Deadlift for beginner
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livingleanlivingclean wrote: »I would get some training sessions with a good trainer who can observe and guide you. What you feel and what you think you look like can be completely different!
This. You can also buy the book Starting Strength 3rd addition and it will give you every bit of info you need to deadlift as well as the other barbell(squat, bench, press, cleans) movements properly. It is written for newer lifters as yourself and is worth every dollar instead of winging it.
I 2nd reading Starting Strength. He goes into a lot of detail on form and specific things to watch out for.3 -
Review illustrations that show which muscle groups are in play with the lifts you are undertaking, make sure you hit all the muscle groups, otherwise you can create an imbalance that will lead to an injury. Deads are a great exercise as long as you apply other lifts to hit all the muscle groups. Adding muscle or retaining muscle is a long process, be patient, be methodical... and don’t forget to add flexibility training once again to avoid injury.1
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I thought about using kettlebells, but my gym has limited equipment and doesn’t have them. Thanks everyone for your advice. I’m sore today, but not overly sore! Can’t wait to try again tomorrow.
I spoke with the lady at the gym and told her I was a little sore. She said 40lbs is too much. She said she uses 5 lb weights. Idk. I think I’ll keep the 40.
Not to be a gatekeeper here (I haven't been lifting so very long myself in the grand scheme of things) but I have no idea why someone would deadlift with 5 lb dumbbells. I'd encourage you to keep going with the empty barbell for starters - I know women who DL 300 lbs.
Edit: 300 lbs being more than my 1RM lol0 -
I thought about using kettlebells, but my gym has limited equipment and doesn’t have them. Thanks everyone for your advice. I’m sore today, but not overly sore! Can’t wait to try again tomorrow.
I spoke with the lady at the gym and told her I was a little sore. She said 40lbs is too much. She said she uses 5 lb weights. Idk. I think I’ll keep the 40.
40 lbs is definitely not too much, unless it's so heavy your form is suffering. Lift like you mean it!1 -
brendanwhite84 wrote: »I thought about using kettlebells, but my gym has limited equipment and doesn’t have them. Thanks everyone for your advice. I’m sore today, but not overly sore! Can’t wait to try again tomorrow.
I spoke with the lady at the gym and told her I was a little sore. She said 40lbs is too much. She said she uses 5 lb weights. Idk. I think I’ll keep the 40.
Not to be a gatekeeper here (I haven't been lifting so very long myself in the grand scheme of things) but I have no idea why someone would deadlift with 5 lb dumbbells. I'd encourage you to keep going with the empty barbell for starters - I know women who DL 300 lbs.
Edit: 300 lbs being more than my 1RM lol
ditto. The empty bar should be more than light enough at the beginning working on form. (And your gym probably also has at least 1 short bar somewhere that's only ~25 lbs if you did want to go lighter).
Starting with dumbbells while trying to learn proper form for a barbell is probably not a great idea (and the only reason to go with weight lighter than the bar would be to work purely on form). If desiring 0 added weight when working purely on form, a broomstick is traditionally used.
Anyone in reasonably not horrible shape should have more than enough strength as beginners to at least deadlift the equivalent of a few bags of groceries without taxing themselves.2 -
I self identify as a powerlifter...lol
Start with just the bar on risers or a lowered squat rack's rails. If you want to deadlift that is. If you don't care, then use a kettlebell or dumbbells or whatever you want.
But the deadlift, done properly, is the King of exercises. You'll use every muscle in your body, and all your nerves will be firing. You'll sleep GREAT afterwards.
Try to find someone who knows what they are doing to help you out. You can also watch any YouTube by Silent Mike...his thing is deadlifts and he knows his stuff. I know him personally, and he's got some good videos for beginners.
Starting Strength is a great read, but I found it pretty dense and not understandable when I was just starting out.
(my street cred = 59 yr old female powerlifter, deadlift PR 292lbs conventional/270 sumo, bench 110lbs, front squat 132 lbs, back squat same)2 -
Also- deadlift is a really, really good lift to do if you are a runner. Weak hamstrings can lead to more injuries and difficulty on uphills (running mainly works the quads - very little for the hamstrings unless you do a LOT of hills)..1
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Also- deadlift is a really, really good lift to do if you are a runner. Weak hamstrings can lead to more injuries and difficulty on uphills (running mainly works the quads - very little for the hamstrings unless you do a LOT of hills)..
I wish I had $5 for every runner that told me they can't deadlift because (1) they will bulk up too much and (2) they have a bad back or something.
I can't stand the "I will bulk up" argument esp from women, seriously do you even know how HARD I work at this? Presuming you will bulk up without really trying is at best dismissive.
I just came back to add though, I did not get much real hamstring development until my coach added in Romanian deadlifts. But now my lovely thighs have gained almost an inch. I am getting stronger every day.4 -
Trap bar deadlift1
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I’m already flexible, but I definitely am working on flexibility too. I do yoga 2-4x a week, and I do cardio 6x a week. I also do body sculpting, total body workout, and a couple of other classes that my gym offers.0
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I thought about using kettlebells, but my gym has limited equipment and doesn’t have them. Thanks everyone for your advice. I’m sore today, but not overly sore! Can’t wait to try again tomorrow.
I spoke with the lady at the gym and told her I was a little sore. She said 40lbs is too much. She said she uses 5 lb weights. Idk. I think I’ll keep the 40.
5's?? Oh hell no, don't listen to her...5 -
Also- deadlift is a really, really good lift to do if you are a runner. Weak hamstrings can lead to more injuries and difficulty on uphills (running mainly works the quads - very little for the hamstrings unless you do a LOT of hills)..
I wish I had $5 for every runner that told me they can't deadlift because (1) they will bulk up too much and (2) they have a bad back or something.
I can't stand the "I will bulk up" argument esp from women, seriously do you even know how HARD I work at this? Presuming you will bulk up without really trying is at best dismissive.
I just came back to add though, I did not get much real hamstring development until my coach added in Romanian deadlifts. But now my lovely thighs have gained almost an inch. I am getting stronger every day.
I think deadlifts are the cure for a bad back, aren't they?
I was having all kinds of back issues but once I strengthened my core with a DL heavy program--no longer a problem.
Since you mentioned RDLs, I wanted to sing their praises for a moment. They are truly my favorite DL, mostly because my goals are just recomping and making sure I keep my booty while working on the last scraps of belly fat, and not powerlifting. I have found that I can lift far heavier and do a lot more reps with RDLs (110# for 5 sets of 5-7 reps) vs. conventional deadlift (I would probably do 90# for the same reps/sets). It's more of an isolation exercise, whereas you are right that convention DLs are the absolute king of lifts.
I also really, really love one-legged RDLs, but go way down to a 40# DB for a "strength" day and probably 25# or so on a "metabolic" day ( I do a full-body bootcamp-type program with either a metabolic, lactic acid, density or strength focus, depending on the day). These are more for developing balance and strength, but they have been very helpful for developing a strong core (and you KNOW you have made some awesome progress when you can bust out a full set perfectly).
OP, please do listen to the advice to start with heavier weights rather than "pink Barbie weights." A 5-lb weight is great for, say, beginners lateral lifts, but you really want to make sure your muscles are challenged and your gym time is used effectively. Whether you do the bar or DBs, 40-45# is a great place to start.
One book that I found to be very helpful when I was beginning was "The New Rules of Lifting for Women." It helps to provide an entire philosophical framework around lifting, and it was written very clearly and was easy to understand. It's a great foundational text.4 -
French_Peasant wrote: »Also- deadlift is a really, really good lift to do if you are a runner. Weak hamstrings can lead to more injuries and difficulty on uphills (running mainly works the quads - very little for the hamstrings unless you do a LOT of hills)..
I wish I had $5 for every runner that told me they can't deadlift because (1) they will bulk up too much and (2) they have a bad back or something.
I can't stand the "I will bulk up" argument esp from women, seriously do you even know how HARD I work at this? Presuming you will bulk up without really trying is at best dismissive.
I just came back to add though, I did not get much real hamstring development until my coach added in Romanian deadlifts. But now my lovely thighs have gained almost an inch. I am getting stronger every day.
I think deadlifts are the cure for a bad back, aren't they? I was having all kinds of back issues but once I strengthened my core with a DL heavy program--no longer a problem.
Since you mentioned RDLs, I wanted to sing their praises for a moment. They are truly my favorite DL, mostly because my goals are just recomping and making sure I keep my booty while working on the last scraps of belly fat, and not powerlifting. I have found that I can lift far heavier and do a lot more reps with RDLs (110# for 5 sets of 5-7 reps) vs. conventional deadlift (I would probably do 90# for the same reps/sets). It's more of an isolation exercise, whereas you are right that convention DLs are the absolute king of lifts.
I also really, really love one-legged RDLs, but go way down to a 40# DB for a "strength" day and probably 25# or so on a "metabolic" day ( I do a full-body bootcamp-type program with either a metabolic, lactic acid, density or strength focus, depending on the day). These are more for developing balance and strength, but they have been very helpful for developing a strong core (and you KNOW you have made some awesome progress when you can bust out a full set perfectly).
OP, please do listen to the advice to start with heavier weights rather than "pink Barbie weights." A 5-lb weight is great for, say, beginners lateral lifts, but you really want to make sure your muscles are challenged and your gym time is used effectively. Whether you do the bar or DBs, 40-45# is a great place to start.
One book that I found to be very helpful when I was beginning was "The New Rules of Lifting for Women." It helps to provide an entire philosophical framework around lifting, and it was written very clearly and was easy to understand. It's a great foundational text.
I was just going to comment on that too. So many people who complain about their back bothering them doing things like running just have a really weak core (not counting those who have had an injury from an accident, etc). And most of the compound lifts will fix that.
I often add some lower weight RDL's/stiff-legged DL's (whichever 60/70/80 lb fixed barbell is quicker to get off the rack) as an accessory to get a little hamstring work during the 2nd superset of my squat days if the chosen glute option isn't getting them much. Planning to try out some cable pull-throughs at next session (I've been testing out glute options - seeing what works best with less setup time/fits better in the space available; glute bridges and hip thrusts are a bit of a PITA in limited time and floor space; even tested the 'glute' machine but I'm much too quad-dominant for it to work well for me).
Ditto on the barbie weights. They may be useful for a starting female who is doing front and side raises, but a waste on anything else.
For OHP and BP, the empty bar might be too heavy starting out. Every gym I've been in has had at least 1 of the short 5' bars though (they are usually only ~25 lbs versus ~45 lbs for the 7' bar).2 -
also recommend kettlebell swings to emphasize or practice the hip hinge movement is beneficial for DLs. With a decent weight and good form of course. None of this crossfit style above the head thing
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Above the head is too scary for me lol0
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Get going with squats, full depth with a 45lb/20kg bar... then move to deadliest. Record yourself and watch later, get a back angle and a side angle. Lightest you can do really is 65lb with 2 10lb bumpers on a bar.1
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Do y’all think dumbbell deadlifts are the same as with a bar?
i've never done any serious stuff with a dumbbell, but the main thing that comes to my mind is with a barbell you can keep the bar 'on' your legs the whole way. personally i feel like that is one of the factors for form, and i'm not sure how i'd make out if i was using dumbbells and didn't have that feedback cue to hold to.
the other hting is, i assume that with dumbbells it never really is 'dead' lifting. like, there's neer a point where the weight is on the floor and you're not involved with it yet. with the barbell, that's always there. you set yourself up, take your grip, and then there's a distinctive step where you 'take the slack' out of the barbell, which helps you to tighten up all over before you begin the real pull. so i think dumbbells would take that part of it out, although idk exactly how you're doing them.
i do like/use kettlebells instead if i can't get a bar. it means putting my hands inside instead of outside, but i still like the straight line up my legs, and i like the 'dead' part of the kettlebell lift.3
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