Deadlifts Better Than Squats?

Training Beginners
1

Am I the only one to think that Deadlifts (any variation) do at least 1,000 more time the job than squat ?

Most of you, most of every trainer too, says do your squat … ok sure, but at home I can’t drop the weight while deadlifting and the movement that it occurs is WAY more heavy than a squat and “touch” more muscles …

I’ve been told to not overtrain the deadlifts movements to at least do one day of squat without deadlifts, my routine is there : http://www.T-Nation.com/tmagnum/readTopic.do?id=1965605&pageNo=0#1971732

Do you belive that overtraining would occur if I would but out squat for another deadlift variation ?

2

Deadlifts are harder on your lower back than squats, although squats require a strong lower back for safe execution. Doing just deadlifts will certainly overtrain your lower back. The lower back requires a lot of time for recovery, as long as legs. It’s no problem fighting through sore legs to train, it’s just a matter of sucking it up. It’s not optimal but there’s no danger either. The lower back is another thing. If it’s not fully recovered, it’s the weak link and could comprimise your squat and possibly lead to injury.

There are several other reasons why squats are better than deadlifts, first among them is the ability to go deep. Squats work the quads better than deadlifts. Front squats are a good substitute for back squats and leg press is acceptable if for some reason you can’t squat.

For what it’s worth, I always squat and deadlift together. I do back squat and Romanian deadlift in one leg workout, deadlifts and front squats in another. I do lunges and overhead squats with warmup weights and power cleans on upper body days.

Stu