Deadlifts for leg mass??? Can I use deads for the leg mass?

Hello all.


I have a question, can I use deads as the only exercise for the leg mass?

During the deads the legs are bent and they do start the lift.
Yes, range of motion is 1/3 which is not very good. Howeever I wonder if the muscle needs to work through the full ROM at all to see the growth. After all sprinters have large quads and the sprinting is using only about 1/3 of the legs ROM!

After all, you dont need full ROM for traps/forearms/abs/lower back - so why should the quads be different?

Sure the results might not be as good as the squat, but I am trying to go on a super super abriviated program and focus on the most important lifts.

I was thinking would 10-20+ sets of heavy deads (315-450ish) be good for quad mass?

I really dislike the squat because of its techniqality and my body proportions/neurological factors.


I can dead 470 - raw. I cant squat more than 330ish. I figure that 400s of pounds for 1/3 (of squat ROM) would be alright - especially if I add volume.

I am trying to see what a super abbriviated program can do
(I want to see what happens if I do deadlifts and db benches only)

So if I lift a total workload of 10,000 pounds for the deadlift in a workout, will it be alright for my legs?

Thank you very much.

Squat is way overrated. Deadlift beats the squat hands down.


please reply!

thank you!

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Droner [/i]
[B]Squat is way overrated. Deadlift beats the squat hands down.
[/B][/QUOTE]

I think you answered your own question with that statement. I don't agree that Deadlifts are better for building leg mass, but they are better IMO as an overall mass builder. I actually do em Stiff Leg style, so I hit my hams and lower back better - but I'd imagine if you could set up a platform a foot or two high, you'd be able to get a full Squat in anyway, if you lowered the bar past your feet. Dunno if this is safe, but I'd stick to Squats for direct leg work.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Ihateeveryone [/i]
[B]I think you answered your own question with that statement. I don't agree that Deadlifts are better for building leg mass, but they are better IMO as an overall mass builder. I actually do em Stiff Leg style, so I hit my hams and lower back better - but I'd imagine if you could set up a platform a foot or two high, you'd be able to get a full Squat in anyway, if you lowered the bar past your feet. Dunno if this is safe, but I'd stick to Squats for direct leg work. [/B][/QUOTE]


More specifically, are deads OK for leg mass (provided I do enough deads). Sure they arent as good as squat for the legs,
but will I expereince growth in my legs if I focus A LOT (30-60 sets of deads per week) on the deads only?

thank you!!!

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Droner [/i]
[B]but will I expereince growth in my legs if I focus A LOT (30-60 sets of deads per week) on the deads only?

[/B][/QUOTE]

no; that's too much

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by amusclehead [/i]
[B]no; that's too much [/B][/QUOTE]


the sets are NOT to failure and are very low rep. 1-5.

And If I do overtrain, if I do less sets of deads - will my quads grow?


thanks!

Fill me in. I'm trying to imagine how you would do 60 sets of deads in a week. I mean. If you did 5 sets a day 7 days a week thats 35 sets.

Next week I will be starting a new program that is based on the deadlift.

Much like yourself, only not as strong, I can deadlift much more than I can squat. So I decided to see how dropping the squat would affect me.

The only difference is that I will be using a trap bar. I will try only doing trap bar deadlifts for my legs, aside from calf work, to see what happens.

From what I have read the trap bar deadlift can be as effective as the squat in building leg mass, especially for those of us who don't seem to be doing well with squat.

My suggestion is to just do it and see what happens.

Waaaay too much. 5 sets a week of Deads is enough for most people. Doing that many sets a weeks is overkill and you definitely won't be getting enough rest for your body.

Eh, in the three weeks that I have been deadlifting, I've put half an inch on my thighs.

ok deadlifts are great
and they can help your legs
but I wouldn't put the burden of leg development solely on deads

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Kane Fan [/i]
[B]ok deadlifts are great
and they can help your legs
but I wouldn't put the burden of leg development solely on deads [/B][/QUOTE]

If I am able to tolerate 20-60 sets of deads, a week

and NOT overtrain. Would my thighs grow?

thank you!

Deads and squats. You need both!

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Droner [/i]
[B]If I am able to tolerate 20-60 sets of deads, a week

and NOT overtrain. Would my thighs grow?

thank you! [/B][/QUOTE]

No. Absolutely not. There is no reason to do that many, doing this will keep you from growing. For you cause muscle growth, the training you do has to be stressfull enough to create small "tears" in the muscle fiber. When you recover properly you basically fill in the tears and grow bigger. The key here is proper recovery. It takes time. If you are properly stressing the muscle it will take longer than one day to repair itself.

By training so often you are probably doing two things. You are either trying to do too many sets and are not training intensely enough to stimulate growth. Or if you are properly stimulating the muscle but working everyday you are not giving your body enough time to actually grow any bigger before tearing it up again. You will likely lose muscle doing. Your muscle will break itself done trying to repair the rest of it.


Understand this. You do not grow while lifting. You grow while resting. You grow while sleeping. Lifting more does not mean growing more.


Not enough rest = No growth

Period. There is no exception to this. None.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Droner [/i]
[B]If I am able to tolerate 20-60 sets of deads, a week

and NOT overtrain. Would my thighs grow?

thank you! [/B][/QUOTE]

Double the weight you're using and do one set of 6-10 reps once a week and I guarantee you will grow more than 20-60 sets a week.

let's put it this way, if you are "able" to do 20-60 sets of deads per week, you are not going heavy enough.

I do 60-70 sets for my whole body in a week. Bench, deads, squat, everything. Just because you don't have the symptoms of overtraining doesn't mean you're not training too much.

[QUOTE=D4rkhorse;428831371]I do 60-70 sets for my whole body in a week. Bench, deads, squat, everything. Just because you don't have the symptoms of overtraining doesn't mean you're not training too much.[/QUOTE]

This thread is from 200-****ing-3. 6.5 years old.

I'm sure OP is eagerly awaiting your response.

I don't think it's appropriate to compare DL and squats.

[QUOTE=7000rpmisheaven;1547911]

Understand this. You do not grow while lifting. You grow while resting. You grow while sleeping. Lifting more does not mean growing more.


Not enough rest = No growth

Period. There is no exception to this. None.[/QUOTE]

^^^^This...

[QUOTE=Uncle Ben;428851051]This thread is from 200-****ing-3. 6.5 years old.

I'm sure OP is eagerly awaiting your response.[/QUOTE]

lol.....i didnt notice that, thank you..

I'm just curious I I been lifting like 4 months now I'm not shure if I'm doing enough for my legs and could use advice im doing squats and fro t squats leg curls caft raise but my upper bodys geting a lot like chest push ups flat press incline press back bbrows db rows dead lifts for shoulders shoulder press latrail raise with bent flys tricep extentions with tricep curls and ezbar curls with db curls rist curls reverse curls I'm trying to hit every angle on the body in a full body routine I do this every othere day it takes 45mins to a hour I'm doing pyramids sets with legs 15/13/11upper 12/10/8are my legs getting enough or should I ad leg extentions or scrap that and do lounges any infoe would help

Deadlifts work a lot of the posterior Chain and they do work the quads for sure. you might want something to hit your quads good too! I suppose if you absolutely hate doing squats you can find variations but you should try and get some good compound lifts for your quads. Leg press or maybe hack squats could be a good alternative but just keep that in mind.

I hope OP is dead in a ditch after all of the stupid questions he asked

Yes, especially sumo, sumo hits the legs a lot