The November issue of Mens’ Health just arrived. They have an interesting article called the “5 – Second Strength Booster”. Interesting not because it’s another article about how good the deadlift is but interesting because of the tidbit of information they revealed.
The deadlift was, at some point way back when, called the health lift. Now we typically use barbells or dumbbells, while then the lift simply called for heavy objects. Lift them up, then let them down… done. 5 seconds flat. It was the staple lift – believed to give all the physical exercise that a person needed.
And truthfully, the deadlift (or health lift) is an exercise that, if you could only manage a single exercise for one rep, should be the one. There is no other exercise that engages as many muscles from top to bottom as the deadlift. The bonus is that this great lift requires so little as far as equipment goes. A barbell, dumbbells, a rock, a sandbag, your 27 inch CRT television, the neighbor’s dog – whatever.
Of course, like most exercises – technique is key. Many people actually avoid the deadlift because of the rumor that it could seriously hurt your back. Done incorrectly, this is true. Done correctly, however, the deadlift not only won’t hurt your back, but will provide you with extra insurance against back problems by strengthening it and the surrounding muscles.
Once again, I have to reference crossfit and their great library of workout demonstrations. The below video gives a great introduction to how the deadlift should be performed. Keep an eye on how the bar literally scales up the legs and thighs. A sign of a good deadlift is some barbell burn on the shins 
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