Deadlifts for beginners

BrianD3

I want to start doing deadlifts at home. I believe the deadlift is a good compound exercise. I have a bar and plenty of weights but I don't have any stands or benches so I can't do other compound exercises such as squats or bench presses. Also I wouldn't have a spotter. So deadlifts would appear to be a good choice.

But I'm worried about injuring myself esp. my lower back. I haven't a clue what weight I should start with. Something that will give me an ok workout but will minimise the risk of injury. Anyone have any ideas? Also any tips on how to warm up for this exercise, tips on form, what to avoid would be great.

I've never attempted this exercise in my life. All of this may sound overly cautious but it's better to be safe than sorry. i don't want to end up with a herniated disc or some other nasty injury.

I'm in ok shape 5 foot 9, 10.5 stone, 29 inch waist, low body fat, lightly muscled. Workout several times per week and have been concentrating on upper body workouts up to now. My aim is to step up my workout and add more bulk hence my desire to do add a good compound exercise to my programme.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

brianD3

Jak

You are right to be cautious - deadlifting resulted in my only serious training injury to date. And it still affects my lower back and is prone to aggravation.


Check the sticky links for vid clips of deadlifts or do a search for them. It's hard to put it all in text - but I'll try.

The basics for my deadlifting are

1. Feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent
2. Toes pointing just slightly out
3. Alternate grip - 1 hand overhand - 1 hand underhand
4. Make sure your grip is even distance.
5. Keep your head up and eyes looking up a bit.
6. Drop into a low squatted position. Down on your haunches essentially.
7. Stand up - allowing your legs to take the weight off the ground. Think of your hands as hooks.
8. Just as the bar passes your knees - finish the movement with your upper body.

You could also alternate with stiff legged deadlifts which is more for your back.

As regards weight - light .. light and lighter.

Like squatting or benching - deadlifting is a compound muscle movement. And requires the development of stabilising and related muscles as well as perfect form.

You may find with light weights certain muscles feel more fatigued after, while some feel untouched. Keep at it, until you bring everything up to a similar level. My injury was a result of

1. Muscle imbalance between lower back and the rest of me.
2. Pushing too far with weight and sets.
3. Not distinguishing between "good" and "bad" pain.

Let me know how you get on.

JAK.

Crunch

Sorry if off topic!

Like squatting or benching - deadlifting is a compound muscle movement. And requires the development of stabilising and related muscles as well as perfect form.

You may find with light weights certain muscles feel more fatigued after, while some feel untouched. Keep at it, until you bring everything up to a similar level.

Thx for a good pointer Jak, never really thougth of that, despite working out for years. Trying to get back into it after not doing any excercise for a looooong time, and this seems like a good thing to keep in mind when starting up again. *Thumbs UP*

BrianD3

thanks a lot Jak. I tried deadlifting with 25 lbs but it was way too light. So I tried 40 lbs. Still felt very light but after 10 reps I could feel my lower back getting a bit tired at which point I decided to stop. It wasn't a pain or anything it actually felt good. I guess I just used muscles which I've never/rarely used before. At 40 lbs and 10 reps I felt nothing at all in my legs. So I think your advice about the muscle imbalance was spot on my legs could have lifted a much heavier weight but had I gone heavier I could well have injured my back.

I'm going to stick with the light weights for a while then gradually build it up. Going to take it very slowly. Thanks again for the advice and tips on form.

BrianD3

logic1

I'm not sure what level you're at but deadlifting 18kilos isn't going to do much good.

That's not even the weight of an olympic bar.

Do you actually feel tired after a set of deadlifts?

Just seems like very little weight for a compound movement.

.logic.

Jak

Depends though Logic.

If you take most people to something like a lower back hyperextension machine - you'll find their lower backs are exceptionally weak. Even now - since I have started doing very specific weighted lower back stuff, I notice how far behind the rest of me it is, even after doing rehab work.

One thing though, deadlifts shouldn't really be hitting your lower back *too* much. After the weight passes your knees, your shoulders and arms should be taking a good part of the stress.

Now due to the movement, there will be downward force on your lower back (which is how I managed to compress and screw up my back years ago) - but again this is not stiff legged deadlift - so use your shoulders to shrug up the weight.

Keep your head up - eyes up and back straight. Don't hunch over the weight and then be curling your lower back to bring it up.

Also 40lbs is light enough, but don't worry about that. Are you including the weight of the bar?

JAK.

BrianD3

18 kg may sound light but I'm just getting a feel for how much weight I can handle. As I said, I'm a total novice who has never done this exercise before. If I do some deadlifts twice a week and increase the weight by a few pounds each time it won't be long before I'm lifting a decent weight. Also by starting off very light I'll minimize the chance of injury if I have bad form or do something stupid. Hopefully by the time I'm lifting heavier weights my form will be perfect. PS 18 kg includes the weight of the bar - just a standard non-olympic bar.

BrianD3

MoosemaN

Originally posted by Jak
You could also alternate with stiff legged deadlifts which is more for your back. JAK.

I must say I think this is incorrect..

Stiff legged deadlifts are mostly for hamstrings, and deadlifts are more for the back.

logic1

Originally posted by MoosemaN
I must say I think this is incorrect..

Stiff legged deadlifts are mostly for hamstrings, and deadlifts are more for the back.

Stiff legged deads are for lower back and hamstrings, deads are a true compound and target mainly lower back and quads but hit most of the muscle groups the whole way from calves to traps.

.logic.

Jak

It's a 50/50 if somewhat pedantic argument.

Fitness types tend to stress it as hams more whereas more Bodybuilders stress it as lower back more. My experience is it is more the latter, but as with many movements - you can tweak to stress more in one area than the other.

I find that although you should not lock out your knees, the less bend you put in them the more you work the lower back.

JAK.

MoosemaN

Let me put it like this, people should implement both in their weight exercise

As both are very good exercises..

Here is a good link on how to do both correctly

http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9197&SearchTerms=,stiff

Jak

I don't think anyone suggested SLDL's were an alternative to DL's. We were discussing which is the primary muscle group involved in SLDL's.

I agree that DL's and SLDL's are a valuable part of any routine. It's just I would put SLDL's on back day and DL's on leg day.

As for muscletalk - yes it's a very handy site. My brother has been a mod there on a number of boards for the last few years.

JAK.

Trojan

Just on the topic of weights - at a beginner-medium level I'm working with 40kg (plus the bar) on DLs.

It seems to be a good weight for me & doesn't strain the back too much. Note: it seems to be about 50-50 split for number of people I've seen wearing belts during deads.

Al.

MoosemaN

The most important part in the beginning is the form you use..

The best is to get someone to look at your form during the exercise and gradually increase the weight...

I wouldnt recommend to use a belt except when you attempt to max the weight..

dudara

just really look out for form. Get someone to tape you with a digital camera, or camcorder from the side as you do the deadlift. This will help you see if and where you are going wrong.

Just keep your back arched in, and head up at all times.

A good general book, is "Strength Training Anatomy" by Delavier. It shows all the muscles involved and explains form. I own the female version myself and find it invaluable.

BrianD3

Just an update on my situation. It's been around 2 months since I started deadlifts. At the start I was lifting 18 kg including the bar and I've gradually worked up to 48 kg including bar now. I have noticed an increase in muscle mass in my thighs/glutes plus a slight increase in my calves. I don't do any other exercises which hit these muscles so it has to be the deadlifts that are making the difference Also, my lower back feels stronger and more flexible. I used to suffer from lower back stiffness on long car journeys but this has now disappeared. So overall I'm pleased with the progress I've made. So thanks to everyone for the tips.

BrianD3

DMT

Originally posted by BrianD3
Just an update on my situation.

How many sets/reps are you doing and how much rest to you take between sets?

BrianD3

How many sets/reps are you doing and how much rest to you take between sets

I do deadlifts twice per week. I do 3 sets, with 2 minutes between each set. As for reps, I just do as many as I can (with proper form) until my legs give up. I usually end up doing around 6-7 reps per set. I haven't a clue whether this is a good programme or not, all I can say that it has been effective for me.

BrianD3

dudara

I'm not being smart here, but I'm female, and within two weeks of training I was deadlifting 60kg. My hands start to give way at 80 kg so I need to get straps for grip.

48kg just seems light, but as long as your form is good, everything else will follow. Your back and core stability will get very good from deadlifts, and squats as well. But never use a smith machine for squats..

http://pub26.ezboard.com/foldschoolstrengthtraining70757frm1.showMessage?topicID=5225.topic

BrianD3

I'm not being smart here, but I'm female, and within two weeks of training I was deadlifting 60kg. My hands start to give way at 80 kg so I need to get straps for grip.

If this is true, then fair play to ya. There's no way I'd be able to deadlift 80kg, straps or no straps. I have considered that your claims could be total BS - but as I'm no expert on fitness/weightlifting I can't really accuse you of BS because I simply don't know.

Anyhow if your post was meant as a putdown of my (lack of) ability, it hasn't worked. I'll continue to do my own thing and won't be goaded into pushing myself too hard too soon by your claims. BTW "i'm not being smart...but...." is not a great way to start a post - I find statements like that usually precede some sort of putdown or criticism.....

BrianD3

logic1

Just depends what level you're at mate as said above. Everyone will be different.

I just restarted deadlifts today and I'm pulling 160kg for reps @ 5 sets.

Took it a bit easy to get back into deadlifting.

Although Dudara would be very strong if she's pulling up 80kg. Be very interested to see her lower back development *cough*



.logic.

Jak

Aye continue to take your time with them.

The weight you are using *is* relatively light, so my only advice would be to make sure you advance at a reasonable pace and continue to push yourself.

60kg is really where you should be working from imo based on your posts.

Deadlifting, out of the three major movements (proper deep squats and olympic bench), is the one most people like to get their big shock lifts in. In my experience it is the easiest to max out at and many people lift well in excess of their other totals on it. 500lb deadlifts are common relative to a 500lb bench or squat.
JAK.

Vincent

im about 70-72kg and i can deadlift 80kg for 4x6 aswell and have been doing weights for 5 weeks so dudara isnt anywhere close to talking BS even if she is a girl . I reckon i could do alot more aswell but i read that you might aswell go slow on them otherwise your grip will start to fail very soon. I think the proper technique is to let the weight hit the ground before you do the next rep with deadlifts so they are really singles done in quick progression in sets. Try this and i reckon you could lift more cos letting it hit the ground (only for half a second) gives you a sec to regrip the bar and its less likely to cause you any trouble. Another thing is a deadlift is the biggest lift you can do, you can push far more weight than bench and a good bit more than squat (some people squat more). So have a look how at much you can bench, you should be doing way more on your deadlifts.

dudara

Sorry BrianD3, didn't mean anything by my comment, other than you should have lots of potential. I don't consider myself particularly strong, and you're doing more training than I, so with that you should come on in leaps and bounds.

I don't push myself particularly hard at the moment either, because I watch my form extremely carefully, as I have a knee that tends to wobble. I have a boyfriend who's been lifting for years, and he's very critical of form, so I get every little wobble and wibble beaten out of me.

But you will find your lower back becoming much stronger and more solid, giving you better poise and generally better everything. Deadlifting is also great for glutes and thighs too. (Two of the things us women are always worried about).

Actually to all other readers of this thread, do you see women training with free weights in your gyms? I'm curious as to how many women do this?

BrianD3

Sorry BrianD3, didn't mean anything by my comment,

No probs Actually I was probably being a little oversensitive anyway. And I'm sorry for suggesting that you could be talking BS about how much you can lift.

Deadlifting is also great for glutes and thighs too.

Yeah I've noticed this. I've definitely gained some muscle mass on my legs and ass. I've always worn Levi 501's and lately they've been feeling a bit tighter in the legs

BrianD3