DEADLIFT

One of my favorite exercises is the deadlift. We deadlift things in everyday life all the time. When you have to pick up one end of the couch, you’re deadlifting. Picking up heavy boxes… deadlifting. The most important part of a deadlift is that you maintain a straight back and you hinge from the hips. This is a whole body exercise that will challenge you both physically and mentally. When you do it properly though, you’ll be fighting off things like low back pain, osteopenia and osteoporosis, unregulated blood sugar, stationary adipose syndrome, and other really debilitating problems. You don’t need a barbell in order to start deadlifting. One thing you can use at home (and it will more similarly reflect how you should pick up heavy stuff in real life) is a milk crate. Fill it with enough weight (rocks are heavy!) to give yourself a challenge for 25 reps. Start light, and really make sure that you are working to engage your core from the bottom of the lift.