For those who don't deadlift you continue to miss out. I've been deadlifting for 2.5 years, but I am still amazed at how many muscles this lift hits.

Recently I've been working up to heavy 1x3 after a high rep routine. Whenever I do this I usually get DOMS from the change in routine. The DOMS I experience from deadlifting basically go from my traps to my hamstrings and most places in between. We all know DOMS is not a sign of progress or what we look for out of lifting and is not my point of the post, but it provided a human map of every muscle it hit in this case.

Point being, deadlifts hit a ton of muscles and should be incorporated in most routines. What a great lift.

:tu:

Hardly anyone at my gym deadlifts. From talking to a lot of them, there seems to be a pretty widespread fear of injury. Almost every time I do 'em I get comments like, "my lower back hurts just watching you" and "you're gonna get a hernia doing that". I dunno--I feel like deadlifts are helping me prevent serious back problems when I get older!

It's such a killer lift. Definitely my favorite. Yeeeaaaargggh! :bb:

No doubt that this is a killer exercises, I recently incorporated the dead into my routine and the day after I was feeling it in my Glutes, Inner quads and hams. great move.

Is it strange that I've noticed a growth in my my arms since I started doing the deadlift?

Triceps, biceps...etc, etc....

I love it too.....and frankly, if you do it properly....I believe its one of those exercises where its hard to hurt yourself.

Unless of course you go too far.

Is it strange that I've noticed a growth in my my arms since I started doing the deadlift?

Not strange. This is a common reaction to the deadlift; it often occurs with squats too.

:dreamy:I LOVE deads. It's something about getting that weight off the floor on an ME lift:bb: I feel like something is wrong if I don't incorporate deads into my weekly workouts.

I love teh Deadlifts they are so fun I love racking all that weight on it and just lifting balls to the wall.

Got a question though I have recently hit my new High in Deads 225 w00t! and im supposed to do 1x5 but my grip just wont hold out i can do about 2 maybe 3 reps then when i start doing the next rep I can feel the bar slipping so i have to bring down the weight. I am using what i think is called Double Overhand grip. I feel i could still do more weight if only my grip would hold out. Should I try Mixed Grip? Which hand do you have facing which way? Im right handed if that helps.

Also is the bar allowed to touch your shins on the way down may be even graze them?

thanks in advance for the help

Got a question though I have recently hit my new High in Deads 225 w00t! and im supposed to do 1x5 but my grip just wont hold out i can do about 2 maybe 3 reps then when i start doing the next rep I can feel the bar slipping so i have to bring down the weight. I am using what i think is called Double Overhand grip. I feel i could still do more weight if only my grip would hold out. Should I try Mixed Grip? Which hand do you have facing which way? Im right handed if that helps.

Mixed grip will help, yes. I alternate hands with each set but find that it's easier when I have my right palm facing away and my left palm facing toward me (I'm right handed). Another alternative is straps or hooks.

I love teh Deadlifts they are so fun I love racking all that weight on it and just lifting balls to the wall.

Got a question though I have recently hit my new High in Deads 225 w00t! and im supposed to do 1x5 but my grip just wont hold out i can do about 2 maybe 3 reps then when i start doing the next rep I can feel the bar slipping so i have to bring down the weight. I am using what i think is called Double Overhand grip. I feel i could still do more weight if only my grip would hold out. Should I try Mixed Grip? Which hand do you have facing which way? Im right handed if that helps.

Also is the bar allowed to touch your shins on the way down may be even graze them?

thanks in advance for the help

You could pull 200 for reps to help your grip catch up. I'm in your boat at the moment, and that's what I'm doing. "Starting Strength" said that the mixed grip can put unnecessary strain on the shoulder of the supinated hand, and straps would leave your grip in the dust.

That seems like a good idea but how i would i change my setsxreps accordingly? If it helps lets say the weight im going to work with would be 205.

Also does anybody have insight on the bar grazing the shins

Should I try Mixed Grip? Which hand do you have facing which way? Im right handed if that helps.
Give it a try. Alternate the grip on every set as J_W mentioned.
Another thing that helps me is resetting after every rep. So deadlift, put the bar down, deadlift, etc. instead of just tapping it on the ground (if you do that). This also helps with form.
Also is the bar allowed to touch your shins on the way down may be even graze them?
Yeah, it's fine. Really depends on how you're built I think. Just wear sweatpants or long socks to avoid scraping up your shins. :)

That seems like a good idea but how i would i change my setsxreps accordingly? If it helps lets say the weight im going to work with would be 205.

Also does anybody have insight on the bar grazing the shins

Bar grazing the shins is fine. Most people who deadlift regularly will have permanent scars that always get reopened.

You could also transition to the hook grip when your regular grip fails. Are you resting the barbell on the ground after every rep? If you are and you should be, then reset your grip then.

I find that the mixed grip is harder for me than both palms inward.

But then again....I'm only at 260 lbs right now, so the 'grip' isn't a problem.....yet.

I like deadlifts too. Partly because it's the exercise where I move the most weight and it's awesome seeing all that weight on the bar (although "all that weight" isn't much in my case, 205lbs).

I've seen pretty much only one other person doing deadlifts at my gym. Although to be fair, I usually go to the gym somewhere between 8pm-10pm when populations are low (but this is also the hardcore crowd, and I still don't see any of them doing deadlifts). This guy is usually supersetting his deadlifts with clean-and-press :eek:. About 275lbs (124kg) for the one and 135lbs (61kg) for the other. Merely watching him do this makes me want to fall over and die from exhaustion. :eek:

Another reason I do them is because...

:tu:

Hardly anyone at my gym deadlifts. From talking to a lot of them, there seems to be a pretty widespread fear of injury. Almost every time I do 'em I get comments like, "my lower back hurts just watching you" and "you're gonna get a hernia doing that". I dunno--I feel like deadlifts are helping me prevent serious back problems when I get older!

...of this. I feel that doing them properly and regularly will strengthen my back to help prevent injuries. I do understand why people are so afraid of them though. If you mess up a back exercise and end up screwing up your back, you're done. Nothing you can do until your back heals/rehabs. Plus having a messed up back makes normal, everyday activities hard, so there's the extra paranoia for that.

I think these people just don't fully grasp what "proper form" really means and what it's function is.

Bar grazing the shins is fine. Most people who deadlift regularly will have permanent scars that always get reopened.

You could also transition to the hook grip when your regular grip fails. Are you resting the barbell on the ground after every rep? If you are and you should be, then reset your grip then.

Yeah I been having to do that ever since i started going above 200.

I agree, deadlifts are fun, and they work ya hard. how do you guys do your deadlifts? I like stiff leg deads becuase I feel it works my back a lot more, but obviously it doesnt hit the legs as much. Squats and stiff leg deads seem to be a good combo. Any opinions?

Stiff leg for me too.

But then again, I haven't been doing it long.

Krhis107...Deads don't have to be a "killer" exercise.

I Dead frequently but I don't go max every session...more like max once every 2 or 3 weeks.

I "wave" cycle.


(By the way,posters, you'd think somebody by now would have invented a shin guard item for when you're sandpapering yourself with Deads. I can picture in my mind several ways of doing this. Maybe this is where I could make a million......chuckle,chuckle....but there's probably one out there allready.)

In response to a few posts and the original... Deadlifting is my favorite of the core lifts and my strongest (510 lbs). Its rare to see people doing it at the gym, but these days you find so many "looks lifters" that people doing a lift like deadlift end up few and far between. Squat and deadlift both require a decent amount of conditioning before you can really start lifting and acquire proper form at higher weights and what I feel happens with alot of people is that they jump in balls to the wall with no conditioning of their lower back and they form bad habits in their form because they are using a weight that they cant fully support. If your grip is running out I'd recommend getting straps. I only use them for deadlift though, any other dumbell or straightbar weight I go regular on so that I can continue to strengthen my grip, but for one or two lifts it makes sense since there really isn't any correlation between the strength of your fingers and the strength of your quads. On a final note, try experimenting with sumo and conventional style, one will probably be better than the other for you. Well that wasn't quite final, but as for Smuhh's comment, my suggestion, is have your Bench/Squat day and your Deadlift/Clean day then do the straight leg DL on the bench day as an auxiliary lift for your regular deadlift. and to compliment your bench you could do incline/decline on your DL/Clean day.

(By the way,posters, you'd think somebody by now would have invented a shin guard item for when you're sandpapering yourself with Deads. I can picture in my mind several ways of doing this. Maybe this is where I could make a million......chuckle,chuckle....but there's probably one out there allready.)

I use tall socks. Looks dorky but works, and they only cost $0.49 =)

Krhis107...Deads don't have to be a "killer" exercise.

I Dead frequently but I don't go max every session...more like max once every 2 or 3 weeks.

I "wave" cycle.


(By the way,posters, you'd think somebody by now would have invented a shin guard item for when you're sandpapering yourself with Deads. I can picture in my mind several ways of doing this. Maybe this is where I could make a million......chuckle,chuckle....but there's probably one out there allready.)


I have a huge gash on my leg that will certainly get ripped open on my next deadlifting day but I'm just going to use soccer shin guards.

If you read the chapter in Starting Strength, he mentions proper gym attire to be a pair of non-baggy sweatpants and a well-fit T-Shirt to protect your skin from abrasions. (No Zubas and wife-beaters, ha ha ha) IIRC he mentions the bar should be in contact with your legs during the entire lift.