I’m currently doing ABBH and so far really like it. Here’s my problem with the deadlift day. I herniated my L4-L5 disc about 3 years ago because of a break in my form doing deadlifts. I haven’t done deadlifts … until today. Naturally, I was a little cautious and did them with less than 80% 1RM that is recommended. I believe I could handle more but I’m afraid of hurting my back again. So my question:
Is it better to keep doing deadlifts below the recommended 80% (or whatever % 1RM) or should I switch to another exercise I can load more? If I should change, what would be good exercises to do in place of the DL?
Hi Wushufanatic! Sorry about your back troubles, I have hurt my back deadlifting in the past as well, but not as bad as you have. Now when I DL, if doing it more for upper back/traps, i go heavy and do rack pulls in the power rack. If doing it more for lower back/glute/hams i go with a lighter weight and pull from the floor.
Best of luck man!
Brat
no need to be a smart ass, he can take a weight and rep count, match it to a deadlift rep chart, and have a pretty good estimate of what his 1rm would be…
i think you should still do DLs, even at the lower weight. It might not be as intense as say 80% of your 1RM, but 70%, 60%, with enough quality reps would still do you wonders.
it would be intresting to hear what one fo the T guys say about this
Just my opinion, but if you haven’t done them for a while, do them light and concentrate very much on correct form.
After a month or two, if you don’t have any issues and your form is dead on, then consider whether or not you want to go heavy.
Even then, be cautious. Increase the weight slowly, make sure every rep is in perfect form or don’t do it. If you supplement “extremely” be aware that you can get stronger faster than your connective tissue can support.
I thought a trap bar works well and actually prefer it over conventional DL. Try using dumbbells for reps (with DBs on the sides instead of out in front).
Thanks everyone for the great replies. I really appreciate it!
I think I’ll keep deadlifting with that advice and keep it light enough where I can keep perfect form until I get more confident in the lift and not worrying about throwing my back with every rep.
No, I didn’t know 80% of my 1 rep max and just estimated by the way it felt. I think Chad even said once that you can estimate those values but I could be making that up and don’t feel like looking through a lot of stuff to find it.
I would love to do deadlifts with a trap bar but of course we don’t have that in my gym so maybe I can hope for them to purchase one in the future.
I guess then my last question is since I’m keeping deadlifts (light) in ABBH, should I increase the reps to more than the 3 that is called for or still just stick with a light set of 3 reps until I get more comfortable?
I’m convinced that deadlifting with what’s commonly known as a trap bar or shrug bar makes it easier to maintain a more natural line due to the arms being at the side instead of in front. It also gives the shins a break. If you’ve never tried deads with a shrug bar, give it a go and I’ll bet your concern with poundages goes away. biomechanically speaking, no matter what weight your using, if you break form and let your back curl over your gonna get hurt. So isn’t the only weight that’s too much the one that causes poor form?