Deadlifts or rack deads for back?

[Bandy0974]

Anybody do deads with a hex bar? If so,what did you think,is it a little easier in the lower spine?

 

[M@NU]

yes.
i have bought a hex bar and the deadlift with a hex bar is much more complete leg focused and less lower back.
also, what i often do, i flip the hex bar over and do squats with it since i find it much more comfortable esp. if your shoulder mobility is not the best

 

[KillerStack]

Anybody do deads with a hex bar? If so,what did you think,is it a little easier in the lower spine?

Yes it becomes more quad dominant. So it depends on why you do deads.

There are lots of variations. For example for more glute:

 

[juggy38]

Maybe because of my build, my upper mid back gets destroyed doing pulls. I can’t replicate the thickness with just rows.

Vertical pulls 4-5 sets
Row movement 3-4 sets
Deadlift ...ramp up to a 6-8 rep, then backoff to a 10-12 rep.

Back fried

And I’m weird, I can pull from the floor more than I can rack pull. Rack pulls always put weird pressure on my back I didn’t like when the pins were mid shin

 

[ripriot]

"There is no reason to be alive if you can't do deadlift."
—Jón Páll

 

[nothuman]

Problem is people feel the need to go as heavy as their ego can tolerate on deadlifts. I treat it no differently than any other exercise. 10-12 reps per set and not to failure.

 

[b-boy]

Is back worked? Yes but not effectively. Sorry to hurt you guys feelings but you will get more out of bent over barbell rows. I never did a deadlift until I was around 30yrs old and I had CRAZY back development, I only did bent barbell rows, pull-ups, and seated cable rows. When I started doing deadlifts this is when my legs got their biggest and my squat got its strongest.

 

[USMuscle9403]

Both make my midsection thicker. Less so with rack deads, and they're good for traps, but for back thickness without any of that, nothing beats plain barbell rows

 

[alfresco]

Deadlifts and squats are powerlifting movements

Never done both and i believe its the reason i got 28 inch waist at 95 kg

Rows+chins+ pulldowns + pullovers

Shades of Vince Gironda

 

[KillerStack]

Is back worked? Yes but not effectively. Sorry to hurt you guys feelings but you will get more out of bent over barbell rows. I never did a deadlift until I was around 30yrs old and I had CRAZY back development, I only did bent barbell rows, pull-ups, and seated cable rows. When I started doing deadlifts this is when my legs got their biggest and my squat got its strongest.

Conversely I have a very good deadlift compared to my squat. Like 770 dead and not much over 500 squat. My back is my most developed part and my legs are like sticks.
Maybe it's mostly genetics, almost regardless of what you do lol.

 

[Elvia1023]

Conversely I have a very good deadlift compared to my squat. Like 770 dead and not much over 500 squat. My back is my most developed part and my legs are like sticks.
Maybe it's mostly genetics, almost regardless of what you do lol.

I notice when many people squat whilst their legs/quads are obviously getting hit it's predominantly hitting the back side. They squat like women who want to have massive glutes and stick their arses out too much. This is especially common in tall lifters. Over the years they grow their arses but not so much their quads which is usually their main goal for performing the movement. They should really be squatting straight up and down as much as possible. They won't be able to lift as much weight and I guess that is one reason many don't do that because they naturally just use the form they feel the strongest at. They also don't have the hip/ankle flexibility due to years of doing things "wrong". The genetic thing is also very true and some people just don't have it to have massive quads, lats, arms etc. I just wish I could squat or deadlift but my lower back won't let me

 

[KillerStack]

I notice when many people squat whilst their legs/quads are obviously getting hit it's predominantly hitting the back side. They squat like women who want to have massive glutes and stick their arses out too much. This is especially common in tall lifters. Over the years they grow their arses but not so much their quads which is usually their main goal for performing the movement. They should really be squatting straight up and down as much as possible. They won't be able to lift as much weight and I guess that is one reason many don't do that because they naturally just use the form they feel the strongest at. They also don't have the hip/ankle flexibility due to years of doing things "wrong". The genetic thing is also very true and some people just don't have it to have massive quads, lats, arms etc. I just wish I could squat or deadlift but my lower back won't let me

Absolutely, structures differ and it affects things like squats. I have a fairly upright posture but still I have squatted on wedges as well as used the smith machine to be even more upright, but the quads don't have much potential. I also know plenty who have a good deadlift but poor back development. Same with traps. Kai Greene is a monster but has fairly poor traps compared to the rest. Lots of bbers focus on their weak points but only rarely do they turn around their balance - they just get bigger or smaller overall. Genetics are a bitch, or a gift sometimes when everything grows well.

 

[jeroendebleser]

I think all of the big three are overrated for bodybuilding purposes.

 

[cmryan]

Maybe because of my build, my upper mid back gets destroyed doing pulls. I can’t replicate the thickness with just rows.

Vertical pulls 4-5 sets
Row movement 3-4 sets
Deadlift ...ramp up to a 6-8 rep, then backoff to a 10-12 rep.

Back fried

And I’m weird, I can pull from the floor more than I can rack pull. Rack pulls always put weird pressure on my back I didn’t like when the pins were mid shin

Same here. For me, deadlifts do work my lats to some degree but not a lot, but 4 or so higher rep sets of moderately heavy deadlifts will SMOKE my upper back. I've never gotten the same results from rows or vertical pulls alone. That's me though. Clearly, not everyone feels the same.

 

[madg]

Shades of Vince Gironda

I love vince !

I also do progressive overload by reducing rest times between sets like he teached

I should have lived in the 70s

 

[alfresco]

I love vince !

I also do progressive overload by reducing rest times between sets like he teached

I should have lived in the 70s

I visited and talked with Vince at his Gym in the 70's. He busily going through mail
at his desk but aas very nice to me but we did not talk much and I never 'challenged'
him with my opinion which I think would have resulted in me being thrown out of is gym .
Nobody notable training there (no Larry Scott or Don Howorh) but Did run into Dennis
Tinnerino (sp) walking out and did say hello.

He was an 'out of the box' thinker which I respected and and still have all the booklets
he published. While I don't agree with all his ideas and opinions, he still holds a special place
in the history of bodybuilding. He was ahead of his time. A true original and he will be missed.

 

[danieltx]

Smith rack deadlifts from just above the knee put the majority of thickness on my back.

 

[FK86]

I notice when many people squat whilst their legs/quads are obviously getting hit it's predominantly hitting the back side. They squat like women who want to have massive glutes and stick their arses out too much. This is especially common in tall lifters. Over the years they grow their arses but not so much their quads which is usually their main goal for performing the movement. They should really be squatting straight up and down as much as possible. They won't be able to lift as much weight and I guess that is one reason many don't do that because they naturally just use the form they feel the strongest at. They also don't have the hip/ankle flexibility due to years of doing things "wrong". The genetic thing is also very true and some people just don't have it to have massive quads, lats, arms etc. I just wish I could squat or deadlift but my lower back won't let me

You hit the nail on the head with structure being important to how one performs an exercise and their individual ROM. I'm six feet tall and always squatted to parallel. I noticed my knees were bothering me after all these years and I'm not using weights that are impressive at all. I altered the width of my stance and no improvement. I prefer a close stance anyway. Also, staying upright is not an issue for me.

One day I was watching Branch Warren squat 585 to parallel and his reps were so damn smooth. I couldn't achieve the same fluid motion with 135. So I did some research on ROM and switched to ATG squats. The consensus on these is 50-50: half think they wreck knees, half think they're easier on them because there's no shearing force on them abruptly stopping at parallel. Again, I think it's individual how low someone should go.

I had to reduce the load by 20%, but they corrected my knee pain, the movement felt smoother and no longer felt awkward, and I started to progress again. I had been stuck at a squat plateau for a long time. I attribute my balance and ankle flexibility to skateboarding when I was young.

After making this change it became so noticeable to me how many people online are squatting with their backs/sticking their butts out like you said. Some of them look like they're doing a good morning and could snap at any minute. In addition to that, the bowed knees swirling inwards makes me cringe as well. A lot of people should check their ego at the door.

As for the deadlift, I won't dispute the efficacy of it for the upper back/lats, but overall front-to-back thickness and erectors it definitely shows. Francois, Coleman, and Johnnie Jackson come to mind.

 

[JJT]

You hit the nail on the head with structure being important to how one performs an exercise and their individual ROM. I'm six feet tall and always squatted to parallel. I noticed my knees were bothering me after all these years and I'm not using weights that are impressive at all. I altered the width of my stance and no improvement. I prefer a close stance anyway. Also, staying upright is not an issue for me.

One day I was watching Branch Warren squat 585 to parallel and his reps were so damn smooth. I couldn't achieve the same fluid motion with 135. So I did some research on ROM and switched to ATG squats. The consensus on these is 50-50: half think they wreck knees, half think they're easier on them because there's no shearing force on them abruptly stopping at parallel. Again, I think it's individual how low someone should go.

I had to reduce the load by 20%, but they corrected my knee pain, the movement felt smoother and no longer felt awkward, and I started to progress again. I had been stuck at a squat plateau for a long time. I attribute my balance and ankle flexibility to skateboarding when I was young.

After making this change it became so noticeable to me how many people online are squatting with their backs/sticking their butts out like you said. Some of them look like they're doing a good morning and could snap at any minute. In addition to that, the bowed knees swirling inwards makes me cringe as well. A lot of people should check their ego at the door.

As for the deadlift, I won't dispute the efficacy of it for the upper back/lats, but overall front-to-back thickness and erectors it definitely shows. Francois, Coleman, and Johnnie Jackson come to mind.

Sorry if this sounds stupid, but what is front to back thickness? Like side poses?

 

[deadliftdeez]

I've never been a fan of heavy deadlifts. I just figured at best it would just make waist appear larger.

My waist gets extremely wide when I do rack pulls and deadlifts all through the winter. Last summer I looked like a square hahaha