Is doing the deadlift dangerous?
Not really. I would argue that walking around life with a weak back is what really is dangerous. Back pain is the #1 cause of workdays in the US and very few people are deadlifting yet they suffer from back pain which I would argue is the result of a weak back.
Humans have been bending over and picking things up for millions of years. Every time you bend down to pick up a child, you just did the deadlift movement. If you are doing weekend chores and pick up a 50lb bag of fertilizer, you just did the deadlift.
Most of us sit in a chair thorough the day and are not working out our back the same way our ancestors were. So when the weekend finally rolls around and you go do some chores to lift up something heavy you are more than likely doing that with a very weak back. And this is when back injuries occur.
Doing the deadlift with "proper" technique and intelligent programming is one of the safest things you can do to build a really strong back. I emphasize proper technique because I cringe when I walk into a gym and see a lot of people deadlifting with questionable form.
Even if you already suffer from back pain, learning to deadlift can be a miracle for taking the pain away. The top feedback I hear from clients and my own experience is that after a week or two of deadlifting their back pain either went away completely or significantly. A stronger back will always hurt less than a weaker back.
The failure to strengthen the large muscles in the back is a recipe for future pain or continued pain. These large muscles when built up through the deadlift will stable you spine better than anything else and especially important for the older person who is facing spine degeneration.
I'm not going to say there's zero risk in deadlifting. Injuries can happen to anybody at anytime in any sport or hobby. You could just lay on the couch and not do anything. But then you are going to have a lot more serious health issues versus and injury.
Looking at the data, weightlifting with proper technique and intelligent programming is one of the safest activities you can do. Soccer and basketball have one of the highest injury rates than any other sport. Soccer leads the way with an injury rate of 6.2 per 100 hours of participating and weightlifting is one of the lowest at .0006. The reason weightlifting is one of the lowest is that its done in a controlled environment where as other sports and hobbies ar e more dynamic and unpredictable.
You can either have a weak back or a strong back. If you chose a strong back then make deadlifting a priority.
#deadlift #liftheavy #barbellcoach #getstrong #strengthtraining