You guys can shrug more than you deadlift? My deadlift 1RM is probably over 150 pounds more than my shrug max. I still believe that deads are the best exercise out there if you wanna put on serious size and also change your body in a significant way.
[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
You guys can shrug more than you deadlift? My deadlift 1RM is probably over 150 pounds more than my shrug max. I still believe that deads are the best exercise out there if you wanna put on serious size and also change your body in a significant way.[/quote]
I’m the same way, can DL maybe 420 1 RM, do my shrug sets with 240. But I think we’re unusual, due to grip mostly in my case. I trained at a gym with a lot of big dudes (nearly all juicing) the last four years, and most of them could pile serious weight on for shrugs. ROM may also be an issue.
Ya, I can deadlift 575, and my Shrugs barely go over 400 if i’m doing very strict reps. i think it all may depend on how ones range of motion is when shrugging.
I got the straps to work today. Albeit I was a huge noob back in the day. I think I bought these straps 2 years ago to use them.
Ridiculous thread, anyone who wants to get stronger or bigger needs to be deadlifting.
[quote]Da Vinci wrote:
Ridiculous thread, anyone who wants to get stronger or bigger needs to be deadlifting.[/quote]
There are quite a few guys who got big and strong that did not deadlift regularly.
I personally am fairly advanced and I don’t
-Barbell bench press
-Standard deadlift
-Regular squat consistently
I don’t mean to be offensive, but you will never be as strong as you could potentially be if you arent working the major core/compound lifts such as deadlifts, bench press or squats. Do you want to be the big muscular guy who’s weak?
There is no reason not to do them.
[quote]Da Vinci wrote:
I don’t mean to be offensive, but you will never be as strong as you could potentially be if you arent working the major core/compound lifts such as deadlifts, bench press or squats. Do you want to be the big muscular guy who’s weak?
There is no reason not to do them… .[/quote]
Do you even read what you write and think for a second before hitting submit?
Sorry, I didn’t realize we were on Oprah. Joking aside though, I simply don’t understand why someone wouldn’t implement the core lifts, even if not doing them works for them. To each his own I suppose.
Well, I still make it my business to include 1 to 2 big exercises per bodypart - mostly 2 and one isolation exercise. It depends on the bodypart.
I now rely more on
-front squats instead of regular squats,
-dumbbell bench press and Hammer Strength bench press variations instead of regular barbell bench presses and
-lunges, stepups, pull throughs, and glute ham raises instead of standard deadlifts.
All of these are great and demanding exercises.
Ever try a 16 to 24 step max in walking lunges or a plate or barbell loaded GHR? Its not for the weak minded either. There have been times that my WHOLE body was so fatigued after a set that I was contemplating just letting the bar go to the floor.
I believe that you cannot be fully jacked to your potential unless you do the bench press, squat, deadlift AND/OR the exercises I just mentioned.
But simply saying that the “core” lifts are great for EVERYONE is not the greatest thing for bodybuilding and I believe - and I am not going into a PT bashing mode again - that this belief has been carried over from the PT and powerlifting world.
There are many great powerlifters who do not have the best thighs or best chest. Most of the guys who look like bodybuilders have trained like them either at regular breaks throughout the year or had done so before becoming a powerlifter; guys like Andy Fiedler, Vince Anello, Joe Ladnier, and Roger Estep all did bodybuilding at some time.
My chest did not take off until I started doing dumbbell bench press and Hammer Strength bench press variations. When I do barbell bench presses, I feel it mostly in my tris and front delts.
When I shitcanned regular deadlifts and squats and starting focusing on front squats, leg presses, lunges, pullthroughs, glute-ham raises, the chronic stiffness and pain in my erectors went away FOR GOOD! I waited until I could do a 500 single in each before I shit canned 'em!
So perhaps they helped develop the base that I have now. But I don’t do them anymore. Perhaps - like Mike Boyle admitted about himself too - I am just not meant to squat and deadlift bigger than that. But I sure am making great progress with the other favorite exercises.
And also, strength is not easily defined. Strength in what? If I regularly dumbbell bench press, who is to say I am not strong? I mean, I am strong in the dumbbell bench press, right? If I do not deadlift, but could do GHRS for sets of 10 with a 45 lb plate, isn’t that decent strength too?
I think Romanian Deadlifts are a great substitute for conventional deadlifts. That is when ham/lower back development is the issue.
If there’s nothing wrong from a stability/mobility/general health standpoint, then definitely yes; very high “bang for the buck”
I stopped reading once you stated you were doing variations of the fundamental compounds. I was under the impression you were purely doing cable curls, lateral raises etc.
-lunges, stepups, pull throughs, and glute ham raises instead of standard deadlifts.
none of these tax the back musculature like deads or rack pulls do. I agree with the main point, but this would never do it for me.
[quote]Da Vinci wrote:
I don’t mean to be offensive, but you will never be as strong as you could potentially be if you arent working the major core/compound lifts such as deadlifts, bench press or squats. Do you want to be the big muscular guy who’s weak?
There is no reason not to do them.[/quote]
lol
[quote]zephead4747 wrote:
-lunges, stepups, pull throughs, and glute ham raises instead of standard deadlifts.
none of these tax the back musculature like deads or rack pulls do. I agree with the main point, but this would never do it for me.[/quote]
Most likely Brick was talking about lifts he does to work his hamstrings/glutes, not his back. I’m sure he does exercises to work his back other than these.
Right.
My back with rear delts workout looks like this:
Pulldowns
Dumbbell row
Machine pullover
Seated row
Rear delt raises
[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
Right.
My back with rear delts workout looks like this:
Pulldowns
Dumbbell row
Machine pullover
Seated row
Rear delt raises
[/quote]
So you do not do Deadlifts or ANY version of chin/pull ups ??
Between the Lean Away Chin Ups and Deadlifts your missing without doubt the 2 biggest mass builders for back… would you even try barbell rows maybe ??
I did chinups, pullups, barbell rows and deadlifts for years. I did them straight from the beginning and they gave me a lot of the muscle I have today.
However, as I got more experienced and more involved with pure bodybuilding, I did not rely on them as regularly anymore. This is especially since I started learning about the arm vs. torso dominance dilemna that CT has written about a few times.
I have always been limbs dominant. I had decent arms and legs even before training. It took a long time to get a decent torso.
When I hit a bodyweight of 230, I started feeling chinups and pullups more in my arms than in my back. I also never felt much in my lats and upper back from barbell rows, more so in my arms. I get far more “feeling” and growth in those areas from face pulls, DB, cable, and/or supported T-Bar rows.
After I got to a single of 500 in the squat and deadlift, I started experiencing severe stiffness and strain in my erectors all the time! I have tried it all to correct this: lots of hamstring and glute work (GHRs, lunges, stepups, pullthroughs), daily stretching of the hip flexors, ART and chiropractic - regular deadlifts and squats still do not agree with my body.
When I started focusing on pure bodybuilding I gave up some LAWS/RULES:
Thou MUST do:
-Back squats
-Bent over rows
-Pullups
-Conventional deadlifts
-Barbell bench presses
I used all of these great exercises at one time but I changed my routine and exercise choice according to the needs that I have.
[quote]300andabove wrote:
Bricknyce wrote:
Right.
My back with rear delts workout looks like this:
Pulldowns
Dumbbell row
Machine pullover
Seated row
Rear delt raises
So you do not do Deadlifts or ANY version of chin/pull ups ??
Between the Lean Away Chin Ups and Deadlifts your missing without doubt the 2 biggest mass builders for back… would you even try barbell rows maybe ??
[/quote]
Chins/pull-ups and DL’s are indeed great back builders, but seriously, making blanket statements like this is just silly. Did you fail to read that Brick has done DL’s in the past? I’m also fairly certain he’s done BB rows in the past as well.
Not all exercises are equally as great for all people at all times in their lifting career. My guess is that these are the exercises that Brick uses right now, not the only ones he’s ever done. I’d also wager that these are the exercises that he feels work best FOR HIM atm.
If anyone likes doing chins/DL’s (or any other exercise for that matter for any body part) and feels that they work well for you, then by all means do them. But acting like others don’t know what they’re doing because they might not do the same exercises is, again, just silly.