Deadlifts get an unfair shake. Whether it's unfortunate anecdotes - er, horror stories - or numerous YouTube videos of ill-advised attempts, I understand why.

Yet when analyze it, the deadlift is one of the best ways to make people stronger, leaner, and more athletic.  It also does a great job at preparing people for life, which for 99% of us is the actual goal of our training.

So in my attempt to "Make America Lift Again," I'd like to do my part to change the perception of deadlifts.  After all, the empowering and primal feeling of lifting something heavy off the floor is unlike many other feelings you can get in life.  But hitting a baseball around 400 feet is a close second ;)

Below is a 5 minute guide to improve your deadlift and set up.  Let me know what you think!

I'd like to thank The New York Times for contributing to the malaise and hopelessness currently coupled with obesity.

Why?  Because last Monday the Times published After The Biggest Loser, Their Bodies Fought to Regain the Weight.  A depressing account of what happens to contestants after they leave the show, it is. But good journalism? It is not.

Sadly, this newest article adds to the disagreeable and outdated health advice from the Times, or those found in an Op-Ed.  And full disclosure, I'm far from impartial as The Biggest Loser is among my most hated shows on television. Yet I'm also a religious watcher of The Bachelor, so hey, nobody's perfect.

I don't believe the Times had malicious intent, nor were they purposely trying to paint sustained weight loss as some Sisyphean task.  Instead, my main gripe was that they didn't add anything to the conversation and they failed to propose any solutions.  We've known from study after study that losing weight is the "easy" part, maintaining is the hardest.  And the only answers they did provide were bariatric surgery or accepting hunger as the new normal.

The logic and skepticism of our inner scientist should be wary of accepting the conclusions of a small, self-selected study, but it's hard to overlook such a compelling story.  So in an effort to steer the interwebz back to reality, below are 5 ways in which the article failed to cover the entire story:

Last weekend I tested my mettle in the Tactical Strength Challenge (TSC).  Composed of a max deadlift, max strict bodyweight pullups, and as many kettlebell snatches in 5 minutes as possible, it's fun for people that can move some weight.  But utterly nightmarish for my inner introvert.

Nonetheless, I hit personal records in all three events (click Men's Open and scroll to #21) and you can't ask for more than that!  But more valuable than how I performed are the lessons I took from my training and the event.  Even better, my three takeaways below have already made me a better physical preparation coach.

That damn sit and reach. It's the lingering memory from my Presidential Fitness test. Zero pullups and "running" a 13 minute mile? All but forgotten. But sitting on the ground, having my legs held down by classmates, and being told to "reach?"  I felt like I was failing my country because I resembled the Tin Man.

In a sharp contrast to those elementary school days, I've hacked my way to now touch my toes on command.  But rather than blindly touting "Make America Flexible Again!" we need to look at why someone can or can't touch their toes.  After all, just stretching our hamstrings does nothing but make our pelvis more unstable. It also fails to teach the mechanism behind why we can or can't touch our toes - our brain.

Don't just take my word for it, I'm about education!

The process of losing weight carries different ideas for each person.  I think of vegetables, deadlifts, pullups and kettlebell snatches.  You can thank the upcoming Tactical Strength Challenge for that.

But many people think of depriving themselves, as if that's a necessity to lose weight.  I don't mean deprivation as in actively thinking we need to starve ourselves - many of us are too smart for that.

I mean deprivation in less obvious forms.  For example:

• Holding yourself to strict daily caloric limits.
• Needing to run or exercise in order to justify a meal.
• Thinking we can't indulge in a meal and need to be 100% perfect.
• Giving up stress relieving rituals such as a cup of coffee or a nightly glass of wine.
• Demonizing specific foods (fruit, grains, dairy) even if we like them.