Deadlifting can be a great alternative to squatting
The title of this article is not a mistake. If you told me a few years ago that the deadlift is an excellent way to manage hip, knee, and back pain in hockey players or in any athlete, I would have thought you were crazy. I was never familiar with the exercise and I always cringed at the though of deadlifting my athletes because of all the terrible form I witnessed and all the horror stories I heard about people throwing out their backs doing the exercise. As time goes on and I get more experience working with athletes and learning about different modes of training, I have learned not to count out any exercise.
So why the deadlift? If you are a strength coach and someone gets injured, what is one of the first things the athletic trainer or physical therapist says? If you said “No squats,” then you guessed the right answer for a majority of any lower body injuries. If you have an athlete that has a lower body injury and you try to get him/her back to their normal routine they will probably say that everything feels good, except when I squat. Or they will rehab and start feeling better only to be out of squatting again in the next few weeks. Next time you are in this situation, try having the athlete perform what I call an elevated deadlift where the athlete does not go all the way down to the floor, then see how they feel. Just like any other lift, make sure you are familiar with the exercise and can teach your athletes how to safely perform it.
Good read about core training:
