Anyone consistently perform dumbbell deadlifts? I find it difficult to use extremely large dumbbells, but it works. I use 100 lb- 110 lbs. I find it a good complement to regular deadlifts.
Anyone else find this exercise beneficial?
I don’t understand why. What would it do different than a barbell or trap bar?
do you use supinated pronated or neutral grip?
or mixed? - lol
[quote]elano wrote:
I don’t understand why. What would it do different than a barbell or trap bar?[/quote]
You go lower than with a barbell. The movement pattern is also different than from a barbell as there are no issues of clearing the knees or needing to keep the shins near vertical. I’ve never used a trap bar for a deadlift so can’t compare there.
[quote]Standard Donkey wrote:
do you use supinated pronated or neutral grip?
or mixed? - lol[/quote]
I use a neutral grip.
By the way, I use the dumbbell deadlifts many times as a “finisher” after my normal leg workout (going for reps). In addition, I find it faster, and easier, doing the dumbbell deadlifts versus the trap bar deadlifts, in which I have to load and unload the weights.
I find it very beneficial as there are times when people have to take the weight off of their backs. Regular barbell deadlits and squats cause a lot of flexion. Some people can take it for a long time. I know I can’t.
Though I am pretty athletic and have decent natural strength, I am not like some guys who cant take a beating week after week. So, there are times when for about a month, I will do no squats or deadlifts or good mornings. I will stick with all variations of one-legged exercises, sissy squats, leg presses, and dumbbell deadlifts.
Sometimes I like to stretch out my hamstrings by doing a stiff leg deadlift with dumbbells, 60s or so. For no other reason than it feels good.
I think DB RDLs were most responsible for bringing up my lagging hamstrings back when I was first starting out. So I’ll always have a soft spot for them.
I have used them before for spot training to improve my regular deadlift. As noted by a previous poster you can get a lower ROM from DBs in most cases. You could of course get this same effect by loading the barbell with smaller plates or lifting from a platform. Perhaps more important is the instability it creates as each side of the body is weighted. This seemed to activate my lower back more as a result if I recall. I have not done these in a long time.
Yes-- totally.
DB Deads, particularly suitcase deads were extremely valuable to me recovering from a back injury.
If you do them unilaterally (1 db), you get some pretty good oblique work as well.
I routinely deadlift dbs off the floor (ie setting them up, crouching down good form and lifting) to get set up when I’m doing my db presses.
I"ve been doing Db deads for a long while. I actually like that at the bottom, my hands come closer together (nice stretch), and upon reaching the top portion, like to retract my scapulae a bit (nice squeeze in there). I figure I’ve put in my time banging the heavy weights on a BB, so now I focus more on natural movements and little adjustments moreso.
S
Do them as squats bringing your hands down to your ankles and thighs to parallel and let me know how if you think that’s working your quads or not. Trap bar too.
Somewhat similar to trap bar deads, I assume?
[quote]ghost87 wrote:
Anyone consistently perform dumbbell deadlifts? I find it difficult to use extremely large dumbbells, but it works. I use 100 lb- 110 lbs. I find it a good complement to regular deadlifts.
Anyone else find this exercise beneficial? [/quote]
You’re going to need some heavy ass dumbbells.
[quote]Gael wrote:
You’re going to need some heavy ass dumbbells.[/quote]
It’s actually not a direct parallel with the weights used, I imagine so because I know that when I use the DBs, I focus a lot mroe on my actual back and sort of work around the usual leg assistance you would get with a bar. In the past, I’ve used 5 plates a side when working with a BB, but with the DBs, I don’t think I’ve ever gone heavier than 125’s, and lately, am just fine using the 100’s at the end of my session (non lockout, continuous tension reps)
S
Heavy deads still end up skinning my knees when I use a conventional oluympic barbell. It’s that little extra effort of clearing the knees that kills you. I’m dying to try a deadlift barbell for deads. Are they much easier to use?
[quote]tribunaldude wrote:
Somewhat similar to trap bar deads, I assume?
ghost87 wrote:
Anyone consistently perform dumbbell deadlifts? I find it difficult to use extremely large dumbbells, but it works. I use 100 lb- 110 lbs. I find it a good complement to regular deadlifts.
Anyone else find this exercise beneficial?
[/quote]
The trap bar keeps your hands out from your sides. Dumbbells can kinda run up and down your body later in the set.
[quote]scholtz wrote:
Heavy deads still end up skinning my knees when I use a conventional oluympic barbell. It’s that little extra effort of clearing the knees that kills you. I’m dying to try a deadlift barbell for deads. Are they much easier to use? [/quote]
i feel you man, my teardrop muscle or whatever its called was bleeding yesterday from deadlifts, i already got a cut the week before and yesterdays session just opened it up.
[quote]SteelyD wrote:
Yes-- totally.
DB Deads, particularly suitcase deads were extremely valuable to me recovering from a back injury.
[/quote]
Same for me. I used DB deads for quite a while when I couldn’t do the bar. As you can position DBs slightly more to the side than you can with a bar it changed the movement slightly and took the stress off my back.
It also allowed me to make sure I was lifting evenly on both sides and, like Stu said, retracting my scap properly at the top.
It’s a bit easier on the lower back than the normal BB deads, they work well if you got a nagging disc problem.