Are deadlifts worth the risk? (srs thread)

[sillydawg]

I was at the gym, and I talked to a power lifter benching 500lbs raw. and 700 something with the benching vest. I asked him his dead lift and squat, and he said he squatted 500+ but stopped dead lifting at 320 something. Saying by the time you're in your 60's you'd have crushed disks and a horrible back.

Hodgetwins don't believe in dead lifting because of the risks But Elliot Hulse does. (I get a lot of advice from them.)


I wanted to get some misc opinions to decide if I should leave them out of my lifting.

[Ryejdd]

do it *******

[naich]

if you look like that at 16 just keep doing what your doing, you obviously know whats up.
also, they offer a different type of gain. sure they grow some muscle and strengthen your hamstrings/back/forarms...but the main reason i deadlift is simply to deadlift more.

[webcam]

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't a squat more potentially risky for the back than a deadlift due to compressive forces? thats what every resource i've read seems to say

[Kleurplaat]

everyone is always taught that lifting anything with your back = evil and will kil you. the reality is that we only preach that to everyone because no-one knows how to lift with proper form and no1 even lifts anyway. Deadlifting properly will only make everything involved in the deadlifting stronger, it's not going to magically phuk you up. Just like the bench isnt going to destroy your shoulders if done properly and squats don't kill your knees if done properly.
Also realize that what applies to world class lifters won't always apply to you. Thing is these guys are probably (lets be real here) deadlifting well over 1.5 times as much as the majority of the population will ever lift, that's a lot less strain on the body aswell.

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't a squat more potentially risky for the back than a deadlift due to compressive forces? thats what every resource i've read seems to say

The spine can withstand amazing amounts of compressive force actually with no problems. The 'risk' with squats is a chit ton of shearing force if you bend over mid-rep and try to 'goodmorning' (not really since a properly done goodmorning isnt actually bad for your back) the weight up.

[RunThenRunMore]

If I didn't deadlift then my lower days would just be squats.... I do deadlifts because they're fun at the end of the day.

[sillydawg]

if you look like that at 16 just keep doing what your doing, you obviously know whats up.
also, they offer a different type of gain. sure they grow some muscle and strengthen your hamstrings/back/forarms...but the main reason i deadlift is simply to deadlift more.

Thanks man, and yeah I know the gain you're talking about... More kinda knowing how to use your body altogether

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't a squat more potentially risky for the back than a deadlift due to compressive forces? thats what every resource i've read seems to say

everyone is always taught that lifting anything with your back = evil and will kil you. the reality is that we only preach that to everyone because no-one knows how to lift with proper form and no1 even lifts anyway. Deadlifting properly will only make everything involved in the deadlifting stronger, it's not going to magically phuk you up. Just like the bench isnt going to destroy your shoulders if done properly and squats don't kill your knees if done properly.
Also realize that what applies to world class lifters won't always apply to you. Thing is these guys are probably (lets be real here) deadlifting well over 1.5 times as much as the majority of the population will ever lift, that's a lot less strain on the body aswell.


The spine can withstand amazing amounts of compressive force actually with no problems. The 'risk' with squats is a chit ton of shearing force if you bend over mid-rep and try to 'goodmorning' (not really since a properly done goodmorning isnt actually bad for your back) the weight up.

Lots of good points, thanks.

If I didn't deadlift then my lower days would just be squats.... I do deadlifts because they're fun at the end of the day.

same lol.

[henrycole]

farmers walks are far supperior to deadlifts.

[jakobi78]

been deadlifting for a long time and my back is still solid...never have major pain

[stilllmatic]

Just spend time learning proper form. So many people do deads incorrectly. Even on the misc. When you correct them you get some smart ass comment like "derp I deadlift 500 lbs I think I know what I'm doing". lol ok.

[tk217]

You don't have to "lift heavy" every ****ing day if you're goal is health.

Some people are insane about this... omg if I am not dead lifting 800 lbs I'm losing.

Injury is the #1 way to lose the most strength.

[jakobi78]

we go to the gym, lifts weights to make our body strong
if u go to the gym to get injured, then something is wrong...fix it.....

the reason why people get injured is

horrible form
imbalance muscles

[azazelo]

I have tried working out with and without deadlifts. When I was doing deadlifts my back felt much much better. Same with squats, knees felt much better.

[BicepOmnivore]

The deadlift is quite frankly an archaic exercise. There are plenty of replacement movements that target the same muscle groups and are a lot safer for your overall health.

[Pandaz619]

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't a squat more potentially risky for the back than a deadlift due to compressive forces? thats what every resource i've read seems to say

your spinal column and interverterbral discs are actually made to withstand a massive amount of compressive forces, not so much for shear forces. Deadlift puts alot of shear stress on the discs, and theres also the risk of your back extensors relaxing, which happens when you flex your spinal colum at 50 degrees. Relaxing any muscles will start to force the ligaments to carry the load which will cause a rupture or bulge. This can happen during a heavy rep when your form goes out the window.

so take home message, no you dont have to dead lift, most people think its a back exercise, it primarily uses the hip as movement, so its mainly your lower back and lower extremities, dont know why people think its going to give people a ****ing hyoggeee back, in terms of growth there are other exercises to promote hypertrophy in the lower extremities, lower back, and trapezius

[jakobi78]

learn the basics, correct your form first...

[Mattash2g]

The amount of retardation is mind boggling

[CommonPheasant]

I'd say unless you're a competitive power lifter you don't need to be going for 1RM's and 5RM's all the time. That should reduce a lot of the injury risk.

[jakobi78]

The deadlift is quite frankly an archaic exercise. There are plenty of replacement movements that target the same muscle groups and are a lot safer for your overall health.

you sound like a bitch

[stilllmatic]

If you spend time learning proper form and drilling it in you should be good.

[hellbilly1912]

Just do it don't be a pussy.

But srs deadlifts aren't necessarily required to get big but they strengthen just about every muscle you've got. I like dat ****.

[Negligence]

Only do rack pulls here. Some things aren't worth the risk.

[webcam]

everyone is always taught that lifting anything with your back = evil and will kil you. the reality is that we only preach that to everyone because no-one knows how to lift with proper form and no1 even lifts anyway. Deadlifting properly will only make everything involved in the deadlifting stronger, it's not going to magically phuk you up. Just like the bench isnt going to destroy your shoulders if done properly and squats don't kill your knees if done properly.
Also realize that what applies to world class lifters won't always apply to you. Thing is these guys are probably (lets be real here) deadlifting well over 1.5 times as much as the majority of the population will ever lift, that's a lot less strain on the body aswell.


The spine can withstand amazing amounts of compressive force actually with no problems. The 'risk' with squats is a chit ton of shearing force if you bend over mid-rep and try to 'goodmorning' (not really since a properly done goodmorning isnt actually bad for your back) the weight up.

Maybe I worded that wrong, I was more wondering if a squat done with BAD FORM could be worse than a DL done with bad form as that's what i've seemed to gather

[stilllmatic]

Only do rack pulls here. Some things aren't worth the risk.

Rack pulls are the single most overrated exercise in existence.

[eloMole]

hodge twins dont deadlift because of problems with their lower backs

[Spetznaaz]

Hmm i'm confused now.. I heard deadlifts, with proper form were actually good for you and helped prevent against injury... pls confirm.

[Jw9thwonder]

everything comes with risk

you could be curling your 5lb dumbells toning your arms like a ******* and boom cerebral hemorrhage

[vikingbro]

hodge twins dont deadlift because of problems with their lower backs

they have said that even if their backs where fine they wouldn't do them

[Pandaz619]

Maybe I worded that wrong, I was more wondering if a squat done with BAD FORM could be worse than a DL done with bad form as that's what i've seemed to gather

it depends on the forces acting upon the discs. if you have more weight on top of you while doing a squat and your upper body is not in a upright position and is leaning forward, that would mean shear force is increased, if youre pulling alot of weight with a rounded back but not as much as weight as the squat, than there is more shear force on your discs with the squat than the deadlift.

[Jiwa]

With perfect form, and proper flexibility, I think that deadlifts are a great exercise. The problem is a lot of people will go heavy on them before obtaining proper flexibility and practicing their form to perfection on lower weights. It's an exercise where it's really important to leave your ego at the door, don't try and cheat a bit to get 20 pounds more on your PR, just do it as heavy as you can without sacrificing any form. Also got to remember the body isn't made to last forever.