why are my squats heavier than deadlifts

goldenbeaut
goldenbeaut Posts: 47 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Hi all!
I've been lifting for a few years now, always keeping detailed notes of each workout. lately i have been breaking PR's and lifting higher numbers than i ever have. i've noticed that for some reason, my squat numbers are always a bit higher than deadlifts. for example my squat PR is 160 for 3 reps and my deadlift PR is 155 for 7 reps and i have attempted that deadlift PR but have not been able to do as many reps again, so i havn't moved forward yet on that.
but i'm wondering why is my squat always higher and quicker for me to move up? i always thought deadlifts were supposed to be higher and a sign of overall strength.

Replies

  • Scotty2HotPie
    Scotty2HotPie Posts: 146 Member
    edited May 2019
    7 Reps for 155lbs equates to a higher 1 Rep Max (186lbs) than 3 Reps for 160lbs (1 Rep Max 170lbs).

    Looks like you're doing just fine. Also, there's no reason to worry if one lift is lagging behind another. As long as you're progressing in both lifts, that's all that matters.
  • goldenbeaut
    goldenbeaut Posts: 47 Member
    @Scotty2HotPie thank you for explaining that! i was wondering if maybe that meant i had an imbalance some where, like my back isnt strong enough to support a higher deadlift so maybe i should be training back more or doing some exercises to bring it all into balance.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    If it is the case that your squat allows for more upright back than deadlift, the mere act of doing the DL will slowly but surely improve the back for it.

    It could also be that perhaps you could pull a stronger DL using sumo with straighter back, if that is indeed the reason for the difference.

    But even if that is the case, if strictly higher numbers isn't the goal but working certain muscles is - may stick with what you got and the difference between them.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited May 2019
    There are many factors such as experience, volume, leverages, body proportions, how much musculature motor recruitment that is involved that will determine how much force you will produce on a lift.

    As mentioned above your dead is higher than your squat on any rep calculator.

    It's not as common but its certainly isn't unheard of by any means. Ray Williams at this year's Arnold squatted 1080bs and deadlifted 827lb raw. He broke the unofficial IPF world worg 2452lbs. So I would hazard he measures well on overall strength ;).
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,069 Member
    heybales wrote: »
    If it is the case that your squat allows for more upright back than deadlift, the mere act of doing the DL will slowly but surely improve the back for it.

    It could also be that perhaps you could pull a stronger DL using sumo with straighter back, if that is indeed the reason for the difference.

    But even if that is the case, if strictly higher numbers isn't the goal but working certain muscles is - may stick with what you got and the difference between them.

    I used to be the same and I read it's fairly common depending on your physiology. Switching to sumo allowed me to DL more and in turn enhanced my conventional DL as well. My DL is now higher than my squat, but not by a huge amount.

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