Hey, new here so I apologise if this has already been covered.
Everyone is always stating that the Deadlift is THE exercise to bulk on mass, which clearly it does, there’s no argument against that. However reading an interview given by Charles Glass; he claims that he no longer rates or uses the Deadlift on his clients as he feels that a) It can cause the waist to become to thick and b) The exercise itself can lead to some serious injuries (friend of mine will back this up after slipping a disk)
Any who, Glass goes on to say that there are other exercises he can do to achieve the same effect as the Deadlift, that are equal if not better (doesn’t go on to say what though?)
Any thoughts on the above? Are there better exercise to use or are deadlifts fundamental?
Charles Glass trains professional bodybuilders, and their goals are not necessarily the same as yours. If they can achieve better results from leg extensions than from squats, then they will do those. Does that make leg extensions a better exercise? It depends what your goals are, and what works for you.
Many bodybuilders build phenomenal posterior chains without the deadlift. For me for example, with short legs, arms and a long torso, conventional deadlifts do very little for my legs and a whole lot for my lower back. Sumo deads hit my legs very well though, and rack deads hit my back better than conventional deads, I do those instead.
As for what the pros do to build huge backs , butts and hamstrings without the conventional deadlift:
Hamstrings/butt:
Romanian Deadlifts
Stiff Legged Deadlifts
Leg Curls
For a beginner I’d say they are pretty much mandatory because they teach good posture and act as a great antagonist to the squat, but at some point there are better options for tring to get a bigger back og legs than the conventional deadlift, depending on your structure of course. Deadlifts aren’t deadlifts, quite a different animal for say a Franco Columbo than a Quincy Taylor.
I couldn’t imagine lifting without the deadlift. Nothing drops panties faster than pulling several hundred pounds off the ground while screaming and covered in sweat. I dream about deadlifting. I cut most of my food into the shape of a guy deadlifting. I pick chicks up at bars by telling them how much I deadlift. I’m going to name my first child Deadlift.
[quote]Xab wrote:
I couldn’t imagine lifting without the deadlift. Nothing drops panties faster than pulling several hundred pounds off the ground while screaming and covered in sweat. I dream about deadlifting. I cut most of my food into the shape of a guy deadlifting. I pick chicks up at bars by telling them how much I deadlift. I’m going to name my first child Deadlift.
God damn I love deadlifting. [/quote]
Wouldn’t it be nice if that were true. Unfortunately, if you watch the reaction of people in a typical gym, the reaction is otherwise. Just the other day this guy, a little over the top by the way, was letting out a scream when deadlifting a decent, not earth shattering, weight. Since I was resting I decided to watch the reaction of people in the gym. The reaction was more or less a “what a fuckin idiot” followed with some smirks and laughs. It all depends on the gym though I suppose. They may like the deadlift but I’d lose the screaming if you’re trying to get chicks digging you.
I think it goes without saying though that the deadlift is a fantastic exercise that involves many muscles of the body working together giving great muscular, nervous, and metabolic stimulation. I think the deadlift is a great exercise when doing it CORRECTLY. Before I really knew what I was doing, I was deadlifting (incorrectly) and ended up herniating a disc. To this day I suffer pain in my lower back on a daily basis. I still deadlift though and I deadlift a hell of a lot more now than I did with a good back. If I could go back though, I’d still deadlift but I would have made sure I had someone to teach me correctly. Oh when we were young and naive!
Personally, I think there is no better exercise. First, it’s a functional exercise with much functional carryover to the “real life”.
It strengthens the entire posterial chain and hepls you progress on almost all other exercises.
If you are lifting weight for just “cosmetic reasons” you propably don’t have to deadlift. There is no problem in doing exercises like leg extensions and the like. I’d never do leg extensions personally since it’s got like no functional carryover and doesn’t help any other lift.
If you want to build up on the big lifts and want go get as strong as possible, it’s probably a necessity to deadlift.
Having that said, it’s probably best to do what works for you!
[quote]TDavis123 wrote:
Hey, new here so I apologise if this has already been covered.
Everyone is always stating that the Deadlift is THE exercise to bulk on mass, which clearly it does, there’s no argument against that. However reading an interview given by Charles Glass; he claims that he no longer rates or uses the Deadlift on his clients as he feels that a) It can cause the waist to become to thick and b) The exercise itself can lead to some serious injuries (friend of mine will back this up after slipping a disk)
Any who, Glass goes on to say that there are other exercises he can do to achieve the same effect as the Deadlift, that are equal if not better (doesn’t go on to say what though?)
Any thoughts on the above? Are there better exercise to use or are deadlifts fundamental?[/quote]
Better exercises to do WHAT exactly.
Deadlifts are not dangerous… people doing deadlifts wrong MAKE them dangerous.
Picking stuff up off the ground should fit in with your body fairly easy… we have been doing a VERY long while now !
This reeks of that article by (Insert name here) saying he doesn’t use Squats anymore… just causing controversy.
Deadlifts won’t thicken your waist to the best of my knowledge… how can they ???
Deadlift 400lbs for reps then worry about specializing certain parts of it. Deadlifting is a very good way to build overall body strength as a beginner. After 5+ years of dedicated deadlifting you will know if it’s time to move on to somthing different.
There is no reason for a beginner not to deadlift in some capacity. And never take the advice of what professional bodybuilders are doing now (or their trainers). I’ve found that wearing a belt on my heaviest sets has actually actually kept my lower abs flatter simply because they can not protrude and stretch out.
Learn to brace your abdominals before using a belt though. Worry about thickening your waist when you are prepping for a bodybuilding contest. Until then just make your shoulders wider to offset any waist growth.
[quote]Xab wrote:
I couldn’t imagine lifting without the deadlift. Nothing drops panties faster than pulling several hundred pounds off the ground while screaming and covered in sweat. I dream about deadlifting. I cut most of my food into the shape of a guy deadlifting. I pick chicks up at bars by telling them how much I deadlift. I’m going to name my first child Deadlift.
God damn I love deadlifting. [/quote]
A read this as though Ron Burgundy was saying it. It’s by far the funniest paragraph I’ve read in months, thanks
Worried about slipping a disk? Here’s how. Get big doing everything but deadlifts, then help your buddy move, and then when he gives you the heavy end of the entertainment center because “you’re the big one”…
Beautiful.
Some of us don’t do floor deads anymore for various reasons (usually age, injury, risk to reward), but thats no reason for these fledglings to avoid the lift.
[quote]BONEZ217 wrote:
Deadlift 400lbs for reps then worry about specializing certain parts of it. Deadlifting is a very good way to build overall body strength as a beginner. After 5+ years of dedicated deadlifting you will know if it’s time to move on to somthing different.
There is no reason for a beginner not to deadlift in some capacity. And never take the advice of what professional bodybuilders are doing now (or their trainers). I’ve found that wearing a belt on my heaviest sets has actually actually kept my lower abs flatter simply because they can not protrude and stretch out.
Learn to brace your abdominals before using a belt though. Worry about thickening your waist when you are prepping for a bodybuilding contest. Until then just make your shoulders wider to offset any waist growth. [/quote]
It is an exercise that will put on some serious mass. It should be a staple in most bodybuilding programs in my opinion, not necessarily done every week, but should certainly be done.
I just ripped a callous off my hand the other day doing max effort deadlifts. I can’t wait for next week’s deadlift session. Easily my favorite exercise…
[quote]TDavis123 wrote:
Hey, new here so I apologise if this has already been covered.
Everyone is always stating that the Deadlift is THE exercise to bulk on mass, which clearly it does, there’s no argument against that. However reading an interview given by Charles Glass; he claims that he no longer rates or uses the Deadlift on his clients as he feels that a) It can cause the waist to become to thick and b) The exercise itself can lead to some serious injuries (friend of mine will back this up after slipping a disk)
Any who, Glass goes on to say that there are other exercises he can do to achieve the same effect as the Deadlift, that are equal if not better (doesn’t go on to say what though?)
Any thoughts on the above? Are there better exercise to use or are deadlifts fundamental?[/quote]
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: We don’t have to grab the jock of any ONE trainer or guru!
Charles Glass acted like a rude jerkoff when I was the only person to recognize him on a NYC street.