Anyone here gain good size without doing deadlifts?

[fmrmarineinbiz]

I'm gonna go way out on a limb here, and say something totally unorthodox, and against bro-wisdom/bro-science. You can also do barbell hack squats. They're like a hybrid of squats, and deads. Less lower back strain when done with good form, harder to use bad form, really blast the quads, and hit the back, and traps, and upper body.

Here's a really good article on em:

http://www.straighttothebar.com/2007...ack_squat.html

[Hanzou]

I'm gonna go way out on a limb here, and say something totally unorthodox, and against bro-wisdom/bro-science. You can also do barbell hack squats. They're like a hybrid of squats, and deads. Less lower back strain when done with good form, harder to use bad form, really blast the quads, and hit the back, and traps, and upper body.

Here's a really good article on em:

http://www.straighttothebar.com/2007...ack_squat.html

I never found the hack to do much for my back. It really did a number on my quads, i would call it more of a back squat substitute then a deadlift sub.

[seriouslifter]

I don't think my lower back is weak. I can do reverse hyperextensions for 20 reps easily with a 25 lb plate held against my chest. I can also stiff-leg deadlift 165 lbs for 5 reps and that is without going to failure.

ur lower back is weak u cant do deads and u cant do squats. period

[Blindead]

Really doubt it. People on here really pull **** out of their asses when they talk about the hormonal response to squats and deadlifts.

I don't think my lower back is weak. I can do reverse hyperextensions for 20 reps easily with a 25 lb plate held against my chest. I can also stiff-leg deadlift 165 lbs for 5 reps and that is without going to failure.

That is exceptionally weak. I consider my deadlifts to be just getting out of the weak territory and I warm up with 135.

[Niblixdark]

deadlifts are prob my best mass builder for overall growth esp back

[BC02]

i don't barbell squat anymore either because of the pressure from the bar but i do the v-squat machine as a substitute. I already do other exercises for my lower back.

ha ha you already dont squat and now you want to make an excuse not to deadlift.......wow........

[KurtyJ99]

I've been training for around 8 years but seldom did deadlifts. Deadlifts put too much strain in my lower back once I go over 135 lbs when I lower the bar below kneecap level. I probably did deadlifts for 3 weeks and then quit and then went back to them for 1 week and then quit. I try not to let the bar touch my knee caps and shins when doing the exercise but sometimes the bar hits my shins and it hurts and once it hit my kneecap on the way down. I have no problem doing deadlifts on the free motion step up cable machine since the handles can be at my sides during deadlifting but I already maxed out the 200 lb stack and the handles aren't low enough so it's more like a rack pull than a standard deadlift when I'm using that machine. Is not deadlifting holding me back from gaining weight?

Um your sig say build muscle.

Deadlifts build muscle.

[KyleAaron]

ur lower back is weak u cant do deads and u cant do squats. period

Or rather, you can do them but with less weight than people with no lower back problems. And in doing them, your weak lower back will become stronger.

I have a weak lower back. Squats and deadlifts make it stronger. I am never going to set powerlifting records or be a professional bodybuilder, but I can be stronger than I am, and stronger than someone who avoids squats and deadlifts.

I have a lumbar scoliosis. With the advice of a physiotherapist, I squat and deadlift. When I do not squat and deadlift, I wake up each morning with my lower back very painfully cramped up, and it takes a 15-30 minute walk and 10-20 minutes of stretching to make me able to function properly for the rest of the day. When I squat and deadlift, I'm fine, no pain at all.

In answer to the original poster, no single exercise is desperately vital. There are always other things you can do. But some exercises are more effective at improving size, strength and flexibility than others, squats and deadlifts among them. And those exercises are generally fcking hard. Which is why most lifters avoid them. Is it the pain or the effort you dislike? Be honest with yourself.

If you have pain at any time during a workout, see a physiotherapist. If you're not in enough pain to go to the physio, you're not in enough pain to have an excuse not to do that exercise. Lift the weight, or go to the physio.

[Juggernaut33]

No. Deadlifts and squats are primarily what took me from 130 pounds to 200. Learn how to deadlift properly, and get away from using machines so much.

I agree with this; deads and squats have added a ton of mass to my frame as well.

[xSeongminx]

I've been able to get away without doing deads and squats for the past few years and have gone from about 120 to 170 lbs. This was only taking protein as well.

As I've learned, deads and squats are crucial because they stimulate muscle growth. In addition, they don't make you look like me (Johnny Bravo). My legs are tiny compared to my upper body and I regret not taking deads and squats seriously from the beginning. Trust me, incorporate the two into your back/leg workout.

[klir_2m]

I don't think my lower back is weak. I can do reverse hyperextensions for 20 reps easily with a 25 lb plate held against my chest. I can also stiff-leg deadlift 165 lbs for 5 reps and that is without going to failure.

20 hyperextensions with 25 lb plate is not a substitute for deadlifting several hundred pounds. And 165 lbs is like first-month-of-training novice territory. Besides, deadlifts are far from just lower back, nearly every muscle in your body gets hit to some degree at some point in the lift.

I doubt very many people who are truly "huge" got there without doing deadlifts. As far as it being "required"? A lot of people say no lift is required, and in the case of the deadlift, this is true.. if you don't mind limiting your gains and preventing yourself from developing your maximum potential strength and mass.

[theshoupguy]

So wait... you've been training for over 8 years, but deadlifting 135 hurts your back?



Form must've been hellishly awful.
...or your lower back has been completely neglected over the last 8 years.

[seriouslifter]

deadlifts FTW i cant wait for back day!!