Deadlifts and Muscles

To perform deadlifts, you lift a barbell from the floor to waist level, keeping your back and arms straight while bending at the waist, knees and ankles. First and foremost, deadlifts build muscle strength; and although you may look more toned with developed muscles, the activity does not remove overlying fat. In addition, although you use abdominal muscles for stabilization when performing deadlifts, the exercise primarily tones your lower back, legs and hips.

Calories Burned During Deadlifts

They may not melt fat, but deadlifts can still help trim your stomach because you burn more calories during the activity than you would remaining sedentary -- and fat loss comes down to eating fewer calories than you burn. On average, a 155-pound person burns about 112 calories during a 30-minute session of lifting weights. You can't safely perform deadlifts for that long, so do two to four sets of eight to 12 repetitions, then spend the remaining time performing resistance exercises for all major muscle groups -- for example, use the crunch machine to tone your stomach, the chest press for your pecs and dumbbell curls for your biceps.

Metabolism Boost

Along with burning more calories as you pump iron, weight training exercises boost your metabolism for hours after the exercise, according to ExRx.net. Deadlifts are particularly effective for post-workout calorie burning because they involve large muscles like your back, thighs and glutes -- and the higher your resistance, the bigger the boost. In addition, your metabolism will permanently increase over time as you build new muscle tissue because muscle burns more calories than fat, even while your'e inactive.

Shrinking Your Stomach

To successfully shrink your stomach, pair twice-weekly weight training sessions with at least 150 weekly minutes of cardiovascular activities, such as brisk walking or cycling. Cardio burns calories at a faster rate than weight training, and may also target visceral fat deep in your stomach more effectively, Johns Hopkins Medical School professor Kerry Stewart said in a U.S. News and World Report article. Diet also matters, so reduce serving sizes and avoid fast food and sweets, opting instead for whole, natural fare such as fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, brown rice, beans and broiled fish.