Top Accessory Exercises For A Huge Deadlift
The deadlift is one of (if not the) KING of all exercises. It is a fundamental movement pattern (picking heavy s*** off the floor and putting it back down), and it has stood the test of time for building slabs of muscle & strength.
However, simply performing deadlifts isn’t enough to maximize your gains with the exercise. Performing the right accessory movements can shore up any weak links helping you to continue to set new PRs with your training.
Here are the top accessory exercises for a huge deadlift.
Romanian Deadlift
Similar to the deadlift, the Romanian deadlift (RDL) is a hip-hinge movement that is fantastic for strengthening the glutes, hamstrings, spinal erectors and grip. Mastering this exercise provides tremendous benefits for growing your conventional deadlift.
Kettlebell Swings
While you won’t be using nearly as heavy of a load for kettlebell swing as you would a conventional or Romanian deadlift, the kettlebell swing is great for increasing total hip-hinge training volume and building explosiveness, which offers huge carryover to pulling explosively off the floor.
Farmer’s Walks
Farmer’s walks help build crushing grip strength and total body athleticism the pay dividends not only in building muscle and strength, but also real world functional fitness, mental fortitude, and cardiovascular training
Rows
The bigger and stronger your back is, the bigger deadlift you’ll have. Rows are quite simply one of the best back exercises you can do and there are countless ways to perform them -- dumbbell, bodyweight, cable, Meadows, barbell, etc.. Make sure to pepper in a good amount of row movements in your weekly back training and watch your deadlift grow!
Straight-Arm Pulldowns
Straight-arm pulldowns can serve as a great warm-up before deadlifts as they help activate the lats and train you to maintain tension through the shoulders, core and pelvis during deadlifts.
The deadlift is a BIG movement that can cause insane fatigue on the muscles in the mid back all the way down the posterior chain. Pair this with the strain that this heavy lift can have on your CNS and you'll find high effort deadlifting requires high quality recovery. Be sure to include some Brute EAA either during your deadlift sessions or post workout to ensure you're getting the most out of this classic exercise.
