A very beneficial by-product of deadlifting I have found, is the cardiovascular benefit. During some particularly heavy sessions, I have found heart rates of 160-180 beats per minute. Over a training session of 30-35 minutes this will yield an improvement in cardio (heart and lung) function. Contrary to what many may believe, deadlifts actually reduce injury risks.  This is because the exercise actually strengthens the all too common weak hamstrings.  Many many athletes suffer from weak hamstrings and this leaves them at risk of related injuries such as  anterior cruciate ligament injuries. The execution of the deadlift forces the athlete to train knee and hip extension together, which is a far smarter and specific way of training.  This is because this type of movement pattern is much more functional and normal.  (When you think about it, an athlete never really moves one joint in isolation.  Movement comprises many joints in various planes of motion).  This way of training prepares the athlete better for competiton as compared to for example sitting on a leg press machine, or doing hamstring curls on some type of isolated piece of equipment. The very nature of the deadlift exercise allows the athlete to really load up the bar with a lot of tonnage, which will recruit a stack load of motor units and fibres.  Ultimately this leads to a greater growth stimulus. When you compare what this compound exercise elicits hormonally to an isolation exercise, it becomes apparent why deadlifting provides such massive strength gains.

Very few exercises in the gym will train grip strength as effectively as the deadlift.  Quite simply, if you can’t grip the heavy bar you wont be able to lift it, so your forearm and grip strength is paramount in being able to lift heavy. I heard a great saying from an American deadlifting expert a while back “if you cant grip then you cant rip.”