Are deadlifts worth the risk? (srs thread)

[waystid]

lol at pussies ITT. Have fun never being strong. If you bench more than you squat or DL then you are without a doubt lazy and weak

[jakobi78]

Rack pulls are the single most overrated exercise in existence.

not sure if serious...they are excellent back builder, esp upper back

[Negligence]

Rack pulls are the single most overrated exercise in existence.

For bb purposes, they are better for back development than deadlifts. And less likely to result in injury if you're doing them just below the knee.

[kbrown225]

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.

idk OP, been feeling the same way lately

[RevolutionMuscl]

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.

I can see why you're red.

[concept]

Of course deadlifts are worth it. Just watch your form and always do a weight that you can handle; it's too cringe worthy to watch lifters load up the bar and roundback their way for a half rep.

[jakobi78]

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.

even with perfect form, our lower back is not build to lift heavy ass weights as first or second time without getting hurt....you need to build or strengthen your core first then proceed to lift heavy

[stilllmatic]

not sure if serious...they are excellent back builder, esp upper back

Completely serious. Biggest ego lift there is. Especially people who place the bar at knee level or even higher, you're doing yourself no favors. Useless exercise. Not even the best secondary movement for the dead lift, would be way more beneficial to do deficits for most people.

[oldstock]

Every time I've heard someone use the "I don't want to screw up my joints" argument, it's always in reference to a lower body lift. It's broscience, and it's a convenient excuse to avoid lifts that are generally less enjoyable.

[RevolutionMuscl]

I actually think after doing deadlifts for awhile strengthening your entire back, you LOWER your risk of injury. I've been deadlifting for 7 years, all the while I worked in warehousing and then as a delivery truck driver, first delivering soda, then kegs of beer. Kegs weigh 165 pounds each and I was delivering 70-80 of them a day, which did involve picking them up and stacking them 2. sometimes even 3 high. Not once have I had a back injury or back pain. I attribute much of this to my years of deadlifting.

Saw lots of injuries in my co-workers doing the same job.

[amikaelmorris]

i like how the standard response to this is "there are other safer exercises for development" completely ignoring the idea that not everyone trains for pure hypertrophy. sorry, i like getting stronger at specific lifts, the growth is secondary

like the back is fukin sacred but so many people are willing to thrash their shoulders with imbalanced chest training and exercises that completely compromise the shoulder girdle in the pursuit of looks

[stilllmatic]

Doing rack pulls is the equivalent of doing half rep squats.

[kbrown225]

OP most people responding are in their 20's, they don't know what the phuck the effects of the deadlifts are going to be in the long run, so don't listen to their bro science, wait until a 40+ yo brah comes in here and responds

[Duffo89]

lol at pussies ITT. Have fun never being strong. If you bench more than you squat or DL then you are without a doubt lazy and weak

This + it's fun as phuck

If deadlifting doesn't feel "right" to you though, i agree you shouldn't be going heavy. e.g someone with short arms + long legs = snap city

[JamesW129]

Completely serious. Biggest ego lift there is. Especially people who place the bar at knee level or even higher, you're doing yourself no favors. Useless exercise. Not even the best secondary movement for the dead lift, would be way more beneficial to do deficits for most people.

plz go

[amikaelmorris]

I actually think after doing deadlifts for awhile strengthening your entire back, you LOWER your risk of injury. I've been deadlifting for 7 years, all the while I worked in warehousing and then as a delivery truck driver, first delivering soda, then kegs of beer. Kegs weigh 165 pounds each and I was delivering 70-80 of them a day, which did involve picking them up and stacking them 2. sometimes even 3 high. Not once have I had a back injury or back pain. I attribute much of this to my years of deadlifting.

Saw lots of injuries in my co-workers doing the same job.

this.

look at the spinal erectors on someone who deadlifts regularly then look at the spinal erectors on someone who sits at a desk all day, we're talking thick ropes surrounding the spine vs being able to see vertebrae through the skin

anyone who thinks that isn't the definition of back injury prevention is a fool

[stilllmatic]

This + it's fun as phuck

If deadlifting doesn't feel "right" for you though, i agree you shouldn't be going heavy. Some exercises just fit the lifter better than others.

The only reason it won't "feel right" is if you are using improper form which is most likely the result of a combination of tight muscles/poor lifting habits in general. The dead lift is the most basic movement pattern of a human being. Everyone should be able to perform it.

[stilllmatic]

plz go

I speak the truth that's why you are rustled, thanks for the neg cry baby. Clearly you have no knowledge on the subject that's why you didn't have a rebuttal.

Be gone peasant.

[RevolutionMuscl]

OP most people responding are in their 20's, they don't know what the phuck the effects of the deadlifts are going to be in the long run, so don't listen to their bro science, wait until a 40+ yo brah comes in here and responds

A few months back I ran into a guy who was in his 60's at the gym. He got into the power rack next to mine. He proceeded to deadlift, warming up to 405, then doing like 5-6 working sets with perfect form, no drama, no grunting, herking or jerking. Very clean reps. Got to talking to him, turns out he was a competitive powerlifter back in the 80's and 90's, he just started competing again in the masters class. I was def. mirin.

[glossin]

You gotta start light and get the form right, people that think it's a bad exercise are the ones that consider it a lower back exercise and switch it out with hyper extensions lol. You have to use the right amount of hip and leg drive, that's what moves the weight. I can only do like 275x5 but still my posture has gotten better since doing deadlifts because of the increased hip strength not to mention I worked in a warehouse picking things up all day and my lower back used to kill me but dead lifts don't and are typically a lot more weight than I was used to picking up.

[kbrown225]

A few months back I ran into a guy who was in his 60's at the gym. He got into the power rack next to mine. He proceeded to deadlift, warming up to 405, then doing like 5-6 working sets with perfect form, no drama, no grunting, herking or jerking. Very clean reps. Got to talking to him, turns out he was a competitive powerlifter back in the 80's and 90's, he just started competing again in the masters class. I was def. mirin.

interdasting.. still need more proofs from more old dinosaurs

[RevolutionMuscl]

The only reason it won't "feel right" is if you are using improper form which is most likely the result of a combination of tight muscles/poor lifting habits in general. The dead lift is the most basic movement pattern of a human being. Everyone should be able to perform it.

I'll play devils advocate here and say someone who is very tall may have trouble deadlifting, depending on their body mechanics.

[stilllmatic]

I'll play devils advocate here and say someone who is very tall may have trouble deadlifting, depending on their body mechanics.

How tall are we talking? I have a friend who is 6'4 and can dead lift with perfect form. Sure, a 7 footer probably can't dead lift but that's an anomaly.

I imagine though certain people have different limb lengths and might find the exercise troublesome.

[Cheeseburger12]

I'll play devils advocate here and say someone who is very tall may have trouble deadlifting, depending on their body mechanics.

I'm in this crew. Rackpulls forever.

[amikaelmorris]

I'll play devils advocate here and say someone who is very tall may have trouble deadlifting, depending on their body mechanics.

being very tall with monkey arms is basically ideal for deads, put you in a more advantageous position to use your big muscles like hams/glutes and the long arms effectively shorten ROM

[waystid]

I'll play devils advocate here and say someone who is very tall may have trouble deadlifting, depending on their body mechanics.

I'm not even going to go out of my way and make a list of all the greatest strongman competitors who were mostly 6+ ft. Instead I'm just going to call you a moron

[Jiwa]

How tall are we talking? I have a friend who is 6'4 and can dead lift with perfect form. Sure, a 7 footer probably can't dead lift but that's an anomaly.

I imagine though certain people have different limb lengths and might find the exercise troublesome.

Long femurs@6'2 checking in.
And yes, taller people will have more trouble deadlifting than a more balanced, shorter frame. People just have to realize that some will have to put more work into perfecting an exercise than others. That's all there is to it really. I personally have to do a lot of stretching to properly hit depth on my squats/deadlifts without rounding my back, but that's just because I'm not very flexible and my body mechanics aren't really that good for it.

[Jeremy544]

Should someone with pre-existing back problems deadlift? I've stopped for a while but I really want to be able to deadlift.

[Pandaz619]

lol at pussies ITT. Have fun never being strong. If you bench more than you squat or DL then you are without a doubt lazy and weak

not to be a ******* here, but it could be because some people are built mechanically for a better bench than a squat or dl. muscle insertions and the placement of joints and bones do effect how much force or less force it takes to push weight.

just saiyan'

[ralphlaurenbrah]

Not worth it. Back surgery bro checking in. 9/10 chronic pain in your lower back is the worst thing imaginable.