The deadlift is one of those exercises that have almost mythical status for the following reasons:
- so little people actually do it that it becomes a myth;
- there are so many people killing their backs doing deadlifts that it becomes a mythical back destroyer;
There is one undeniable fact when it comes to deadlifting - it does build a thick back and you would normally need 4 exercises to match that effect without deadlifting. There are many famous deadlifters today but I don't care much about them. For me the king of deadlifting will forever remain - Bob Peoples. He was born and lifted in an era when steroids and other miracle drugs were not widely used. He got brutally strong with no to small usage of muscle elixirs. (I doubt he was 100% clean but compared to today's pharmaceutical porn he was clean as a whistle.)
Why does the deadlift build such thick backs?
It's quite simple - the deadlift hits hard (as in very hard) muscles such as the spinal erectors that otherwise do not receive much attention from exercises like pull-ups, rows...etc. Who has a thicker (not to be confused with wider) back - a gay that can do 20 pull-ups or the guy that deadlifts (insert heavy weight of choice). My bet is on the guy that deadlifts. Why? Pull-ups focus mainly on the lat's while the erectors, traps and other muscles are "hit" to a much smaller degree. The deadlift "owns" every single muscle fiber (exaggeration) in your spinal erectors, lats, traps...
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| Long arms help in the deadlift |
Q: I want back like Bob Peoples what should I do?
A: Deadlift or rack pull. Heavy and consistently and still there is no magic formula.
Q: Why was Bob Peoples' bench press weak?
A: Long arms.
Q: Should I follow Bob People's routine?
A: No. Do your own.