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Five deadlift fundamentals to help you on your pulling journey. After checking your ego at the door, this list will help you maximize the potential within you to pull heavy.

Aside from the pride that comes from knowing you can lift something so heavy, there are many other benefits that deadlifts bring to the table.  You get increased core strength When you perform a deadlift, you will find yourself having to tighten the muscles in your stomach, chest, and upper and lower back region. These are the abdominal, glutes, oblique and lateral muscles and they are the ones most commonly being referred to when people talk about the central muscles of the body. Continuous lifting of your barbells or weight continuously trains these muscles, making them more adapted to supporting large weights as you progress in your training. Eventually the result is an overall strong core that allows you...

Seven tips to get you started deadlifting. Begin with the proper stance. Properly stand with your feet apart at a distance the same as the width of your hips. The idea behind this stance is to allow some room for your arms to not get blocked during the lifting process. Blocked arms could result in a labored lift that could result in you bending your arm, which is very dangerous for your elbows.

It seems like everyone has an opinion on whether you should arch when benching. Many people see the move as cheating, because arching your back admittedly lowers the range of motion on your arms. Just like sumo deadlifting, another position often argued about, the range of motion means that there’s much less time under tension. The less time you’re moving weight, the more intense you can be - and overall, you can lift more weight.  

It’s important to consider the different types of equipment out there, and what can help you, or hurt your progress. Most people don't need a huge arsenal of equipment. These can help you keep your form good, or protect your joints when things really get heavy. Here are five pieces of equipment that can help max out your total.