THE SCORECARD
Men's Health Fit: 1.75 × body weight
Above average: 1.5 × body weight
Ordinary: Body weight
The muscles of your posterior chain provide the power behind many of the most important skills in sports—consider them your "go" muscles. These include your lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves—lots of muscles that may not be visible in the mirror but are vital to overall fitness. And no exercise hits them harder than the deadlift does. "It's arguably the purest test of strength there is," says Robertson. Your goal: Lift just a little bit less than twice your body weight.
THE TEST
Load a barbell with the maximum amount of weight you can lift once, and bring the bar close to your shins. Bend at your hips and knees and grab the bar using an overhand grip that's just beyond shoulder width. Keeping your lower back naturally arched, pull your torso back and up, squeeze your glutes, thrust your hips forward, and stand up with the barbell. Reverse the movement to lower the bar to the floor, keeping it as close to your body as possible.
PULL MORE WEIGHT
Add the deadlift to your weekly routine using a weight that allows you to do 3 sets of 5 reps. That's right, only 5 reps each set. "Keeping the rep count low allows you to do two things: concentrate on form and go heavy," says Robertson. When you can complete 2 extra repetitions in your last set for two consecutive workouts, move up in weight. Retest your 1-rep max every 2 to 3 months.
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