2019-04-01 Women's Health

62 / WOMEN’S HEALTH APRIL 2019

Amped Athleticism

Whether you’re running

marathons or shooting

baskets, deadlifts will

make you better. “Dead-

lifts build power, the life-

blood of any successful

athlete,” says Tenney. The

hip hinge (pushing your

butt back, then thrusting

hips forward) is your body’s

ultimate force move,

propelling running strides,

jumps, and other lifts.

Superior Cardio

Women who performed

heavy strength training

improved their blood

pressure more than those

who stuck with cardio, ac-

cording to an Appalachian

State University study.

That may be because lifting

can act as super-high-

intensity interval training,

prepping your ar teries to

dilate more easily. (Buh-

bye, elliptical sessions!)

AND...

ACTION!

Skim the

bar up your

legs as you

push the

floor away.

Stand

as tall as

possible,

keeping

your spine

neutral.

Control

your pace

and hold

your back

straight as

you lower

the bar

down your

legs.

Bear in

mind: The

lowering is

as impor-

tant as the

raising

(don’t drop

the bar!).

We don’t know

a more epic

way to show off

your strength

than picking up 100, 150,

even 200-plus pounds

from a weight-room floor.

Which is just one of the

reasons we’re obsessed

with deadlifts. And we’re

not a lone. “Now t hat re -

search shows it’s a myth

that women shouldn’t lift

heavy [Editor’s note:

hooray!], I find more and

more women are curious

to try deadlifting,” says

women’s strength coach

Allison Tenney, CSCS.

“Then they get excited

about it, and then they’re

ho oke d—not ju st on t he

physical benefits but on

feeling strong, capable,

and empowered as well.”

The classic strength

exercise engages one of

the most innate human

movement patterns

(hinging forward at the

hips) and sculpts every-

thing from the glutes and

hammies to the core, lats,

a nd shou lder s. It a l so let s

you move more pounds

than you can with almost

any other exercise and

uses all of your muscles.

(Tapping so many body

parts at a high intensity =

serious results.) Hello,

newfound sense of power!

Read on for our fave ben-

efits, and see our primer

on form so you can get the

most out of every rep.

You’ll be a deadlift devo-

tee in no time.

Your Form, On Lock

Rock each and every rep with these tips.

Feet hip-

width apart

Barbell over

center of feet

Shoulder

blades over

barbell

Neutral

spine (don’t

look at

the mirror)

Butt as far

back as

possible

Minimal knee

bend (these

aren’t squats!)

Stronger Bones

You have to put weight on

bones to strengthen them.

Luckily, deadlifts let you

load the spine and hips

(which are prone to osteo-

porosis) with multiple

times your body weight.

After each lift, cells called

osteoblasts fill in any

stressed areas of your

skeleton. Once those

spots are calcified, they

turn to rock-hard bone.

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