. Plus everyone has room for a barbell and plates in their home, even if they don’t have room for a squat rack.

stavros 3y ago
> it’s basically impossible to hurt yourself with deadlifts. Well, I've got some MRI images that disagree, sadly.
Swizec 3y ago
> and if you have good form, warm up, and only add 5-10lbs per workout Most beginners I’ve seen do not take the 5min it takes to learn proper form. And even if they do, they lack the proprioception to know when they’re doing it right. You really need a mirror or someone to keep you honest, preferably both, for the first few sessions. Someone needs to tell you what correct looks like on your body. It’s very hard to get right on your own if you don’t have a history of working with a coach who developed your proprioception. I’m what you would call a grinding amateur. After 10+ years of daily workouts it takes me only a few hundred tries to do what a coach tells me. My sister has been a competitive athlete since 4 years old. It takes her 2or3 reps to perform exactly the movement a coach gives her (even in a new sport). Just because her body control is so much more developed than mine.
icegreentea2 3y ago
The challenge of barbell deadlifting is that most people have poor hamstring mobility that deeply compromises their ability to reach the bar without back bending. Back squats have the "advantage" that even if you have mobility issues, you can at least start in a safe position and limit your range of motion (though they also have huge challenges and injury potential). To adapt a barbell deadlift you need to raise the bar off the ground (not hard, but also annoying, and a lot of people don't do it). In any case, I'd say most barbell exercises are actually quite advanced and challenging motions to learn. Just look at how many videos there try trying to teach you "how to fix your deadlift", aimed at "experienced" lifters and athletes. The reality is that the barbell deadlift is almost unique amongst exercises in how much you are working around your equipment. You literally have to learn how to sequence your lift to make sure you don't bash the bar into your knees (body geometry dependent). To riff on that even more (and to link back to the article) - if you were going to program in only a single lower body exercise, I'd probably pick the lunge (+dumbbells) for its relative safety, greater balance amongst muscle groups (major and stabilizing), being somewhat dynamic (especially if you step into it), being unilateral.

stavros 3y ago

> it’s basically impossible to hurt yourself with deadlifts. Well, I've got some MRI images that disagree, sadly.

Swizec 3y ago

> and if you have good form, warm up, and only add 5-10lbs per workout Most beginners I’ve seen do not take the 5min it takes to learn proper form. And even if they do, they lack the proprioception to know when they’re doing it right. You really need a mirror or someone to keep you honest, preferably both, for the first few sessions. Someone needs to tell you what correct looks like on your body. It’s very hard to get right on your own if you don’t have a history of working with a coach who developed your proprioception. I’m what you would call a grinding amateur. After 10+ years of daily workouts it takes me only a few hundred tries to do what a coach tells me. My sister has been a competitive athlete since 4 years old. It takes her 2or3 reps to perform exactly the movement a coach gives her (even in a new sport). Just because her body control is so much more developed than mine.

icegreentea2 3y ago

The challenge of barbell deadlifting is that most people have poor hamstring mobility that deeply compromises their ability to reach the bar without back bending. Back squats have the "advantage" that even if you have mobility issues, you can at least start in a safe position and limit your range of motion (though they also have huge challenges and injury potential). To adapt a barbell deadlift you need to raise the bar off the ground (not hard, but also annoying, and a lot of people don't do it). In any case, I'd say most barbell exercises are actually quite advanced and challenging motions to learn. Just look at how many videos there try trying to teach you "how to fix your deadlift", aimed at "experienced" lifters and athletes. The reality is that the barbell deadlift is almost unique amongst exercises in how much you are working around your equipment. You literally have to learn how to sequence your lift to make sure you don't bash the bar into your knees (body geometry dependent). To riff on that even more (and to link back to the article) - if you were going to program in only a single lower body exercise, I'd probably pick the lunge (+dumbbells) for its relative safety, greater balance amongst muscle groups (major and stabilizing), being somewhat dynamic (especially if you step into it), being unilateral.