The Everyday Deadlifter

You don’t really NEED anything besides some sort of weight in front of you to Deadlift: in this state of our world you will find people Deadlifting the corner of their couch and it works. In the gym, you will find most people Deadlifting with a Barbell, though there are DL variations that utilize Dumbbells, Kettlebells, Hex Bars, Landmines, Resistance Bands, etc.

Aside from the barbell, you may notice people who have gloves, wrist straps, belts, special shoes, or even makeshift platforms. A lot of these are mostly utilized by people who train for sport (such as Olympic Weight Lifting or Powerlifting), people who intend to train very heavy, or even people who have sustained injuries and are looking for some security. Here’s my take on all of these supplies:

• Gloves: When I first got into weight training and Powerlifting I reached out to a local Powerlifter who gave me one piece of advice-ditch the gloves. More often then not, competitive Powerlifting does not permit the use of gloves and instead encourages the use of chalk to promote grip strength. It will leave your hands callused and chaffed however. I continue to lift gloveless and find that the calluses are actually useful to my ability to grip things and hang from a pull up bar.
• Wrist Straps: Wrist straps are fabric straps that wrap around the wrist and the barbell to help alleviate the stress on the hands. I avoided them for a long time because I wanted to build that forearm and wrist strength to be able to hold a heavy bar. As I’ve lifted more and more, I’ve realized that sometimes I need wrist straps to assist my forearms (especially when they’re already sore) and not compromise the leg workout of the Deadlifts. I use them as minimally as possible so I can continue building that wrist and forearm strength but I do use them.
• Belts: Weight lifting belts almost look like girdles or corsets and have the purpose of keeping the core braced while doing heavy lifting. I have never and probably will never use a belt in any of my weight lifting exercises because my mentality is that if my core cannot handle it, I don’t want to lift it. I want my core to work as hard as everything else to help prevent injury. The application in which I do encourage a weight belt is if you are suddenly going to be lifting heavier than you’re used to. For instance, Powerlifters train for months before a competition: they carefully taper up their weight lifted and then before competition take a bit of a break to recover for the competition. Most Powerlifters may have never lifted the weight they attempt in a competition and in this instance a weight belt is a great safety tool. Training with it regularly, however, will end up compromising core strength.
• Shoes: Powerlifting shoes are shoes with an elevated and cushioned heel, mostly for the purpose of alleviating the pressure of the heel pushing into the floor. Like the belt, this could be useful to prevent collapsing of the arches and foot pain in a suddenly heavy squat but beyond that, these shoes can really compromise the functional training of the body. Personally, I like a flat shoes for Deadlifting (like a converse) or Deadlifting barefoot on a gym mat. I recommend avoiding shoes with too much heel or too much cushion because it throws off the weight placement on the bottom of your feet. Just keep it simple.
• Platforms: If you’ve never been to anything but a commercial gym you’ve probably never seen a Deadlift platform which in itself should exemplify how not necessary, they are. Deadlift platforms are platforms that have a bit of bounce to them to help absorb and rebound the shock of the barbell and weight plates hitting the floor. In the instance of repetitive Deadlifts, that barbell bouncing against the platform helps you move seamlessly from one rep to the next with reduced risk of injury. Again, this is one of those things that mostly has an athletic application but is not necessary for the everyday Deadlifter.