Deadlifts are a compound movement, meaning they require work from multiple muscle groups throughout the lift. They have long been incorporated into leg days for building some serious lower body muscle mass, but did you know deadlifts are also an amazing back strengthening exercise?
In total, deadlifts should engage your hamstrings, glutes, lats, traps, rear delts, which includes pretty much your entire posterior chain, as well as forearms and even core. Deadlifts will not only help you get jacked, but they will also benefit you in numerous other ways, such as:.
However, you should strive for perfection when doing deadlifts, as bad form can cause some serious damage. This is especially true since deadlifts engage your back, which can be a sensitive part of our bodies. While deadlifts are great for moving a lot of weight, you will get nothing from a heavy lift without the correct form. Here are the steps to successfully completing a conventional deadlift with a barbell:.
While achieving proper form is the first step in maximizing your gains from deadlifts, the next thing you should aim to tackle is your intensity goal. Intensity refers to the reps, sets, weight, and rest period of a movement, all of which have a large impact on your results. The topic of how many repetitions and sets yield maximum benefits has long been a hot debate. All the conflicting opinions and data make it no easy task to figure what you should be doing in the gym.
However, determining these numbers really just depends on what you wish to achieve, a rule that can be applied to most any movement not just deadlifts. If you think about it, training like this for endurance makes a lot of sense. Essentially, you are teaching your muscles to handle stress over long periods of time. This type of training can be especially helpful if you are a long-distance runner, a cyclist, or a triathlete.
Most endurance athletes train exclusively with cardio, missing out on a lot of the benefits weightlifting has to offer. Typically, training for endurance requires anywhere between 12 to 20 or more reps with 30 seconds or less of rest between sets. The number of sets should be around 3 to 6, utilizing a pattern of more sets with fewer reps and fewer sets for more reps. Reps at this high of a number will require a lighter weight since even 20 pounds can quickly start to feel like by your last dozen reps.
Those who target endurance are likely to be smaller in appearance since the amount of weight you can typically handle when doing high reps is not enough of a shock to trigger major muscle growth.
Increasing muscle size lies in a rep range of about 6 to 12 reps over 3 to 6 sets with a rest period of about one minute. This is typically the favored choice for those interested in bodybuilding. A moderate rep and set range also helps to prevent injury. The weight amount for hypertrophy will likely be more than an endurance weight, but less than a powerlifting weight. You should be hitting close to failure by the end of your 6 to 12 rep sets of deadlifts.
One of the biggest predictors of performance in high-level powerlifters long term is muscle mass therefore building muscle is going to be an important part of getting stronger. High repetitions can be fatiguing to perform and if you lose concentration or if your weaknesses show up, you can risk injuring yourself particularly your back.
If your legs and hip muscles fatigue as you perform a set, you might find that you end up rounding your back to compensate and this is when you put excess stress across your lower back. If you are not particularly conditioned to perform high reps for the deadlift, it is definitely something that you should slowly work up towards.
Deadlifts with high reps will have a prerequisite of good technique as a baseline and good discipline to execute all the reps well especially the last few reps in the set. High repetitions in the deadlift can be extremely demanding and it is easy to want to get the set over and done with.
It needs high levels of discipline to ensure that you set up well repeatedly and execute the lift with good attention to technique and not rush it. If you struggle with this, then it is best not to do high reps with the deadlift. The idea is to treat each repetition with a high level of attention and not get complacent. It works best if you have the mindset of approaching high rep deadlifts like a marathon, not a sprint.
Weak points in your deadlift will show up during high reps in the deadlift even if you are disciplined to attempt to perform reps with good technique. If you have any obvious weak points, you should not perform high rep deadlifts but instead, focus on training your weak points away. If you really do enjoy doing high rep deadlifts, then you may have to reduce the intensity to the point that you can perform all the reps with good technique.
Alternatively, you can perform high reps of the deadlift and stop at the point before your technique breaks down.
For more information, check out these articles on deadlift weak points at the knee and deadlift weak points off the floor. If you need to improve your technique, then you should not do high rep deadlifts. If you do not need to improve your technique but you need to focus on building work capacity and strength, then you should include high rep deadlifts in your training. When you do include high rep deadlifts in your training, it is important that you do not push the sets to failure and that you give yourself plenty of time to recover before performing other lower-body movements.
When you do high rep deadlifts, it makes you ingrain your own movement pattern i. So if you have poor technique, it will make it harder for you to untrain the poor technique. If you are hitting a strength plateau where higher intensity work is not increasing strength or your work capacity is low, then high rep deadlifts might be useful for you.
If you have had a considerable amount of time focusing on high-intensity loads, your body adapts to the stimulus leading you to plateau. You reach a point where you cannot progress much more with higher intensity reps.
Performing a high rep deadlift can increase your muscle endurance in the relevant muscles, which can have a roll-on benefit for building up your ability to perform more reps at higher intensity loads. If you are carrying any injury related to the deadlifts muscles or get exacerbated by the deadlift movement, you should avoid high rep deadlifts. This theory stems from original research published back in , investigating performance in the CrossFit world.
The findings suggest that passive rest, particularly a supine lying face up or seated position, can better manage your heart rate, respiratory rate, work rate, and recovery between heavy sets. Regardless, you should be aiming for about 10 to 15 sets per week. For strength, you want to focus on 3 to 5 sets of deadlifts per workout with 1 to 8 reps per set.
Getting in shape isn't easy. She had dedicated over three years to the educational field as a health and physical education teacher before deciding to pursue a career in the fitness industry. She is now certified in Personal Training, Group Fitness, and Sports Nutrition and contributes health and fitness knowledge to websites like Noob Gains. This page may contain affiliate links.
We earn commissions when you purchase through these links. Learn more. Table of Contents What are Deadlifts? Be Smart 2. Can You Deadlift 3 Times a Week? Many gym goers prefer the Romanian deadlift as it works your hamstrings and lower back much more than the conventional deadlift. This is because the Romanian variation is performed with straight legs. The trap bar deadlift is a great way to build strength in a safe way. Compared with other more complexed lifts, this move requires minimal technical coaching.
If you feel that parts of your body simply aren't strong enough to perform the deadlift, then the sumo variation may be for you. By allowing you to have a more vertical torso, you will be putting less force — and therefore requiring less strength and energy — through your spinal erectors. The muscles that run the length of the spine. Type keyword s to search. Today's Top Stories. Ibrakovic Getty Images. This content is imported from Giphy. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from Instagram. View this post on Instagram. Related Story.
0コメント