# Deadlift Benefits?



## Armz (Mar 20, 2012)

I've recently started my bulk and have decided to incorporate deadlifts into my routine as generally my strength goes up when bulking plus the whole idea is to gain as much quality mass over the next few months as possible.

I know that the following are worked whilst deadlifting but which body part would you say benefits the greatest from this exercise ?

Spinal Erectors

•	Quads

•	Glutes

•	Hamstrings

•	Lower Back

•	Middle and Upper Trapezius

•	Abdominals and Obliques

•	Lats

•	Calves

Do you think incorporating deadlifts would see me gaining any substantial mass over the next few months or am I better off concentrating on specific exercises for each body part ?


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## Justin Cider (Jul 18, 2010)

deadlifts make you feel alpha as ****.

you *need* to incorporate these in to your workout!


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## aad123 (Dec 7, 2011)

You listed 9 different muscles that can be hit by 1 exercise so why would you want to not do deadlifts. In my view deadlifts are the number one mass building exercise, better even than squats (there you go I said it).


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## Siphasi (Apr 10, 2008)

Do em ! But do em right.


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## Conscript (Sep 5, 2010)

Deadlift or Die!


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## BigTrev (Mar 16, 2008)

In all the years i have been bodybuilding i never done dead lifts tho the more i read its making me think i should start them.Dont know why i never have done them as i cover everything else without fail.


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## Justin Cider (Jul 18, 2010)

Conscript said:


> Deadlift or Die!


I got my deadlift PB and got a f'ing hernia :laugh:


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## Conscript (Sep 5, 2010)

BBK said:


> I got my deadlift PB and got a f'ing hernia :laugh:


I got a pb on Deadlift and squat and had my first visit to a chiropractor all in the same week lol


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## Justin Cider (Jul 18, 2010)

Conscript said:


> I got a pb on Deadlift and squat and had my first visit to a chiropractor all in the same week lol


4-6 weeks til I get my referal with the surgeon and i'm ****ing bricking it, I blame 24hours in A&E, too many junior doctors :laugh:


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## Conscript (Sep 5, 2010)

BBK said:


> 4-6 weeks til I get my referal with the surgeon and i'm ****ing bricking it, I blame 24hours in A&E, too many junior doctors :laugh:


Hope it all goes well mate :thumbup1:


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

ok you guys ain't good adverts now! :lol:

But as a girl who loves to deadlift.. Just do 'em!


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

BBK said:


> 4-6 weeks til I get my referal with the surgeon and i'm ****ing bricking it, I blame 24hours in A&E, too many junior doctors :laugh:


Good luck for your op matey, loads of water when you come round..

Love your sleeve..


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## Armz (Mar 20, 2012)

BigTrev said:


> In all the years i have been bodybuilding i never done dead lifts tho the more i read its making me think i should start them.Dont know why i never have done them as i cover everything else without fail.


Exactly what I was thinking. I've been back bodybuilding a year now after a few years doing other sports but wanna take it to another level now and was thinking deadlifts are the answer. I've only tried lifting up to 112kg at the moment.


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## aad123 (Dec 7, 2011)

Deadlifts are a great exercise but lots of people get carried away with lifting too much weight for low reps, I tend to stick to the 8 to 10 rep range and find them a great all round exercise. Just ensure your form is strict and you should be fine. Try doing 5 sets of 12 reps and see if you can walk the next day. I did and my whole body ached for nearly a week.


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## cub (Jul 14, 2011)

Someone's sig on here (can't remember who) is that "there's no point in living if you can't do the deadlift"


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

Depends what you're training for. I rep'd at 60kg and 80kg rack pulls tonight as I'm training for my first ever powerlifting event. I do agree totally on keeping form right, and having someone who knows what that should look like too. :thumbup1:


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## exvigourbeast (Dec 4, 2009)

Personally I think they are a poor bodybuilding exercise. Used to do them religously until a back injury. Then stopped for maybe 18 months. During that time my back grew in strength and size due to the increased intensity and volume I was able to use for the remaining rowing movements. When I finally did do them again they were up significantly but the weight used was comparitively exactly in proportion compared to my row and squat as it always had. So I guess what Im saying is for me they are a waste of time (although admittedly I enjoy them) if squatting and doing heavy barbell row. They will be within a gnats cock of 80kg above my squat for a single whether I do them week in week out or never.


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## goonerton (Sep 7, 2009)

Will greatly benefit lower back, middle back, traps, forearms. I know its a cliche, but it has to be the single most beneficial upper body exercise.

Definitely include and stick with them, not just for a few months.


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## Justin Cider (Jul 18, 2010)

JaneN40 said:


> Good luck for your op matey, loads of water when you come round..
> 
> Love your sleeve..


cheers! dreading the not training part... thankyou again, getting my right arm turned in to a sleeve from the 12th oct so it's all good


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## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

cub said:


> Someone's sig on here (can't remember who) is that "there's no point in living if you can't do the deadlift"


That is a Jon Pal Sigmarsson quote.

Deadlifts are one of the best exercises there is if performed correctly, and also arguably the most taxing as there is no or very little elastic reflex from the muscle, it is a dead weight hence 'dead' lift.

Lower reps than normal are usually incorporated due to the taxing effect on muscles, adjoining tissues and the central nervous system. Performing 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps during a bulk is sufficient if coupled with moderate/heavy squatting twice a week.


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

BBK said:


> cheers! dreading the not training part... thankyou again, getting my right arm turned in to a sleeve from the 12th oct so it's all good


I've got a half sleeve (on my right arm - you can't see in my avatar but I have more pics on here). Hope you enjoy the process.. actually had someone ask me if mine was done in one sitting the other day.. :whistling: :lol:


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2012)

Deadlifts for me was the biggest mass builder.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

cub said:


> Someone's sig on here (can't remember who) is that "there's no point in living if you can't do the deadlift"


was mine and a quote from jon pall sigmarsson .


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

heres a nice little video to make you guys feel weak


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## Ballin (Aug 24, 2011)

Just a quick question on this....I currently do a 8/5/3/1 system on deads building up to just over 200kg...is doing this once a week too much or am I alright...heard conflicting information about it.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Ballin said:


> Just a quick question on this....I currently do a 8/5/3/1 system on deads building up to just over 200kg...is doing this once a week too much or am I alright...heard conflicting information about it.


52 days a year of deadlifting is fine any less you might as well not bother .


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

ewen said:


> heres a nice little video to make you guys feel weak


I've got a bulks bracelet (Strong Woman on it). I joked with hubby about 'niipping to Gravesend' to do a session as they sent a card for a free workout.. fftopic: A t-shirt would be lovely.. lol

Vids not streaming right this morning but will be back (in my best Arnie tone) to watch 'em. Is your Mrs in the last woman standing?


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

JaneN40 said:


> I've got a bulks bracelet (Strong Woman on it). I joked with hubby about 'niipping to Gravesend' to do a session as they sent a card for a free workout.. fftopic: A t-shirt would be lovely.. lol
> 
> Vids not streaming right this morning but will be back (in my best Arnie tone) to watch 'em. Is your Mrs in the last woman standing?


yeah she won the comp and the deadlift with a 170kg pull/hitch lol

shes dropped over 20kg in bodyweight now massive change not sure on strength as shes bodybuilding but im back training her now albeit for bodybuilding but shes got stronger i think she could pull near 200kg now .

bulks is only 20 mins from me run by jay and emmy lots of strongmen train there .


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## Ballin (Aug 24, 2011)

ewen said:


> 52 days a year of deadlifting is fine any less you might as well not bother .


Win this was the answer I was looking for! Roll on my 300kg target!


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Ballin said:


> Win this was the answer I was looking for! Roll on my 300kg target!


focus on squats and deadlift will go up so do low volume high intensity .


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## Justin Cider (Jul 18, 2010)

JaneN40 said:


> I've got a half sleeve (on my right arm - you can't see in my avatar but I have more pics on here). Hope you enjoy the process.. actually had someone ask me if mine was done in one sitting the other day.. :whistling: :lol:


:laugh:

I always get;

'how much did it cost', 'did it hurt', 'how long did it take', 'why did you get it', 'will you regret it' etc haha...

Also got my chest done too, got the virgin mary on my top right arm and my ex's name on outer forearm which is getting covered up... 1 thing i hate is when people pull at my clothes to see it better, don't see me pulling at there clothes :laugh:

always cracks me up as my chest is in spanish, people trying to read it, had a few people come up to me and understand it before tho :laugh:


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

Deads and squats went from being my least favourite exercise to my favourite once i actually got the form right.

A powerlifting club rent an area in my new gym where they've got a mono lift etc, i'm thinking of joining them as it looks like a good crack.


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

ewen said:


> yeah she won the comp and the deadlift with a 170kg pull/hitch lol
> 
> shes dropped over 20kg in bodyweight now massive change not sure on strength as shes bodybuilding but im back training her now albeit for bodybuilding but shes got stronger i think she could pull near 200kg now .
> 
> bulks is only 20 mins from me run by jay and emmy lots of strongmen train there .


Wow that is a great loss, and glad she's kept her strength :thumbup1: I'm a natural at hitching..  As you know I'm working on stopping it for the comp in dec. I'd really like to be over 100kg by then, but we'll see... we'll see! :lol: With Uni I can only hope to do the WSA events next year, but will be fun all the same. Maybe Welsh Strongest Woman if it's local enough. :lol: Even my friend says it's hard though. See how the winter goes first.


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

BBK said:


> :laugh:
> 
> I always get;
> 
> ...


Oh yeah.. I get the 'does it hurt', I always just say it's part of the enjoyment! :lol: in fairness I bruised a LOT inside my arm but it was only the cap of my shoulder and inside elbow that truly hurt. I've had the 'how much did it cost' once recently and funnily enough had a funny face pulled when I told her.  I tried convincing my tattooist to do buy one get one free but he only offered me a free piercing.. I'm not into piercings (I ride horses and they tend to end up stuck somewhere). I love my half sleeve though but do think my left arm is very naked now! :whistling:


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2012)

ewen said:


> focus on squats and deadlift will go up so do low volume high intensity .


What rep range would you say to improve deads mate 5x5 3x5? Mine are sh*t but I like them, just bought some straps too as my grip was struggling


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## JaneN40 (Aug 18, 2012)

Jd123 said:


> What rep range would you say to improve deads mate 5x5 3x5? Mine are sh*t but I like them, just bought some straps too as my grip was struggling


I'm trying not to use straps as not allowed in the comp I'm doing, but I'm working on my grip with just holding really heavy dumbbells and doing farmers walks etc. It's working but occasionally my left grip still lets me down toward the end of a session. I know I'm done then though. lol

I do sets of 5/3/1 depending on weight but also do reps of 8-10 of lower weight around 60-80% not sure how accurate this all is though.


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2012)

JaneN40 said:


> I'm trying not to use straps as not allowed in the comp I'm doing, but I'm working on my grip with just holding really heavy dumbbells and doing farmers walks etc. It's working but occasionally my left grip still lets me down toward the end of a session. I know I'm done then though. lol
> 
> I do sets of 5/3/1 depending on weight but also do reps of 8-10 of lower weight around 60-80% not sure how accurate this all is though.


Yeah I think form has a lot to do with it. I watched 'so you think you can squat' after some one mentioned it on here. Remembered everything, went the gym the next day and found it so much easier. Wish there was one on youtube!

Going to set myself some goals to reach by march! Not really going for strength but I would love to have a decent dead lift under my belt!


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Have a watch of Andy bolton teaching deadlift .

As for increasing deads I work in 80%+ of 1rm low rep sets , 5 reps max 3 is good same for sets but its % based .


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## Guest (Sep 7, 2012)

ewen said:


> Have a watch of Andy bolton teaching deadlift .
> 
> As for increasing deads I work in 80%+ of 1rm low rep sets , 5 reps max 3 is good same for sets but its % based .


Will check it out tonight :thumbup1:


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## Robbie789 (Sep 6, 2012)

Ballin said:


> Just a quick question on this....I currently do a 8/5/3/1 system on deads building up to just over 200kg...is doing this once a week too much or am I alright...heard conflicting information about it.


I personally wouldn't do a 1rm every session, but only because of fear of injury, maybe on your 4th set try and rep out at a slightly higher weight than your 3rd set, if you can get 3-5 reps, increase the weight next week.


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## Geonix (Apr 4, 2011)

Must say when I started doing deadlifts, noticeably had a thicker back.


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## Ash1981 (Jun 16, 2009)

cub said:


> Someone's sig on here (can't remember who) is that "there's no point in living if you can't do the deadlift"


I believe this is sir Ewen of strongman-ville sig


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## Mish (May 1, 2011)

You always hear these hipster **** talking about functional strength.

"yeah that guy's strong but it's not functional" etc

Nothing displays more functional strength in day to day life that picking things up with your knees bent and your back straight and putting them back down again than deadlifts


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## Huntingground (Jan 10, 2010)

A famous quote, "there is no reason to be alive if you can't do deadlift" was shouted by Jon Pall when he won the deadlift event at this contest. - Jon Pall Sigmarsson winning the WSM.

"Ultimate test of strength and manhood" - Brain SHaw, current WSM.


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## Huntingground (Jan 10, 2010)

TBH, the main reason I go to the gym is to deadlift and squat.


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## Armz (Mar 20, 2012)

Thanks for all your replies. Some informative information that will help over the coming months.


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## dbox2k6 (Oct 22, 2009)

I hated deads when i first started doing them (with terrible form lol)

Since I got form nailed, i've been improving a lot and now I LOVE DEADS. I did 180kg the other day for the first time, felt awesome! lol


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## valleygater (Aug 29, 2012)

Well I have to say I dont do them, and yes they are good for building overall body mass but the amount of people that do them wrong and get injured is insane. I used to have a problem with the depth in my back not because I didnt deadlift but becuase I was doing most of my back movements with a wide grip and consequently not getting the tension i needed in the right areas. I do rack pulls every so often but that's it. So many people get caught up in lots of the things that have been mentioned in this thread and lift their ego not the weight. It's fine if you do it correctly but I have only ever seen 2 people do it spot on. One of which is my brother who then had the look of a powerlifter which didnt help him when he got on stage. For me I think it comes back to what are you trying to do, bodybuild or strength train.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Real men deadlift .


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## Smitch (Dec 29, 2008)

ewen said:


> Real men deadlift .


I think this is one of the main reasons a lot don't deadlift, they just think it looks like too much effort so they don't bother.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Smitch said:


> I think this is one of the main reasons a lot don't deadlift, they just think it looks like too much effort so they don't bother.


100% agree .

I've heard people say I don't deadlift because I have a bad back or I don't squat coz I have a bad back lol

a guy on here called Paul has one leg and squats .

retro mental bust several discs and still deadlifts .

its far to easy to pump the biceps than to put some effort in .


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## A-BOMB (May 4, 2012)

i find it funny also when people say they dont cause of bad backs etc, i broke my back and neck and ive been doing squats and deads (quite light though) and since i started again the pain i had before has gone!


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## martin brown (Dec 31, 2008)

Probably one of the reasons most bodybuilders have weak hamstrings and lower backs is due to the fear of the deadlift.


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## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

martin brown said:


> Probably one of the reasons most bodybuilders have weak hamstrings and lower backs is due to the fear of the deadlift.


Some of the ones that do squat only do partial and wonder why their hams are gash .


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2012)

I can't deadlift nor squat due to an injury and its breaking me mentally 

Luckily its getting better and I've started very light squats and deads to keep things ticking over.


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## mikemull (Oct 23, 2011)

ewen said:


> 100% agree .
> 
> I've heard people say I don't deadlift because I have a bad back or I don't squat coz I have a bad back lol
> 
> ...


I can honestly say I've never been to the gym and not been able to get onto the squat rack, deadlift, chin or dips bars. Can people say the same about preacher curls or pec dec? Can they ****! That's the difference, the harder it is the less people do them!


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## Guest (Sep 12, 2012)

I live to squat and deadlift. Simple.


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