Touch and go vs. 'deweighting' for deadlifts

[blinKme431]

What's better for strength? What's better for size?

[Dominik]

It's not so much a question of what's better for strength or size as it is about doing the exercise properly. It's called a "dead lift" and the proper way to do them is from a dead stop on each rep so sets are essentially a series of singles. It will also help improve your explosive strength off the bottom of the lift because you're having to generate more force at the beginning of every rep.

"Touch and go" is fine for warmups IMO and if you want to keep the back under tension on heavy sets, I think you're better off doing them in a rack from just below knee height.

[vin1382]

It's not so much a question of what's better for strength or size as it is about doing the exercise properly. It's called a "dead lift" and the proper way to do them is from a dead stop on each rep so sets are essentially a series of singles. It will also help improve your explosive strength off the bottom of the lift because you're having to generate more force at the beginning of every rep.

"Touch and go" is fine for warmups IMO and if you want to keep the back under tension on heavy sets, I think you're better off doing them in a rack from just below knee height.

Agree with this...

I had some trainer at my gym tell me i was definatly doing them wrong because i was deweighting. I told him i do them both ways..touch and go on lighter weight..and deweighting doing heavy. dont see how you can go wrong doing both.

BTW...finally hit 400 lb for 3 reps last sat. and it was much easier then i thought it was going to be..i think i can do a bit more.

[AbramsM1]

Agreed on everything so far. They are called "deadlifts". That kinda implies lifting a dead weight from the floor. No touch and go's. I always deweight on working sets.

Regards,
Abrams

[_Lifter4Life_]

Id rather have the floor stop the weight then my back.

like others said, DEAD lift meaning, lifting the weight from a dead stop.

Lifter,

[nitrored]

I understand it is called a deadlift and thus the proper form would be deweighting. I also agree it would help explosiveness to deweight, atleast more then touch and go.

However, in my case anyways... on my last and heaviest set, the first rep is insanely hard, it often will take me two or three attempts before I can pull it off the ground. But once I have it I will band out 4 or 5 reps, touch and go on both sides. Now I could probably only do this weight 1 or 2 times if I dewieghted.

So my question is... Is the last 1/2in of this motion so important that its worth 3 or 4 reps?

Thanks in advance,

[Dominik]

However, in my case anyways... on my last and heaviest set, the first rep is insanely hard, it often will take me two or three attempts before I can pull it off the ground. But once I have it I will band out 4 or 5 reps, touch and go on both sides. Now I could probably only do this weight 1 or 2 times if I dewieghted.

So my question is... Is the last 1/2in of this motion so important that its worth 3 or 4 reps?

Look at it the other way around. See the initial movement as being critically important to the deadlift and if you're not pulling it from a dead stop, you're cheating yourself out of those explosive strength benefits. You'll also be making your whole body work harder to generate the necessary force for each rep when the weight is not already in motion.

You said yourself that it's harder, and it is. If you want maximum benefits from the exercise, pulling from the floor, let the weight settle at the end of each rep. You'll notice people will develop the same problem on DB presses, where they'll need spotting on the 1st rep and then they're fine for the rest. That's a lack of explosive strength. Don't let it creep into your deadlift.

[Traug]

I personally prefer doing Stiff Legged Deadlifts as I feel more of a workout in my hammies and back. The weight isn't anywhere near what it would be by doing normal deads... I would stand up and applaud someone if I saw them doing a 400 pound SLDL for reps. I normally work out with around 150-185, which isn't heavy, but the emphasis of the workout hits the associated muscles, for ME, a lot more than Romanian or other versions.

Like Dom said, lifting isn't always about which exercise or how much weight you're lifting (concerning weight, you should do how ever much you can do). It is often more important to do the exercise in question slowly, methodically, and properly so that you get the full benefit of range and motion. Up until last week, I thought I was doing my SLDLs correctly until one of the trainers walked by and told me that my form was off. I apparently was rounding my back and not sticking my butt out far enough. Since that time, I've felt a HUGE difference.

[Dominik]

Traug, an excellent way to do them as an assistance exercise for your deadlift is Romanian style (RDLs). Basically you maintain an arch at all times with the chest up, pushing your butt back as you lower the weight and allowing a slight bend at the knees, keeping the bar in contact with your legs throughout the entire movement, lowering the weight until you get a good stretch in the hams, and then reversing the process, bringing the hips forward to meet the bar as you lock it out.

It's the safest way to do stiff legs IMO, and in my experience will have the greatest carryover to your conventional deadlift.

[Traug]

Gonna have to look into that... back to looking in the mirror while doing these things sideways. I often wonder what people are thinking when they see me in the gym. It is even worse when I'm working on squat motions without the weights, lol

[user4694231324]

what do you mean touch and go and reps are not good for working sets of deadlifts? This is what I do, I try to do 5 reps of 3-4 sets and pyramid up. How I do my deadlifts is I pull the weight from ground come to top, put it back on the ground for like a second and just pull it back up. What is with these singles, im so confused now, everything has been working for me I am pulling 405 for 4 reps.

[gecko2424]

Bigman411, 1 second is deloading. The touch and go is more like bouncing it off the ground. Ideally, you'll set it down, check your grip, then lift the next rep.



When you set something down, do you pick it right back up? Visualize picking a lawnmower out of a truck. Do you touch and go, bouncing it off the ground then set it down a couple more times? It just feels more natural in that motion to set it down between lifts, at least that's what my back tells me.

[user4694231324]

When you set something down, do you pick it right back up? Visualize picking a lawnmower out of a truck. Do you touch and go, bouncing it off the ground then set it down a couple more times? It just feels more natural in that motion to set it down between lifts, at least that's what my back tells me.

Well arent you setting it down, but then just immedailty picking it back up for reps?

[dbcb314]

Bouncing the weight when doing deadlifts is probably the biggest reason why peopel are always complaining about being weak off the floor. Also, whenever I have even tried touch n go, my form went to **** real quick... which in turn increases the chance of getting hurt.

Some people like touch n go (hola bola is one of them) but for most people its a way to make them think they are lifting more weight than they really are. 315x5 touch n go is a lot different from 315x5 and using proper form.

If you are going to bounce it, you might was well do a rack pull instead bc you are pretty much taking the bottom part of the lift out.

[dbcb314]

Well arent you setting it down, but then just immedailty picking it back up for reps?

what I do is set it down, re grip, get in position and pull

[W8isGR8]

what I do is set it down, re grip, get in position and pull

x2

[blinKme431]

Heh, yeah, I've been kinda pussy on the first rep. I always start from a rack and just deadlift touch and go. With my numbers going up weekly, I'm not inclined to drop weight anytime soon to do full deweighted ones, at least not until I plateau.

[RippedGuitarist]

I've always done touch an go, and it works well for me. If you do it properly, which is controlled, you shouldn't bounce off the floor, you should lightly touch and continue. The first rep has never been difficult for me either, as well as form has always been easiest to perform on touch and go for me.

Everybody is different, I don't think either way is wrong. Deweighting is good for explosiveness, and touch in go is great to keep the tension on your back.

[JustR82]

I do 'touch and go' as well. But i started out 'deweighting'. In a way isn't 'deweighting' easier because you get to adjust your grip again?

When I do 'touch and go' my grip sometimes gives out so maybe that is where I'm coming from.

[VikingPower]

Up until last week, I thought I was doing my SLDLs correctly until one of the trainers walked by and told me that my form was off. I apparently was rounding my back and not sticking my butt out far enough. Since that time, I've felt a HUGE difference.

Actually, a true SLDL involves a rounded back. And it's supposed to be a forward lean movement, as if you're picking up something from the floor without squatting down, which means that you shouldn't stick your butt far out. So what the PT tought you is probably more like a mix between SLDL and RDL. Surprise, PT doesn't have a clue. But he's right about one thing, RDL is better than SLDL.

A PT at my old gym with several years of education didn't know what RDL is, probably few of them do.

[blinKme431]

Actually, a true SLDL involves a rounded back. And it's supposed to be a forward lean movement, as if you're picking up something from the floor without squatting down, which means that you shouldn't stick your butt far out. So what the PT tought you is probably more like a mix between SLDL and RDL. Surprise, PT doesn't have a clue. But he's right about one thing, RDL is better than SLDL.

A PT at my old gym with several years of education didn't know what RDL is, probably few of them do.

Yep. And for anyone who doubts that in SLDL the back SHOULD be rounded, read: http://www.exrx.net/ExInfo/Dangerous...l#anchor416052

Specifically:

"I perform the straight leg deadlifts working up to 495 lbs with complete spinal flexion with the bar touching the top of my feet. I can personally assure you I have little instability in the lumbar region after years and years of regularly performing this exercise.

The straight leg deadlift with a rounded back is suggested by other experts including Greg Shepard, the Author of Bigger Faster Stronger, pg 90-91. His program has been used by more than 9000 high schools over the past 30 years.

In first edition of "Strength Training for Young Athletes" by Kraemer and Fleck, the cover states "Includes over 100 safe exercises for 18 muscle groups and 16 sports. They include two exercise similar to the straight leg deadlift:

Page 96: Rounded-back Good Morning Exercise
Page 97: Rounded-back Stiff-Legged Deadlift

In their book, the illustration of the Rounded-back Stiff-Legged Deadlift appears as though the boy was using 135 lbs. Dr. Fleck and Dr. Kraemer's credentials are impeccable."

[user4694231324]

I do 'touch and go' as well. But i started out 'deweighting'. In a way isn't 'deweighting' easier because you get to adjust your grip again?

When I do 'touch and go' my grip sometimes gives out so maybe that is where I'm coming from.

I would think deweighting is harder because you dont have tension on back so you basically start all over again, i dont know the first rep is always the hardest for me to get up because im not set in with all this heavy weight on me.

[blinKme431]

I would think deweighting is harder because you dont have tension on back so you basically start all over again, i dont know the first rep is always the hardest for me to get up because im not set in with all this heavy weight on me.

Yeah, in general it is harder on the back, but I can see his point about grip strength failing. Before I used chalk, 90% of my failures were due to my inability to hold the weight. Deweighting obviates this.

[Andrew99]

I find that it is hard to have great form on the first rep, but it may be just me. I have short arms and have to practically have my butt scrape the floor to not round my back a bit. I think I have very tight form by the 2nd rep, so I barely touch at the bottom if at all. I know its not a real deadlift, but I doubt my spinal erectors know that I missed the last inch of floor.

[thatoldcousin]

I start from the rack instead of pulling from the floor, it just doesn't drain me as much on the first rep. Besides Andrew99 who hinted that he barely touches the floor if at all, am I the only one that does not touch the floor. I go down just past my knee's where my shins start, about 2 inches from the floor. I have always deadlifted this way, I like to keep continuous pressure on the back.

[dbcb314]

what you are doing isnt a true conventional deadlift... that to me sounds like a romanian deadlift. the topic of conversion is about regualr deadlifts (off the floor)