Every now and then I get on a deadlift kick. Five days per week, as specified in power to the people by Pavel Tsatsouline. Just a simple linear cycle two sets of five, a working set and a back off set. I’ve worked up to decent weights this way but staying light right now.

So, what I do is I wake up and get ready for work and right before I leave I take about 8 minutes to do some deadlifts downstairs.

The warm up is basically shaking out and bouncing around and a few practices with no weight. Then I tighten up and grip and rip one set of five deadlifts. Wait three to five minutes, then repeat, with about 20% less weight than the first set, everything else the same.

I’ve always found it invigorating and stimulating. I’ve done this routine probably four different times in my life now, starting as early as 2003. It’s simple and I like it. It makes me feel strong and explosive. It’s quick. It’s not very taxing (provided you don’t get overzealous and start too heavy).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the deadlift is a great exercise. It gets you strong and trains a motion common to everyday life. It tends to get you strong in all the areas that are useful for life—strong back and strong grip.

A pretty good one for summer, too. You can tone down your other training, deadlift, and then get all your other exercise in the form of activity outside.