D E A D L I F T S

roxyyrainy123

codehandle wrote: »

I dread the DeadLift. I'm doing StrongLifts 5x5 and I do warmup work. My warmup is 135lbs now... I walk up to the bar and say to myself... "Oh Lord Almighty, this is my *warm up* weight."

I'm so glad my program is only one set of 5 on alternating 'B' workout days (with a warmup weight raised 3 times).

The deadlift is so easy for me to get wrong and so important for me to keep correct form on, that the one time I missed a rep, I deloaded 20lbs. I've only been lifting since January but I know I should be able to move 2 times my bodyweight as a raw and natural lifter. I'm in no rush and I'm not thinking I'll ever compete, so it's more important to me to avoid injury. I think if you're like me and lifting for either personal reasons or lifting for weight management help... avoiding injury is probably the biggest concern.

But, yeah. Of all the lifts I enjoy the back loaded squat the most (and the squat has given me the most personal benefit for posture and mobility). The bench press is the easiest for me to injure myself on. The OverHead press is the hardest form me to go heavy on. And, that Pendlay Row is the hardest for me to keep form on... I'll actually have to start doing mobility exercises on non-lifting days to loosen up enough to avoid engaging my spinal erectors too much.

I am no expert but I would think if you want to do *more* add dips and chin-ups or maybe some type of dumbbell or kettlebell work. You would have to literally pay me cash to deadlift my full working weight more than one set of five every four days. Now... my warm up weight? That's actually starting to feel really easy... so I've got that going for me which is nice.

Thanks for the advice, I am going to definitely try the StrongLifts 5x5 as a guideline :agree:

cwolfman13

roxyyrainy123 wrote: »

kjm3579 wrote: »

I also use StrongLifts 5x5 -- you should take a look at their workout schedule to see how to alternate lifting on different days to properly allow for recovery -- I fill in between days with cardio.

I'm going to check out the work out schedule for sure. You're the 10th person that has mentioned this. It must be a good guideline :agree:

Even if it's not StrongLifts, I would recommend following an actual program at this stage of the game. StrongLifts is an excellent strength program...but keep in mind, that's exactly what it's designed for...building awesome strength relatively quickly. It is a low rep, heavy weight routine. Also, a lot of people have recovery issues following 5x5 programming while dieting...just something to keep in mind.

A couple other good beginner programs out there are New Rules of Lifting for Women and Strong Curves....these are both good general purpose fitness lifting routines vs pure strength routines.

At any rate, you're going to get a lot more bang for your buck following a proper program...it provides structure and helps you identify when to go up in weight...switching things up, etc and a good program is going to make sure you're hitting everything you're supposed to be hitting. A lot of people who just go in and lift miss things and end up with muscular imbalances and are often at greater risk for injury due to, for example, doing dead lifts every workout.

roxyyrainy123

cwolfman13 wrote: »

roxyyrainy123 wrote: »

kjm3579 wrote: »

I also use StrongLifts 5x5 -- you should take a look at their workout schedule to see how to alternate lifting on different days to properly allow for recovery -- I fill in between days with cardio.

I'm going to check out the work out schedule for sure. You're the 10th person that has mentioned this. It must be a good guideline :agree:

Even if it's not StrongLifts, I would recommend following an actual program at this stage of the game. StrongLifts is an excellent strength program...but keep in mind, that's exactly what it's designed for...building awesome strength relatively quickly. It is a low rep, heavy weight routine. Also, a lot of people have recovery issues following 5x5 programming while dieting...just something to keep in mind.

A couple other good beginner programs out there are New Rules of Lifting for Women and Strong Curves....these are both good general purpose fitness lifting routines vs pure strength routines.

At any rate, you're going to get a lot more bang for your buck following a proper program...it provides structure and helps you identify when to go up in weight...switching things up, etc and a good program is going to make sure you're hitting everything you're supposed to be hitting. A lot of people who just go in and lift miss things and end up with muscular imbalances and are often at greater risk for injury due to, for example, doing dead lifts every workout.

Cool, thanks. I was just checking out the StrongLift and realized it is pretty much focusing on strength which I do want just not as a focus. I think Strong Curves would be right up my alley. I'll check it out now. And, now I am understanding not doing deadlifts every work out session. 7 hours has passed and my muscles are starting to remain tense so the soreness is around the corner tomorrow.. I was high on endorphin's and definitely over ambitious lol.

foursirius

How to Deadlift With Mark Rippetoe | The Art of Manliness: https://youtu.be/4AObAU-EcYE

Here you go. Great tutorial from one of the best.

roxyyrainy123

foursirius wrote: »

How to Deadlift With Mark Rippetoe | The Art of Manliness: https://youtu.be/4AObAU-EcYE

Here you go. Great tutorial from one of the best.

AWESOME. Now it makes sense why you will end up touching or bumping your shin. My form was off thus the unnecessary shaking. Thanks!!

SonyaCele

Wubbie05 wrote: »

I hope you don't mind me jumping in on your thread, I was doing deadlifts today as well. I just LOVE them. But, my question is, do you need to bring the bar all the way back down to the ground? I've read about Romanian Deadlifts and Stiff Leg Deadlifts and I am not sure if one or both, you bring the bar back to the ground, if you're supposed to or not.
This link I found had interesting info about the two, but I could not find if it said to bring the bar back to the ground. Currently, I am doing 60lbs, and stopping close to the ground, but not all the way.
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/rdl-vs-sldl.html/

that depends on what you're doing. typically you will pull the bar from the height of a standard plate, about 8 inches from the floor. but some training i'll stand on a small box and pull (deficit pulls) , other times i'll put the weights up on blocks so i'm pulling from higher (block pulls). It just depends on what you are training that day, most of my training is done at standard plate height.

neaneacc

Deadlifts are great for the legs and butt if they are done correctly. I agree with most of what was said above. My tips are below:
1) first when starting line your feet under the bar so that the bar is about 1/2 way between your heel and toe with your feet about hips length apart. This will feel odd as it means the bar is fairly close to your shins.
2) reach down to the bar, but make sure not to round your back. Your back, shoulders and arms should be relaxed with a slight bend in your knees so that you can reach the bar.
3) push away from the floor using your heels to raise up while pulling your hips forward to meet the bar. It sounds strange but if you think about pushing with your heels over pulling with your arms you will have much better form for this exercise.
4) keep watching to make sure your feet don't move too much as it is fairly common for newbies to lose form when repeating this exercise.
5) do not be afraid to increase the weight on this exercise as it becomes easier as the butt and legs are the biggest muscles in the body and can do the work. Normally, most people give at least 1 to 2 days rest to allow the muscles to recuperate.
Presently I do DL twice a week and normally use 185 lbs to make sure to really stress my muscles.

roxyyrainy123

neaneacc wrote: »

Deadlifts are great for the legs and butt if they are done correctly. I agree with most of what was said above. My tips are below:
1) first when starting line your feet under the bar so that the bar is about 1/2 way between your heel and toe with your feet about hips length apart. This will feel odd as it means the bar is fairly close to your shins.
2) reach down to the bar, but make sure not to round your back. Your back, shoulders and arms should be relaxed with a slight bend in your knees so that you can reach the bar.
3) push away from the floor using your heels to raise up while pulling your hips forward to meet the bar. It sounds strange but if you think about pushing with your heels over pulling with your arms you will have much better form for this exercise.
4) keep watching to make sure your feet don't move too much as it is fairly common for newbies to lose form when repeating this exercise.
5) do not be afraid to increase the weight on this exercise as it becomes easier as the butt and legs are the biggest muscles in the body and can do the work. Normally, most people give at least 1 to 2 days rest to allow the muscles to recuperate.
Presently I do DL twice a week and normally use 185 lbs to make sure to really stress my muscles.

Thanks for this!! This is exactly what I need. I realized I rounded my back near the end of reps

dryan4362

roxyyrainy123 wrote: »

kjm3579 wrote: »

I also use StrongLifts 5x5 -- you should take a look at their workout schedule to see how to alternate lifting on different days to properly allow for recovery -- I fill in between days with cardio.

I'm going to check out the work out schedule for sure. You're the 10th person that has mentioned this. It must be a good guideline :agree:

Great advice... id recommend doing deads no more than 2x per week and try a high volume 8 to 10 rep day for technique and then a moderate heavy 5x5 day to really train.... doing squats and bent over rows or pendly rows will help A LOT.... romanian deads will help glutes and hams fire better always keep ir *kitten* and hips under ur shoulders and above ur elbows and u will be fine

arsoria24

The bar should be about and inch from your ankles/shins with your feet a little bit wider then shoulder width apart.

Talan79

If you liked deadlifts, try good mornings.
I do deadlifts w/ 45lbs, good mornings w/ 40.
So you may want to drop the weight by 5lbs.

jmaidan

You'll find it more stable if you have the bar half way between your shin and your toe... Right over the mid foot. Arms slack like ropes, back neutral, don't lean back at the top. Really focus on form, Deadlift has the potential to hurt your back.