I've said this before, and I'll say it again. If you aren't training to compete in actual deadlifting comps, then don't bother with traditional straight bar deadlifting. Use a trap bar for deadlifting if you have on available to you. It's a far more natural feeling movement than straight bar deadlifting in the way it truly centers the weight for your body during the lift. I don't think there's even any debating that it's the superior lift in terms of health/overall strength gain potential. People only chit on trap bar deadlifting because it isn't the version used in lifting comps. brb easier on the back, no tearing your shins up, very little to no risk of tearing a bicep if you stay focused on while doing the lift.

If you must do straight bar deadlifting, other than for comp purposes, then stick to double overhanded strapless grip. Using straps/mixed grip for that lift has greatly diminishing gains for the effort put in. Using a grip crutch all the time while straight bar deadlifting is a great way to make your grip/forearm strength noticeably lower than your back/leg strength. Compared to where it should be to be on par, obviously. As the old saying goes, you're only as strong as your weakest muscle.

Lastly, don't fret too much about the weight/going super heavy on deadlifts on a regular basis. You don't ever really need to attempt a legit absolute max out on it - doing sets in the 5-10 rep range is fine. Don't do the lift more than 2x per week. It's way too taxing on the body to go hard on deadlifting beyond that on a regular basis, especially if you're a natty. Again, all of this advice is based on if your personal lifting goals are anything other than to participate in deadlifting comps. Obviously, you're going to need to train for it if you're aiming for that very specific goal.

Agreed. The risk to reward ratio is not worth it, especially if you ht 6'2++
Its a great exercise, but is it worth the risk?

Just pull sumo like I do. This way its not considered a true deadlift and you're "a cheater" to other conventional deadliftcels

Good luck with your back injury goals of 2020Wish I could rep you right now.No matter how good your form is, putting constant pressure on your back like that is no bueno. Eventually it will catch up to you.AgreedExactly man.Exactly. Pure ego lift IMO.

I've tried sumo, for some reason it feels awkward to me.

Not even pro athletes incorporate them into their routine on a regular basis. (inb4 someone posts some random dude ****ing around and maxing out for fun).

Its a great exercise and fun, but all it takes is one ****up which can happen even with good form and your out. For people that have been training for a while(built up a base) and actually have to work for a living not worth it. You can get strong legs without them.

Barbell Back Squats arn't much better. Same thing I wrote above for deadlifts applies here. First of all most people that train let alone the general population lack the mobility to do a proper body weight squat let alone add weight (key mobility not strength). Single leg work is where it's at.

Don’t really do the big 3 anymore
Hack squat machine is better than squat
Dumbbell bench is better than bar
Pull ups and rows do enough for the back without injury

Some good advice here but I disagree with some of it.

Trap bar is fine but you won’t get the same erector/hamstring development. *Maybe* if you can find a very posterior chain-dominant form (trap bar offers alot of flexibility in terms of form). It’ll give you better quad development. OTOH, most people struggle with hamstring development more than quad, which tends to cause or exasperate knee problems - much like how too much pressing and not enough pulling tends to hurt shoulders. Most people tend to be anterior dominant. This generally provides a case for the barbell deadlift over the trap bar deadlift. And that doesn’t mean sumo - it means conventional. Sumo deadlift is generally more similar to trap bar in terms of muscle activation.

The shin tearing on conventional deadlifts can be remedied. Deadlift socks - or even just wearing pants instead of shorts. You don’t even need to drag the bar up your legs - just because Rippetoe insists on having constant friction against your legs, doesn’t mean you have to. Absolutely minimal difference in power generation FME compared to having the bar slightly in front.

Bicep tears only realistically happen in the case of:

- Mixed grip
- Elbow bend (on mixed grip)
- Doing weird jerky chit, not pulling the slack out of the bar before initiating the pull, etc
- Steroid use
- Taking certain OTC or prescription drugs that compromise tendon integrity
- Thick bar deadlifts with massive amounts of weight. I’m talking Strongman level weight, not 315lbs.

The grip thing? Double overhand deadlifts don’t fully utilise your grip. It’s a mechanically disadvantageous position due to bar roll - an artificial crux on grip. Specific grip-strengthening exercises would be better for that. Don’t let a mechanically asinine position for grip hold back your posterior chain development - otherwise, why not just do thick bar deadlifts or deadlifts with Fat Gripz? Because you’re hemorrhaging your overall development potential for the sake of trying to train grip at the same time. Train grip with GRIP exercises, not a POSTERIOR CHAIN *with a little bit of grip* exercise.

Agree with not needing to max out all the time. However, my raging ego prevents me from doing this. *shrug*

Agreed. From a hypertrophy standpoint RDLs are better. I rarely pull from the floor. Maybe 3-5 times a year if I feel like testing myself. I get nothing out of it and it hinders my recovery time. That and squats are just not productive exercises for me.

I tried doing them with about 40-50 kilos / 88-110lbs the other day and my low back just felt it. Probably a lot of technique issues as haven't lifted in years, but just instantly felt stiff and like schit.

If you're in poor shape and have poor posture/injuries it's definitely not worth doing, if only until you sort your schit out. But me, I think that heavy deadlifts/squats are a thing of the past for me. Trying to get back into exercise with mostly fitness stuff...rowing machine, punch-bag, dumbbells for a few compounds and band work for my fcked up everything.

Only got the one body, buckarros, don't fck it over.

Holy **** Kormo lmfao...





Kormo the truth, deadlift till I die and beyond crew

I liked them a lot until I accidently did a rep with bad form, instantly felt I fuked up.
Just do lighter deadlifts and RDl now.

Great post. Too bad this is the Misc where everybody believes that if you pull over 315 you're gonna tAkE a TrIp To SnAp CiTy BrO!!

Well, except the no avi reds that squat 6 plates, pull 7, and bench 5, all while not even training for strength...

BB Deadlifts are pretty of unnecessary for pretty much everyone unless you compete

Hex bar DLs should be the norm.

Heavy Kettlebell swings with good form are good too

One of my favorite lifts tbh

I’ve never tried hex deadlifts. Wish they had a hexbar at my gym and i would try them.

That's the thing, they are so great when done properly but the margin for error and the injury you can sustain can occur with just one bad rep. It happened with me.

I too then thought: "Ok, I'll go light from now one" but then I realize light deadlifts is still a risk and pointless. You want progressive overload and to really shock your CNS, get that posterior chain destroyed.

So it was either do them heavy and properly or stop doing them completely. I chose to stop doing them and to be honest, not much about my body has decrease because of it, and if I could go back in time I'd never have done them. But that's me, if some person can do them perfectly every time then well done.

It's also one of the most brutal exercise for anyone with slightly bad body mechanics for it.

Deadlifts did two great things for me besides being an overall badass lift:

- improved posture. Great lower back workout

- gave me a rock hard ass that chicks dig

How much is that in your avi brah?

U can’t have both long legs and long torso.. one is short in relation to the other unless ur proportions are average

The best deadlifters in the world are all well over 6ft.. deadlifts are the most satisfying lift, hardest and feel the most rewarding due to it

I had problems when I was doing them from the floor so I dropped them but even then I'm 99% sure it was bad form that was the real problem. When the gyms shut down and I had to go back to my home gym I started doing rack pulls without any issues.

In hindsight I realize you can't just neglect any part of your body. Especially your core/lower back. It leads to muscle imbalances which cause instability in other seemingly unrelated lifts which leads to injuries.

If you saw my body you’d see that i do have long legs and torso. I dunno how but i do.

Hook grip FTW.

515 or 520, can't remember for sure off the top of my head. I've been on the RDL bandwagon since late last year, definitely better in terms of mass gained vs recovery. Conventional deads do still have their place, and I still pull 500+ with only doing them a few times this year.

For bodybuilding purposes, I probably agree that RDLs are superior. You get a better hamstring/glute stretch. But building power and strength conventional deadlifts are superior. Hex bars are certainly a decent alternative.

I'd also do it in conjunction with back extensions for a lower back pump and to strengthen that area entirely to prevent injuries and keep the blood flowing there for better recovery, at least from my own experience.

There are infinite ways to alter a deadlift to suit your goals/needs so I don't understand the reason why people hate on it lol. You can pull from a deficit, pull off blocks, do stiff leg, RDLs, sumo, or combine them.

I’ve literally brought the gym to a standstill with my deadlifts.

But if you have a vagina don’t bother op

Squats are way harder

They’re far superior for most simply because you don’t have your shins against the bar.

Generally the dangerous part of deadlifting is going from the floor to right below the knee because most people don’t have the mobility to do that portion of the lift correctly.

Rack pulls are a great alternative for that reason as well.

Core/lower back wise doing things like lunges with a barbell racked on your shoulders like a front squat do great. Turkish get ups, suitcase carries, renegade rows, etc to get good rotational stability. Tons of ways to make sure you’re bullet proof.

I do them and love them but now I do lighter weight and reps of atleast 6. I’m older than most of you.

Going heavy is overrated if you aren’t competing. Jmo. I do a lot of physical therapy on my shoulders and hips. I now do goblet squats on leg day, dumbbell deadlifts on back day. Sometimes do barbell deadlifts light to med.