Squats/Deadlifts worth doing or too high risk/reward

[Angstrom4]

i see a lot of guys saying they fuarked up their backs permanently by doing these. if not a surprise snap city visit then gradual spinal degradation


on the other hand they provide great strength and muscle stimulus. what can replace them?

[Bracket199]

Nothing, or else they'd be replaced.

Just don't go heavy where you're doing 1-3 reps.

[jonmcd46]

depends on your goals, do what feels right. I enjoy them because they're one of the few lifts that actually make me tired, I can do curls all day without breathing hard, but even 315 for 10 on deadlift gets me tired.
Too many people use risk of injury to not doing difficult exercises or heavy weight, for a lot of people its cope

[TugOfPeace]

deadlifts are an incel lift

squats are legit, but I stick to 12 reps for 3 sets

[BalognaNbeans]

Squats + RDL's are goat

[Angstrom4]

deadlifts are an incel lift

squats are legit, but I stick to 12 reps for 3 sets

an incel lift

[Lexira]

Only squats. Do not do deadlifts at all. There are 100s of way that to train your lower-back at a much lower risk.

Stay at weights which you could do for 5-8 reps.

[LonelyHustler]

I dont do heavy conventional or sumo
But i hit rdls. You need some hip hinge.
Its easy to get more outa less with rdls.

For squats you can go heavy if you hit under 5 plates. But after that idk. Could get bad wthout mexican supplements

[sdomkuf]

Hack squats, leg press, extensions, curls, calves

My legs have never felt stronger

[Muzzlrpress]

Squats are amazing. I have nothing against deadlifts, but I only do them a couple times a year now.

[Maestro]

God I hate this topic

On one hand I want to say they're amazing for building a lifting base and the core, but on the other hand, they're kinda worthless if you're not making money off of your physique/strength/athleticism (instagram influencer/pro athlete etc)

they're also fun to do and tracking slow progression can be addicting, but if the lift doesn't feel right to you or you're not getting properly trained, or not warming up properly or if you only care about "aesthetics" I'd sadly stay away from them, as its not a matter of if but when you phuck yourself up. If you're in your teens to early 20's you feel like your invincible but it will catch up to you...it always does.

Personally i've stopped deadlifting, and only squat high volume 135lbs for mobility purposes.

[FarmersSon]

I think the injury risk is way overblown by some.

Keep your core tight and your back in the proper position and injury risk is very low. People usually get hurt when they push limits and form breaks down. Granted, it's really hard for some people to use good judgement when they're chasing numbers. If that applies to you, maybe you should avoid them.

I've injured myself once or twice lifting over the past 6 or 8 years. Mostly just from getting a little complacent in my execution. During that time, I've racked up far more injuries playing basketball.

[Maestro]

I think the injury risk is way overblown by some.

Keep your core tight and your back in the proper position and injury risk is very low. People usually get hurt when they push limits and form breaks down. Granted, it's really hard for some people to use good judgement when they're chasing numbers. If that applies to you, maybe you should avoid them.

I've injured myself once or twice lifting over the past 6 or 8 years. Mostly just from getting a little complacent in my execution. During that time, I've racked up far more injuries playing basketball.

The problem is, even if you use good form, your form will diminish the lower the volume. If you're doing a 5 rep max on deadlifts by the end of rep 3, 4 and especially the final rep all sense of posture and form is out the window and you're just trying to get the weight up.

People say it won't happen to them, but when you're in the moment and trying to hit a PR its too tempting especially when you feel like you have one more rep in the tank.

[eddiehaskell]

just make the rounds on machine weights 1-2 times a week and do other activities that are more enjoyable.

[ectobruh]

Squats are great. Deadlifts are definitely snap city. Been doing DLS for 15 years. Now I have back issues srs.

[homers54321]

If you are training for aesthetics and longevity, i say do machines. If you are training for size, strength, and speed, do DL and squats

[SwagMorris]

Both are good exercises (squats>deadlift as far as bang for your buck, imo), but you shouldn’t add weight to either until your form is near perfect. And if you simply can’t obtain the mobility to perform the exercises correctly, then you should NOT do them. I struggle with deadlift form (always looks like a SLDL) and I’m not a power lifter so I don’t do them. I do RDL instead.

Squat form comes easy to me, and I barely need to work on mobility for it, so I still train it. I have preferred uni-lateral exercises as I’ve gotten older though (I train BSS with BB and DB twice a week).

[crupiea]

A lot of guys say they screwed up their back permanently doing them but you dont see a lot of guys in wheel chairs. Seem that gyms should be full of cripples with broken backs if that were true.

Its not true. Some guys might have tweaked something a bit with bad form but thats really 99% of it.

People tweak their biceps all the time yet still curl.

the reason people dont squat and deadlift is simple. they are hard to do and require effort. If you do them a lot its hard on the system and recovery takes a bit longer than other exercises.

That said you cant beat them for an all around benefit. No other stuff even comes close.

[OGfrom06]

Squats + RDL's are goat

1000%

You are hitting everything you need to hit only Squat and RDL

DL is ritarded

[OGfrom06]

Lulz at pulling huge weight some arbitrary length (radius of plate) off the ground and thinking that is somehow natural.

There is NOTHING natural about Plate Radius, dummies!

It is an arbitrary number.

lmao

[Cleveland33]

A lot of guys say they screwed up their back permanently doing them but you dont see a lot of guys in wheel chairs. Seem that gyms should be full of cripples with broken backs if that were true.

Its not true. Some guys might have tweaked something a bit with bad form but thats really 99% of it.

People tweak their biceps all the time yet still curl.

the reason people dont squat and deadlift is simple. they are hard to do and require effort. If you do them a lot its hard on the system and recovery takes a bit longer than other exercises.

That said you cant beat them for an all around benefit. No other stuff even comes close.

meanwhile you have guys that break vertebrae and herniate disks multiple times and still come back and set power lifting records

[Dave22reborn]

Those who hate desdlifts, usually suck at them, so they make lame ass excuses why they don't do them.....

[eddiehaskell]

Those who hate desdlifts, usually suck at them, so they make lame ass excuses why they don't do them.....

i would wager a guess that 99.9% of men throughout history never needed deadlifts or squats. my grandfathers and great uncles never stepped foot in a gym. would probably think it was ghey for men to be focused on their body to such a degree.

[NuggzTheNinja]

There are tons of squat and DL variations that are safe vs just blasting regular lifts at 1rm. Front squats, goblet squats, Spanish squats, single leg deadlift, suitcase deadlift, etc

[CherryPopinski]

Don’t train them to failure or max out if you train by yourself

As long as you warm up properly, have no mobility issues, and train with moderate intensity and decently heavy weights relative to your maximal strength they’re perfectly safe

[Dave22reborn]

i would wager a guess that 99.9% of men throughout history never needed deadlifts or squats. my grandfathers and great uncles never stepped foot in a gym. would probably think it was ghey for men to be focused on their body to such a degree.

They probably drank, and smoked cigarettes as well.....

[GaryRidgway]

They're only risky if you're fragile.

[GooBaaa]

Both are gay

Calisthenics + boxing > lifting heavy weights

[kimm4]

Those who hate desdlifts, usually suck at them, so they make lame ass excuses why they don't do them.....

I have to agree. I've been doing all these lifts for over 39 yrs and no snap city yet.

[FarmersSon]

The problem is, even if you use good form, your form will diminish the lower the volume. If you're doing a 5 rep max on deadlifts by the end of rep 3, 4 and especially the final rep all sense of posture and form is out the window and you're just trying to get the weight up.

People say it won't happen to them, but when you're in the moment and trying to hit a PR its too tempting especially when you feel like you have one more rep in the tank.

I've seen a lot of very clean reps completed close to failure. It takes a lot of focus to maintain form, and I agree that there will be a little slippage, but you shouldn't be falling apart.