While squatting receives a lot of attention, the deadlift deserves more time in the spotlight. As Sukhotsky points out, it can be, or is, a “one-stop shop” for improved performance and power.

Why?

Deadlifting can increase the rate of torque development (the speed at which your muscles and neurological system can produce rotational force around a joint) and vertical leap performance.

A January 2015 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research by Thompson et al. (Vol. 29, Issue 1) looked at what happens when people do barbell deadlifts twice a week for 10 weeks (five sets of five reps each session). The results were impressive:

• Strength and speed of leg muscles (knee flexors and extensors) improved by about 19–49%.

• Vertical jump height went up from 46 cm to 49 cm on average — about a 7% increase.

• The better people got at producing force quickly, the more their jump also improved.

In short: deadlifting twice a week made participants stronger, faster, and able to jump higher.

Meaning that the “changes in rapid torque were associated with improvements in vertical jump height, suggesting a transfer of adaptations from deadlift training to an explosive, performance-based task.”

Spoiler alert—the squat has failed to show some of the same benefits. Since the deadlift does not have an eccentric loading phase, the rate of torque developed into the concentric start is different from that of the squat. (see the study).

Yes, this study was on novices, but if you have not been deadlifting, then you, too, are a novice.

Since the hamstrings serve dual roles as knee stabilizers and hip extensors while working with other agonists (such as knee extensors), the improvement in inter- and intra-muscular coordination has significant carryover.

How do we train the deadlift?

Power to the People (PTTP) style programming, now available on the StrongFirst App, is a great way to get started. As Pavel quoted Mike Bridges in PTTP: “I did many repetitions and sets without too much success. When I stopped working on the reps, I began to increase in strength rapidly. I believe you can cut unnecessary reps and sets and discover an ability to recover much faster. And you will make bigger gains.” Do not be afraid of the minimalist programming of PTTP.

And when you are ready to start training the deadlift like a strength professional, Deadlift Dynamite is your guide.