Ronnie Coleman Deadlift
The Ronnie Coleman deadlift is one of the most amazing displays of strength ever caught on tape. The man is one of the strongest men in the world, and it doesn't matter if he is 5 weeks out from the Mr Olympia, or bulking in the off season. There are very few men in the world that can compare to him in strength.
The world record for an equipped deadlift is 1009lbs by Andy Bolton. An equipped deadlift means the lifter gets to use a deadlift suit. A deadlift suit helps lifters slingshot the weight up, it gives them a great advantage in deadlifting. Ronnie Coleman deadlifted with no suit, and was dieting for the Mr Olympia. If Ronnie Coleman had a 800lb deadlift for two reps, with no suit, and dieting for a show, who knows what weight he could have pulled with a suit, and a regular diet.
All of the top bodybuilders of the past have used deadlifts to not only develop their backs, but their whole bodies. Other Olympians and elite bodybuilders who included deadlifts in their regular routines, include, Franco Columbu, Sergio Olivia, Dorian Yates, Arnold, Lee Haney, and Frank Zane.
The deadlift is a compound movement that works grip strength, and the primary muscles used in the deadlift are the erector spinae, the gluteus maximus, adductor magnus, hamstrings, quadriceps, and the soleus. The remaining muscles are involved in stability control.
Powerlifters build their back workouts around deadlifts and include "supplemental" exercises like rows and pulldowns only after deads. Likewise, some power-hungry bodybuilders have back routines that serve their deadlifting, instead of the other way around. Because they take more out of your strength and energy reserves than any other exercise, deadlifts should be used judiciously. Many lifters will do deadlifts every second week because of the toll it has on the body. It's the price you pay for one of the greatest mass building exercises.
There are two types of deadlift stances being used today: the conventional style and the sumo style. With the conventional style the lifter takes a stance about shoulder's width and the arm will hang straight outside the knees. This stance utilizes more of the quads and low back...so keep those hips down and that back straight. The second stance is sumo. Sumo stance is a position any where from past shoulder's width to a more extreme wide stance. Of course the arms will hang inside the knees. As you can see, the sumo stance gets the lifter a little closer to the floor so the bar actually has less distance to travel. Also the lifter is starting in more of a half squat position.