New Delhi, Dec. 20 -- Anyone who has fitness as part of their social media algorithm will remember the sheer number of deadlift videos people were posting once upon a time. One-rep maxes and first-time lifters finally nailing the form would be highlights of these. But over a period of time, the deadlift debate seems to have become more evident: does the tough-to-learn but five-star compound exercise have enough risk-to-reward ratio to continue doing it regularly?

It seems like the deadlift has shifted out of focus as exercises become more specific to the smallest of muscles, and the back becoming more prone to injury due to lifestyle. The other problem with the deadlift that it is a difficult exercise to get to grips with initially. One ...